"More Than a Woman" is a song recorded by American singer Aaliyah for her eponymous third and final studio album (2001). It was written by Static Major and Timbaland, with the latter producing it. Musically, it is a pop, electro, hip hop, funk, and R&B song, while its instrumental features digital strings, harsh-sounding synthetic bass, and guitar sounds. Lyrically, the protagonist makes promises to fulfill her love interest's desires.

Initially chosen as the second single from Aaliyah, Aaliyah began promoting "More Than a Woman" with televised performances on Live with Regis and Kelly and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in July 2001. Due to premature radio support, "Rock the Boat" instead became the second single. After Aaliyah died in a plane crash on August 25, 2001, Blackground Records executives were uncertain about when they would issue the physical single for "More Than a Woman" and its accompanying music video. However, the song was released as the third and final single from Aaliyah on September 4, 2001, by Blackground and Virgin Records.

On release, "More Than a Woman" received generally favorable reviews from music critics, with many praising Aaliyah's vocal performance and the song's production. In the US, it achieved moderate success, peaking at number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100. Internationally, the song fared better, reaching number one in Croatia and on the UK Singles Chart, making Aaliyah the first female artist to obtain a posthumous number-one single on the latter chart. In 2003, "More Than a Woman" was nominated for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the 45th Annual Grammy Awards.

The accompanying music video for "More Than a Woman" was directed by Dave Meyers in early August 2001. It is a dance-heavy futuristic video that takes place inside a motorcycle engine. After its release, the video received acclaim from the music industry, winning Best Video at the 2002 MOBO Awards. Throughout the years, most critics have praised the video for its theme, fashion, and choreography.

Background and composition "More Than a Woman" was written by Stephen "Static Major" Garrett and Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley, being produced by the latter. Conceived during the recording of Aaliyah, the song was initially produced by Garrett. After recording its original version, Garrett kept going back and listening to the song, saying "I can do something bigger and better to it". Subsequently, he rewrote the whole song. Aaliyah wasn't present at the studio when Garrett recorded the original, so she never heard it.

NME writer Adam Bychawski said "More Than a Woman" was an "anthemic, 80s-tinged" song. It is composed in the key of C Major and is set in time signature of common time with a tempo of 88 beats per minute. According to Complex journalist Lauren Nostro it mixes "pop, electro, and a mesmerizing mid tempo hip-hop feel, which allowed Aaliyah's delicate vocals to take the spotlight". While, i-D journalist Emily Manning states that the song has a "daring" blend of pop and electronic influences. In a review of Aaliyah, Ian Wade from Dotmusic described the song as "Baroque liquid funk", and Jeff Lorez from Yahoo! Music described it as "breezy hip-hop/funk". Harrison Brocklehust from The Tab labeled the song as R&B and declared that it was "one of the greatest R&B singles to ever be released".

Micha Frazer-Carroll from The Independent stated, "Even at her most poppy, 'More Than a Woman' includes smooth and sweet self-harmonisation amid dark, minor-key strings". Kelefah Sanneh of The New York Times said the song features an "uncharacteristically dense arrangement of digital strings, synthetic bass and lissome rhythms". According to author Tim Footman the songs rhythm is built around "an insistent motif on a Güiro – a Brazilian percussion instrument that's scraped, rather than hit or shaken". In addition to implementing a variety of sounds, it also contains an initially uncredited sample from the Egyptian song "Alouli Ansa" by singer Mayada El Hennawy.

On the song Aaliyah's vocal range spans from G3 to D5, as she "sings breathily and economically" over the songs "grinding electronic backdrop" which also includes "a coda of dirty, squelchy synths". She makes "it look deceptively simple the way her understated vocals cut through a glitchy, complex Timbaland beat to take center stage". The song "creeps up on you, its charms gradually revealing themselves through Aaliyah's understated delivery". Lyrically, she "makes an odd promise to a lover: I'll be more than a woman" while, "professing that she "has everything her man is looking for, silencing his need to look further".

Release and promotion Having invested in the commercial performance of Aaliyah, Blackground Records and Virgin Records wanted a single with a high chart peak to help increase the album's sales. Its lead single "We Need a Resolution" (featuring Timbaland) had been released on April 13, 2001, but underperformed on radio and reached only number 59 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Originally, "More Than a Woman" was chosen as the second single; however, "Rock the Boat" began receiving heavy radio airplay. Aaliyah fought with the label and pushed for "Rock the Boat" to become the second single. Consequently, Blackground and Virgin serviced "Rock the Boat" to rhythmic contemporary radio in the United States as the second single from Aaliyah on August 21.

In August, Aaliyah filmed the accompanying music video for "More Than a Woman" in Los Angeles and then travelled to the Bahamas to film a video for "Rock the Boat". However, after its completion, she and several crew members who were returning to the US died in a plane crash on August 25. Although Blackground executives were initially uncertain when they would release the album's next single and video, In France, "More Than a Woman" was released as the second international single from the album on September 4. In January 2002, It was released in the UK as the albums second single, debuting at number 1 the week after release. In the US it was released as the airplay-only third and final single on April 30, 2002.

In August 2021, it was reported that Aaliyah's recorded work for Blackground (since rebranded as Blackground Records 2.0) would be re-released on physical, digital, and, for the first time ever, streaming services in a deal between the label and Empire Distribution. Aaliyah, including "More Than a Woman", was re-released on September 10.

Live performances Aaliyah first performed "More Than a Woman" on Live with Regis and Kelly on July 18, 2001, to promote Aaliyah. The second and final performance of the song took place on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on July 25; it was Aaliyah's final live performance before she died a month later. Rap-Up included her Tonight Show performance as one of her 10 greatest live performances saying, "In July 2001, Aaliyah appeared on the late-night talk show in what would be her last performance before her untimely death. And if that’s not enough of a reason to watch, let it be the flawless display of her lower register. Or her velour suit-clad band." While, Brian Lisi from New York Daily News commented on the performance saying, "Her voice delicate yet soulful, Aaliyah's "More Than a Woman" would still resonate despite the limitations of the Tonight Show stage recording."

Critical reception Brad Cawn from Chicago Tribune felt that Aaliyah had matured content-wise and described the song as being a "mid-tempo come-on". James Poletti from Dotmusic gave "More Than a Woman" a mixed review; he praised the song's production by saying it was one of Timbaland's finest productions but felt that the song was lesser compared to Aaliyah's previously released singles. Overall, he felt that the song did justice to Aaliyah's legacy and that it "reminds us that Aaliyah was a truly contemporary soul performer and will be sorely missed". Drowned in Sound writer Anita Bhagwandas gave the song a ten rating saying, "This record is not so much the best thing she’s done, rather a pertinent reminder of her ethos of pushing the boundaries and blurring the lines between the genres." Len Righi from The Morning Call, stated that "Aaliyah's sexy promises bring a dry-ice kind of heat to "More Than a Woman".

Music Week, gave the song a mixed review, as they felt that the song wasn't the best cut from Aaliyah's album, however they praised its Masters at Work remix calling it "particularly good"; nonetheless they declared "her talent continues to shine through". When reviewing Aaliyah, British publication NME described "More Than a Woman" as being "grandiose". Quentin B. Huff from PopMatters praised the production of the song by saying: "The production bumps and jerks, contrasting a smooth groove with the spikes and dips of its loops and cadences". He also felt that "Aaliyah manages to croon over this mechanical bull of a beat, and the lyrics are appropriately terse and frugal, as if she only needs a few key phrases to remind her significant other that she is in fact "more than enough for you."

In a review of Aaliyah, Luke McManus from the Irish publication RTÉ compared "More Than a Woman" to the work of French electronic music duo Daft Punk and praised her vocal performance. Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine felt that the song would make the perfect cartoon theme song, stating: "If the beyond-burgeoning actress was ever approached to play a cartoon superhero, the synth-heavy "More Than a Woman", with its millennium-ready empowerment and sensitive vocals, would make the perfect theme song for the fictional vixen ("You go, I go/'Cause we share pillows")". Joshua Clover from Spin praised the song by saying: "'More Than a Woman' isn't the Bee Gees song but pushes the jumpy tune until, finally, it meets you in the doorway (or is that the dance floor or the bed room?)". Variety writers labeled the song as timeless and felt that its influence could be heard in various songs such as Kehlani’s "Too Much" (2017) and Ari Lennox’s "BMO" (2019).

Accolades

+ Awards and nominations for "More Than a Woman" Year Award Category Result 2002 Teen Choice Award Choice Music – R&B/Hip-Hop Song 2002 MOBO Award Best Video 2003 Grammy Award Best Female R&B Vocal Performance

+ Rankings for "More Than a Woman" Year Publication Accolade Rank 2002 NME The Top 50 Tracks of 2002 2011 Rolling Stone Ten Best Apocalyptic Dance Music Videos 2015 Out A Music Video Herstory of the All-Girl Dance Routine 2020 The Guardian The 100 Greatest UK No. 1 Singles 2022 Billboard The 100 Greatest Songs of 2002: Staff Picks

Commercial performance In the United States, "More Than a Woman" entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 71 on February 2, 2002. It peaked at number 25 in its ninth week, spending a total of 24 weeks on the chart. It also peaked at number 11 on Dance Club Play chart during its sixth week on the chart, while peaking at number seven on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart in its 24th week. On June 15, "More Than a Woman" peaked at number 19 on the Mainstream Top 40. It also peaked at number 12 on the Rhythmic Top 40 chart on April 27. "More Than a Woman" was ranked at number 58 on the 2002 year-end Billboard Hot 100. Following its 2021 digital release, "More Than a Woman" debuted and peaked at number 40 on the US Digital Song Sales chart for the week of September 25, 2021.