Finally – Ce Ce Peniston | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning

Chart Performance: Pop (#5) & R&B (#26); 1992

Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne

Miss Black Arizona 1989. A personal appearance for Pope John Paul II. The first female entertainer to perform in South Africa after the abolition of apartheid. Ce Ce Peniston has certainly amassed an impressive resume since her birth in Dayton, Ohio in 1969.

Her family moved to Arizona when she was nine, and Ce Ce pursued a music career after graduating from Phoenix College. Her debut single, Finally, featured a driving dancehall groove known as house music.

Finally began its 11 week climb to the Top 10 in September, 1991, peaked at #5 in January, and finished up with 33 weeks on the Hot 100, second only to John Secada’s 37 for Just Another Day.

One of Ce Ce’s crowning moments came when Finally was featured at the closing ceremony for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.

Produced by:

• Felipe Delgado
• Kelsey

Lyrics Written by:

• CeCe Peniston
• Felipe Delgado
• E.L. Linnear
• Rodney Jackson

Awards:

• CeCe Peniston received multiple awards for her debut album “Finally,” including three ASCAP awards, three WMC awards, one Billboard Music Video Award, and a BMI Award.
• “Finally” received a nomination for a Soul Train Music Award in the Best R&B/Soul Album – Female category.
• Received a Grammy Award nomination in 1993 for “Finally” in the Urban Award of Achievement category.