“Waterfalls” is a song by American hip-hop group TLC, released by LaFace and Arista as the third single from their second album CrazySexyCool on May 22, 1995 in the United States, followed by a United Kingdom release on July 24, 1995.
Often considered the group’s signature song, “Waterfalls” was an international hit, topping the charts in many countries. The song spent seven weeks at No. 1 on the BillboardHot 100, giving the group their second US No. 1. The song was the No. 2 song of the year on the Billboard 1995 year-end chart. “Waterfalls” also peaked at No. 1 in New Zealand and Switzerland while reaching the top 10 in several other countries. “Waterfalls” received critical acclaim, earning two Grammy nominations at the 38th Annual Grammy Awards in 1996 for Record of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
The song addresses the illegal drug trade, promiscuity, and HIV/AIDS. Jarett E. Nolan of BMG noted that “Waterfalls” was the first number-one song to refer to AIDS in one of its verses. The song’s music video, directed by F. Gary Gray, reflected its socially conscious lyrics via a million-dollar budget and became an MTV staple that boosted the song’s success, staying atop the MTV Video Monitor chart for over a month (and making TLC the first act to do so) and winning four MTV Video Music Awards in 1995, including Video of the Year (making them the first African-American act to receive the trophy).
