There seems to be a lot of baggage around the life and career of Sisqó which has kept him off of the charts since 2000 [1]. It's a shame, because it seems as though he is all about quality music and not interested in political aspects of the business. If you are familiar with his no.3 charting song "The Thong Song," don't expect any of those shenanigans in today's analysis. "Incomplete" shows shades of an insightful R&B singer, that with the right production team behind him, could be confined by no limits.
August 12th - 19th, 2000: "Incomplete" by Sisqó takes the no.1 position for 2 weeks!
A few things stick out when looking at this data. First, the tempo. "Incomplete" is slow R&B ballad. Second, there's some heavy instrumentation/production. These heavier elements are balanced by a straightforward form.
The form is textbook, containing two rounds of verse and chorus, a bridge and a double chorus to end the tune. We also get a modulation up a 1/2 step into the last double chorus and tag.
The first choruses are an unusual 9 measures. The extra measure comes after a deceptive cadence leads to a partial tag of the hook, "cause without you girl...." In the final repeats of the chorus section, this is omitted and we get the 8 measure version twice before an official tag in the outro. This little twist is an example of the fine craftsmanship put into this song.
"Incomplete" was actually written by Montell Jordan. While the record company originally intended it for another artist, Montell had Michael Jackson in mind when he wrote it. In the end, Sisqó's take goes the distance. [2]
Chord Progressions
"Incomplete" is not incomplete in its inclusion of chord extensions and tone colors. Generally when a song includes simple triads, a 7 chord sounds lush and full. This tune has an opposite effect. There are so many packed chords that when you get a simple triad, or even an octave, it sounds exotic and fresh.
The tune begins with this piano intro, giving a tease of the chorus changes to come, as well as the intricate web of counterpoint between instruments.
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| piano intro |
The last change leads into the verse, ushered in with the 16th note figure built around B pentatonic. The verse uses C#min9 - G#min7 change, iv - i in G#min, or ii - vi in B (the same change in "The Boy Is Mine" (1998) by Brandy & Monica, which is most certainly in C#min).
After 5 bars, we get a surprise D#min7 chord for 2 beats before hastily resolving back to G#min7. It then returns to the familiar C#min7 only to be surprised again with a non-diatonic F#min7 (ii/E - where we get to in the chorus). In the key of B major, the last 4 bars play out as: ii / iii vi / ii / v - a common progression that wants to lead to I (B).
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| verse 1 - selected rhythm |
In the above example, I included the bass and the moving melodic parts of the piano and/or strings. As is, there is a lot going on. What I did not include was the electric piano slamming chords, the string pads, the echoing and ripping acoustic guitar and all the programmed percussion elements. You get a tease of the guitar in the last bar as it ascends a F# Dorian scale (ii of E), followed by the triplet drum fill to lead into the chorus.
The 16th note piano lick ties it all together. Heard in the intro, this repeated pattern changes with the chords and then devolves into syncopation in the last 3 bars. The bass leaves plenty of space, playing mostly the same rhythmic figure, occasionally adding in some moving lines.
The chorus features more deceptive cadences and key confusion. The 9 bar version in B major looks like:
Emaj9 / D#min / Emaj9 / G#min7 / Emaj9 / D#min7 G#min7/ C#min7 C#min/F#/ G#min7 C#9 / C#min7 C#min/F#
IV / iii / IV / vi / IV / iii vi / ii V / vi V/V/ ii V
The tonal center feels like G# minor, but the progression wants to lead to B, which we never get.
After the modulation, we get this entire progression in the last chorus, in the key of C. The deceptive cadence theme continues through the outro, where we FINALLY here the I chord (C), the last chord of the tune. Just for fun, I included the harmonic function in C major as well as A minor.
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| last chorus and outro changes |
The above also provides the context of the harmonic rhythm. The first 4 bars have one change per measure. Heading into the last 4 bars, the pace quickens and is furthered by syncopation on beat (2)+.
Just before the modulation to C major comes the bridge. We are technically still in the key of B, but harmonically, there is a modulation to D. Leading from the 2nd chorus into the bridge, we get a B minor chord, functioning as V/ii in D major. This leads to the 4 bar bridge, which eventually gets us to C:
Emin7 A7 / Dmaj7 / Emin7 /E/F# F/G
ii V / I / ii / V/B V/C
The departure to the new key is a breath of fresh air and the continued use of deceptive cadences keeps the momentum moving forward in the ballad tempo.
The rhythm section evolves through the tune, playing a little busier by the climax in the key change. There are plenty of chord syncopations and subtle nuances in each individual part, far too many to document for the purposes of this analysis. A drawback of the thick instrumentation, however, is that many of those nuances go unnoticed. There is so much going on at all times that when something actually changes, it continues to blend in with the rest of the arrangement.
Melody
Sisqó is a singing machine! He sings in the forceful upper range of his chest voice, producing a rich tone in an R&B style. His style reminds me of Mariah Carey, as well as Brandy & Monica, in the way he flows through melismas and adds call and response vocals. He also delivers melodic variation between the verses, also like his diva predecessors.
If you look at the verse 1 melody, it's clearly in B major. While the tonal center of the harmony lives in G#minor, the melodic tonal center is B. The B is a shared tone of the C#min (-7) and G#min (-3), and it continues to confuse the true key of the song. (Much like "In My Feelings" by Drake, the insinuated key is not where the harmony goes. Try playing a B major chord and singing the melody, it works and gives the song a much different flavor!)
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| verse 1 |
He keeps up this pace for the chorus, getting away from the two note pattern and expanding into a 4 note descending pattern from F# to C#, which resolves to B. This little line works as a secondary hook, seriously burrowing deep into my ear.
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| chorus 1 |
The bridge melody focuses on the pitches G and F#, chord tones of this modulated section. The melodic rhythm comes in hot and slows down a bit, but not much.
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| bridge |
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| chorus 3 responses |
Musical Sticking Points
There is a lot happening in "Incomplete," almost too much. If you strip this down to just piano and vocal, it's a lovely song. In navigating my way through these changes, I tried to learn the piano part (I am not a pianist). Check out this video to get a taste of the essential elements in the tune. (Thanks houseofjaz!)
The production in the tune is over the top. The percussion alone is multi-layered and would probably carry the piano and vocal well enough on its own. Add in the electric keyboard, the string synths and the guitar and it's a crowded house. Oh yeah, then add Sisqó belting out notes over the top.
Compared with "The Thong Song," this one is on a different planet. It's deep yet approachable. It reached no.1, which means people "got it." The harmony is rooted in jazz and gives off a couple of different vibes (major and minor). Perhaps the trademark R&B vocal stylings are what caught people's attention? From my own analysis experience, I hear a lot of Mariah, Brandy, Monica, Christina, and even a little Lionel. The delivery is convincing and what you would expect to hear in an R&B ballad.
Lyrics
The lyrical premise of the song is pretty simple: A guy who literally has everything is unhappy because he doesn't have the girl he is after. "
Even though it seems I have everything
I don't wanna be a lonely fool...
The verse flows with the rhyme scheme AABB, which include a few near rhymes ("find" with "time"; "love" with "was").
The chorus rhyme scheme is a little more elaborate: ABCBADD
Lyrically, this song is fairly braggadocious, not an uncommon characteristic of the genre. I do like that he is not just bragging for the sake of bragging. His message is "this girl is worth more to him that all of the other material possessions and status perks" and not "look how awesome I am." As seen with many other songs, it's a simple message that we can relate with, the sentiment anyway.
Common Threads
So far in this round of analyses, I have looked at "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini" (1960), "(They Long To Be) Close To You" (1970), "Magic" (1980) and "Vision Of Love" (1990). Each of those songs shared many musical elements that likely contribute to their musical (not cultural) success. Here is that list and how "Incomplete" figures in.
- Repeated melodic motifs - "Incomplete" is way ahead of the curve on this one. Each section features phrases dominated by 16th note syncopation. There is also the heavy use of the tonic pitch and each phrase is centered around its use.
- Strong harmonic motion from V to I - This is a tough one. There are a lot of ii-V's that want to lead to I very badly. Most of the time, they resolve to the relative minor. The framework is there, but it doesn't deliver until the very end.
- Background singers contribute to melodic/harmonic texture - We don't hear them until the last choruses, but once they come in, the background singers provide support for Sisqó's vocal exhibition.
- Modulation - A familiar 1/2 step modulation that we saw in 1/2 of the songs this round, so far.
- New material presented at the end - The ending of the tune introduces two small new changes we hadn't seen yet, as well as the last chord finally resolving to I.
- Hook that uses the title of the song
- Contains a lyrical refrain - "Without you girl..." could potentially be considered a refrain, as it appears multiple times in each chorus and is tagged at the end. It's not a refrain like we have seen in previous songs, but it is worth mentioning.
5/7 shared elements is a pretty good track record for "Incomplete." I look forward to the Round 3 warp up to see how this stacks up to the songs through the decades, "on the 0's."
Final Takeaways
I like this song more than I thought I would. A few of the lines ("all of the women, all the expensive cars") continue to get stuck in my head, maybe more so than the formal hook. Sisqó is a great singer, albeit with a questionable hairstyle. After working my way through Mariah, I feel like I understood what he was aiming for and could wrap my head around what he was doing relatively quickly.
The harmony in this tune is great. I was taken back to my jazz theory days in music school, identifying sus and slash chords, trying to make sense of the different extensions I was hearing. As mentioned, the production is a little too thick to really accentuate nuances. Those pretty extensions get lost in the see of keyboards and rippin' guitar solos.
There a couple of stripped down covers on YouTube worth looking into if you enjoy this song. I'm sure Sisqó would rock an acoustic rendition!
What do you think of "Incomplete?" How does it hold up to other R&B classics? Leave me a comment!
Next time: July 31st - September 11th, 2010 - "Love The Way You Lie" by Eminem featuring Rihanna goes on a 7 week run at no.1. Another song that I can't pick out of a police lineup. I am predicting that all the 16th note runs in this song were just a warmup for what Eminem may have in store!
[2]https://youknowigotsoul.com/sisqo-incomplete-was-originally-meant-for-another-artist
