Angel of Mine

1997 single by Eternal
the song by Eternal

"Angel of Mine" is a song by British R&B girl group Eternal from their first compilation album, Greatest Hits (1997). It was written by Rhett Lawrence and Travon Potts, produced by Lawrence, and released on 29 September 1997. The song became Eternal's 12th and final top 10 hit on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number four. "Angel of Mine" was the ensemble's final single as a three piece, as after its release, Kéllé Bryan left the group. In June 2019, "Angel of Mine" was ranked at number 91 on the Official Charts Company's "Top 100 Girl Band Singles of the Last 25 Years". In 1998, American singer Monica released a cover version that topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart for four weeks and peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot R&B Singles & Tracks chart. It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1999.

Pan European magazine Music & Media wrote, "With this lush number, Eternal confirm their status as the U. K.'s queens of the R&B ballad, at the same time offering a preview of their imminent Greatest Hits album, which is due for release on October 20." British magazine Music Week rated "Angel of Mine" five out of five, picking it as Single of the Week. It was described as a "lush, touching ballad, highlighting their vocal prowess", and, "It cannot fail." The magazine's Alan Jones declared it as "particularly uplifting and enjoyable."

RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)Ref. (Reference)United Kingdom29 September 1997CD, cassetteEMI Records, EMI, First Avenue Records, 1st AvenueJapan29 October 1997CDEMI

"Angel of Mine" was positively received by Chuck Taylor of Billboard, who called the song "unbelievable" and "absolutely stunning." He also noted its commercial potential, claiming "this song has #1 stamped across its heart." In a retrospective review of the song, Tom Breihan from Stereogum called the song "one more sappy ballad from a time that had no shortage of sappy ballads. But the song has stuck in my head a little more than a lot of the other sappy ballads from that time; the chorus melody is strong enough to pop up in my head whenever I see the song’s title." He further added: "Jerkins kept the sleek acoustic guitar line from Eternal’s version of the song — a sound so clean that it feels almost unreal. [He] also switched the tempo up a bit and added some subtle synth accents and some itchy drum machine programming. Those touches aren’t enough to keep "Angel of Mine" from sounding sleepy, but they were enough to set it apart from some of the other pop balladry that was on the charts at the time."

"Angel of Mine" was released on 9 November 1998 as the third single from The Boy Is Mine after Lawrence and Clive Davis had worked out a deal which would see Eternal release the song in Europe, while Monica would get to release the song’s Jerkins produced version in North America and Oceania. Following the success of her previous singles, "The Boy Is Mine" and "The First Night", "Angel of Mine" became the album's third consecutive release to reach the top of the US Billboard Hot 100 within nine months.