"Teenage Love Affair" is a song by American R&B and soul singer–songwriter Alicia Keys from her third studio album, As I Am. Written by Keys, Jack Splash, Matthew Kahane, and Harold Lilly, it was released as the album's third single in March 2008. The song is listed number twenty three on the 100 Best Songs of 2007 published by Rolling Stone magazine.
Background and production
The track was produced by Keys and Splash and is based around a sample from The Temprees' 1972 song " I Love You", written by Josephine Bridges, Carl Hampton, and Tom Nixon. The song ranked at number twenty-three on Rolling Stones list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007, and was nominated for Song of the Year at the 2008 BET J Virtual Awards. It impacted mainstream urban radio on April 21, 2008. The song was a critical and commercial success in the US entering both the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Pop 100 charts and climbing to #3 on the Billboard Hot R&B Songs chart. Keys performed the song on Late Show with David Letterman on April 29, 2008. Swizz Beatz produced a remix of "Teenage Love Affair" featuring LL Cool J, using a sample from Slick Rick's 1988 song "Teenage Love". After failing to pick up sufficient airplay in the UK, the physical single was canceled there and the song charted at number one hundred and ninety-nine.
Music video
According to Keys' official website and official fan club, the music video for "Teenage Love Affair", directed by Chris Robinson, was filmed at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. Derek Luke plays Keys' love interest, and Anthony Hamilton, Jackie Long, Albert Daniels, Tristan Wilds, and Tanisha Scott make cameo appearances in the video as well. The video is based on Spike Lee's 1988 film School Daze, starring Laurence Fishburne, Tisha Campbell-Martin, and Kyme, among others. The video premiered across the U.S. on April 23, 2008 on MTV's TRL. That same day, Keys also appeared on BET's 106 & Park to premiere the video. BET placed the video at number forty on Notarized: Top 100 Videos of 2008 while BET J placed it at number fourteen on the Soul Sessions Top 50 of 2008. Giancarlo Esposito, the actor who portrayed Dean Big Brother Almighty in School Daze, makes a cameo appearance in the beginning of the video.
Synopsis
The music video starts off with Keys and Luke having a phone conversation. Then the video takes us back two weeks ago to when they first met. Two weeks prior, Luke, a male college student at Britton College is giving a speech about an epidemic in Africa. Then Keys, a female college student, joins the audience. Luke turns and stares at Keys, but doesn't finish his speech. Then everyone turns to Keys, realizing that she was Luke's distraction, and Luke finishes his speech. Then Keys and her friends are walking and dancing down a sidewalk on the college campus. The next part of the video shows Keys and Luke having a secret meeting on a staircase. Keys gives him a note, which is an invitation to the Britton College Talent Show later the same day. After that, Luke and his friends are playing cards. One of his friends reminds him about the talent show and Luke tells his friends that he has better things to do. Later that evening, Keys, in the talent show, is singing to the song with three back-up singers. Later that night, there is a pajama party at the college lounge. Luke who is at the party with his friends, is watching a female college student dance. Then Keys and two of her friends walk in with large overcoats. Luke notices Keys before she notices him. Once she has spot Luke, she notices that he is looking at the dancing girl. They both give each other "dirty" looks while Luke is feeling ashamed. Then Keys opens her coat, revealing her pajama party outfit, and followed by her friends, they start to dance, while Keys starts dancing next to a male college student who laughs at Luke. Later that night, Luke is headed to his room when he runs into Keys, and they start dating. The end of the video takes us back to the beginning, where Keys and Luke are having their phone conversation, which is shortened.
