Top 10 Alert!
Platinum Record Alert!
Song#: 3930
Date: 06/10/1989
Debut: 64
Peak: 2
Weeks: 20
Genre: R&B, New Jack Swing, Soundtrack
Pop Bits: By this point in time, Brown's second album Don't Be Cruel had become a 4x platinum seller that had spawned four big singles including the #3Pop/#1 R&B/#1 Dance hit "Every Little Step." While that hit streak was going on, Brown's label, MCA, was approached to provide the soundtrack to the sequel flick Ghostbusters II. MCA was specifically sought out because the film's music supervisor wanted to nab newly hot star Bobby Brown for a couple of songs. MCA took on the task and Brown would agree to recording a couple songs, but on the condition that he appeared in the film. Most of the film had already been shot by that point, but he was able to make a cameo as a doorman. L.A. Reid, Babyface, and Darryl Simmons would write "On Our Own" for Brown with Reid and Babyface producing. The song would be released as a single a couple week prior to the film's opening. The timing was perfect as the tune debuted on the Pop chart the week "Every Little Step" peaked. The single quickly made the Pop Top 10 eventually spending three weeks at #2. It would reach #1 at both R&B and Dance. It would be Brown's first and only single to reach the platinum sales level. The hit helped the soundtrack album get to #14 and go gold.
ReduxReview: This was the best thing that came about from Ghostbusters II. I have to admit that while I liked the original Ghostbusters, I didn't love it. I wasn't as gaga about it as everyone else. Still, it was a fun flick. I really didn't have any urge to see the sequel, but ended up going. That was a mistake. I thought it was awful. Yet on occasion something bad can spawn something good and for GBII it was this Bobby Brown track. While it wasn't quite as good as a couple of his previous hits, it did showcase Brown, Reid, and Babyface at the peak of their new jack powers. I could do without the film-related rap (the single's b-side did have a non-rap version), but other than that it was a quality track.
ReduxRating: 7/10
Trivia: Double Shot! 1) In addition to "On Our Own," Brown contributed another song to the soundtrack. He would co-write the track "We're Back" with Dennis Austin. Brown would serve as producer. It would not be released as a single. Also for the soundtrack, the original #1 theme from Ray Parker, Jr. would get a hip-hop update from Run-DMC. It would be issued out as a single, but it would fail to chart. 2) Ghostbusters II arrived five years after the original hit film. The same director, writers, and cast would return for the sequel. Expectations were that it would surpass the results of the original film, but that did not happen. While it was no box office slouch, the sequel made less money than the original. It also had a higher budget than the original, which ate into the box office take. It didn't help that critics were negative towards the film and that what would be the year's biggest hit, Batman, premiered on its heels. Even though a sizable audience showed up for the movie, in the long run it was considered a critical and commercial failure. The outcome pretty much killed off the film franchise. However, the animated series The Real Ghostbusters, which began to air in 1986, would continue to be popular and last for seven seasons. A 2009 video game was also successful. It wouldn't be until 2021 that an "official" sequel to the original film series would be released. Ghostbusters: Afterlife would do fairly well at the box office and with critics. It came after a 2016 attempt to reboot the series with an all female cast, which made it the target of unexpected and unwarranted controversy. That uproar along with some mixed critical reaction let to a final box office tally that didn't recoup costs. While the director and cast signed on for two sequels, following the weird uproar about the cast and the box office results, plans for the sequels were quashed.
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