Back & Forth (Aaliyah song)

"Back & Forth" is the debut single performed by American singer Aaliyah for her debut studio album, Age Ain't Nothing but a Number (1994). The song was written and produced by R&B singer R. Kelly, and lyrically the song is about a teenager's excitement for partying on the weekend with friends. "Back and Forth" has been described as being a dance/pop/R&B and new jack swing song. Aaliyah sings in a "laid back" style. Blackground and Jive released the song as the album's lead single on April 8, 1994, to generally positive reviews with many critics praising the song's lyrical content and Aaliyah's vocal delivery on the record.

Commercially "Back & Forth" performed well peaking at number five on the US Billboard Hot 100 on the week ending on July 2, 1994. The song was just as successful on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart where it topped the charts on the week ending on May 21, 1994, eventually spending a total of 3 weeks at number one on the chart. The song also topped the Rhythmic top 40 charts on the week ending on July 9, 1994. On June 9, 1994, the song was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Towards the end of 1994 Billboard reported that the song had sold over 700,000 copies.

Internationally "Back & Forth" performed moderately well peaking within the top 20 at number 16 on the UK's official chart. Also in the UK the song peaked within the top 20 at number 16 on the Official Dance Chart. Elsewhere in Europe the song peaked within the top 40 at number 38 in the Netherlands. The song's accompanying music video was directed by Millicent Shelton in Aaliyah's hometown of Detroit. The actual video location was at Aaliyah's high school and on the day of the video shoot many local teens were recruited to be in multiple scenes of the video.