Released in 2004 as part of the album Comin' from Where I'm From , the song became an R&B staple and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.

: The song begins with the narrator waking up to find a letter left by his partner, Charlene.

Anthony Hamilton has shared that "Charlene" was written from a real place during a time when his music career and his personal life were in direct conflict. He felt he couldn't lose himself as a "musical being," but that choice led to the heartbreak captured in the track.