Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 10, 2026

Differences (song)

"Differences" is an R&B song by American singer Ginuwine. It was written by him alongside producer Troy Oliver and recorded for Ginuwine's third studio album, The Life (2001). Released as the album's second single in June 2001, the song spent four weeks at number one on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart and peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100. It was ranked at numbers 50 and 68 in the 2001 and 2002 on the Billboard year-end rankings, respectively, and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). American rapper Pop Smoke sampled "Differences" for his 2020 song "What You Know Bout Love".

Last revised
Jul 10, 2026
Read time
≈ 4 min
Length
988 w
Citations
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Source
Wikipedia ↗
"Differences"
Single by Ginuwine
from the album The Life
ReleasedJune 12, 2001 (2001-06-12)1
GenreR&B2
Length
  • 4:25 (album version)
  • 4:08 (radio edit)
LabelEpic
Songwriters
ProducerTroy Oliver
Ginuwine singles chronology
"There It Is"
(2001) 		"Differences"
(2001) 		"Just Because"
(2001)
Music video
"Differences" on YouTube

"Differences" is an R&B song by American singer Ginuwine. It was written by him alongside producer Troy Oliver and recorded for Ginuwine's third studio album, The Life (2001). Released as the album's second single in June 2001, the song spent four weeks at number one on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart and peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100. It was ranked at numbers 50 and 68 in the 2001 and 2002 on the Billboard year-end rankings, respectively, and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). American rapper Pop Smoke sampled "Differences" for his 2020 song "What You Know Bout Love".3

Background

"Differences" was written by Ginuwine along with Troy Oliver, while production was helmed by the latter.4 In an interview with Blogcritics, Ginuwine commented on the background to the track: "That song was really during a time when I was going through a depressed state because of my dad and my mom had passed. We're writing a whole bunch of songs [...] I said, 'I'm going to write a song about [my wife]', and it happened to be a song that a lot of people wanted to sing to their wives when they were getting married. It's just one of those songs that will always be here. I'm just happy I'm the one that did it."5

Chart performance

Released as the second single from The Life, "Differences" peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart on the week of October 6, 2001, becoming his second single to do so.6 A precedent on the chart, it became the first track to reach the summit without a physical single being available at retail.6 In New Zealand, "Differences" was released as a double A-side with previous single "Just Because", reaching number 20 on the RIANZ Singles Chart.7

Music video

A music video for "Differences" was directed by Hype Williams.8 A special effects-heavy clip,8 Ginuwine elaborated on the video shooting in an interview with MTV News: "Actually, the game plan going into [the shoot] was [to] talk to God. Williams was like, 'Look man this gotta be heartfelt. People gotta know you mean this.' He was saying, 'The only way they're gonna know you're meaning it is if you close your eyes and you just talk to God.' I was very skeptical about it 'cause I was just [in front of] a green screen all day. I just had to imagine – he was just telling me what is gonna be where."8

Track listing

CD single910
No.TitleProducer(s)Length
1."Differences" (album version)Troy Oliver4:26
2."Differences" (Kenny Diaz mix)
  • Oliver
  • Kenny Diaz[a]
3:59
3."Differences" (Mike Rizzo radio mix)
3:29
4."Differences" (video)  

Notes

  • ^a denotes additional producer

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ)24 Platinum 30,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)25 Silver 200,000‡
United States (RIAA)26 Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

References

  1. "Going for Adds". Radio & Records. No. 1405. June 8, 2001. pp. 51, 63.
  2. Richards, Chris (February 13, 2019). "'Pony' is forever — but Ginuwine hopes you remember him for another song". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 1330888409.
  3. Schwartz, Danny (July 6, 2020). "Pop Smoke's Endless Summer Continues on 'Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  4. The Life (booklet). Epic Records. 2001.
  5. "Differences". songfacts.com. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  6. "Single Minded". Billboard. October 6, 2001. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  7. "Ginuwine – Just Because / Differences". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  8. Reid, Shaheem (June 11, 2001). "Ginuwine's Career Peaking Just When He Needed It Most". MTV News. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  9. Differences - Ginuwine Music - Yahoo! Shopping yahoo.com. Retrieved October 25, 2008
  10. allmusic (Differences > Overview) allmusic.com. Retrieved October 25, 2008
  11. "Tipparade-lijst van week 6, 2002" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  12. "Ginuwine – Differences" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  13. "Ginuwine Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  14. "Ginuwine Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  15. "Ginuwine Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  16. "Ginuwine Chart History (Rhythmic Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  17. "Billboard Top 100 – 2001". Billboardtop100of.com. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  18. "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs: 2001". Billboard. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  19. "Most-Played Rhythmic Top 40 Songs of 2001". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 9, no. 51. December 21, 2001. p. 48.
  20. "Billboard Top 100 – 2002". Billboardtop100of.com. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  21. "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs: 2002". Billboard. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  22. "Most-Played Mainstream Top 40 Songs of 2002". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 10, no. 51. December 20, 2002. p. 12.
  23. "Most-Played Rhythmic Top 40 Songs of 2002". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 10, no. 51. December 20, 2002. p. 22.
  24. "New Zealand single certifications – Ginuwine – Differences". Radioscope. Retrieved May 5, 2025. Type Differences in the "Search:" field and press Enter.
  25. "British single certifications – Ginuwine – Differences". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved September 15, 2024. Select singles in the Formats field. Type Differences Ginuwine in the "Search:" field.
  26. "American single certifications – Ginuwine – Differences". Recording Industry Association of America.