Ashanti performs the song “Foolish.”
It was released by Def Jam Recordings, AJM, and Irv Gotti’s Murder Inc. Records and served as her debut single. It was the opening track on her self-titled debut album from 2002.
Irv Gotti oversaw production, while Ashanti, 7 Aurelius, Etterlene Jordan, Mark DeBarge, and others contributed to the writing.
DeBarge’s “Stay with Me” is sampled in the song.
Mark DeBarge and Etterlene Jordan are listed as songwriters because the sample was used in the song.
Notorious B.I.G. contributes a verse to the single’s “Unfoolish” promotional edition from his song “F—king You Tonight.”
The song was made available on February 11, 2002, as the album’s lead single.
It was Ashanti’s second number one and third top ten song on both charts, spending ten weeks at the top of both the US Billboard Hot 100 and the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
In other countries, including the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, “Foolish” reached the top ten.
The song was nominated for a 2003 Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and won the Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul Single-Female.
On their list of the Hot 100 Songs of the 2000s Decade, Billboard placed it 19th in 2009.
