"She Wants You" is a song originally performed by Slovak singer Dara Rolins. The song, written by Tim Lawson and Pam Sheyne, was issued on Rolins' studio album What You See Is What You Get in 1996. The song then became a hit single in 1998 when English singer turned actress Billie covered it.

"She Wants You"
Song by Dara Rolins
from the album What You See Is What You Get
Released1996
Length3:38
LabelAriola, BMG
Songwriter(s)Tim Lawson, Pam Sheyne
Producer(s)The Noisemakers
"She Wants You"
Single by Billie
from the album Honey to the B
B-side"It Takes Two", "Last Christmas", "So Deep"
Released7 December 1998 (1998-12-07)
Studio
GenreDance-pop
Length3:38
LabelInnocent, Virgin
Songwriter(s)Tim Lawson, Pam Sheyne
Producer(s)Wendy Page, Jim Marr
Billie singles chronology
"Girlfriend"
(1998)
"She Wants You"
(1998)
"Honey to the Bee"
(1999)

Background and release

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Originally sung by Slovak singer Dara Dara Rolins for her 1996 album What You See Is What You Get,[1] "She Wants You" became a hit single when English singer turned actress Billie recorded it. Her version was released in the United Kingdom on 7 December 1998 as two CD singles and a cassette single.[2] The first CD includes two cover songs as B-sides—"It Takes Two" by Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston and "Last Christmas" by Wham!—while the second contains various mixes of "She Wants You" plus an interactive element.[3][4] "Girlfriend / She Wants You" was the second single released from the Japanese edition on 10 March 1999.[5] In the United States, the song served as Billie's debut single.[6] The CD single released in the US contains two mixes of "She Wants You" and an interactive element of "Because We Want To".[7]

Reception

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The song received positive reviews from music critics. Yahoo! reviewer Rob O'Connor compared "She Wants You" to 1970s era disco music and wrote that the song is "greeting-card pop" with "factory beats designed for great dancing".[8] Heather Phares, in a review for Allmusic, called the song an "upbeat dance-pop tune" that "captures [Billie's] youthful energy and exuberance".[9] The single reached number three on the UK Singles Chart, becoming her third consecutive top-three hit.[10] The single also reached number four in New Zealand and was Billie's only song to appear on any US Billboard chart, peaking at number 23 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 and number nine on the Hot Dance Club Play chart.[11][12][13]

Music video

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"She Wants You" featured two music videos directed by Phil Griffin.[14][specify]

Original video

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The original video features Billie dancing on a stage in a green catsuit. Throughout the video she is surrounded by several colourfully dressed male dancers. There were cut scenes of Billie and some of the other male dancers mucking around the camera close-up. Innocent had to decide which video to include on the enhanced single and chose the other video.

Alternative video

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In the alternative video, Billie visits a drive-in with a group of girl friends. Scenes from the original video, which are featured as the film at the drive-in, are used as cut scenes. One by one her friends hang out with guys before Billie sees her 'perfect man'. Innocent had to decide which video to include on the enhanced single and chose this video.

Track listings

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Credits and personnel

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Credits are taken from the Honey to the B album booklet.[17]

Studios

Personnel

  • Tim Lawson – writing
  • Pam Sheyne – writing
  • Billie Piper – vocals
  • Wendy Page – backing vocals, production
  • Jim Marr – keyboards, programming, production
  • Yak Bondy – keyboards, programming
  • Pete Craigie – recording, mixing
  • Steve Cooper – assistant engineering (Ridge Farm)
  • Michelle Barry – assistant engineering (Marcus)
  • Matt Tait – assistant engineering (Metropolis)

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[24] Silver 200,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

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Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United Kingdom 7 December 1998
  • CD
  • cassette
[2]
United States 13 April 1999 CD [25]
27 April 1999 Contemporary hit radio [26]

References

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  1. ^ What You See Is What You Get (CD album liner notes). Dara Rolins. Germany: Ariola, BMG. 1996. 74321 26521 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. ^ a b "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 5 December 1998. p. 23. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  3. ^ a b She Wants You (UK CD1 liner notes). Billie. Innocent Records, Virgin Records. 1998. SINDXX6, 7243 8 95607 2 5.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  4. ^ a b She Wants You (UK CD2 liner notes). Billie. Innocent Records, Virgin Records. 1998. SINDX6, 7243 8 95563 2 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  5. ^ "ガールフレンド | ビリー" [Girlfriend | Billie] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  6. ^ Taylor, Chuck (1 May 1999). "16-Year-Old Billie Hopes to Pollinate a U.S. Career with Pop/Dance 'Honey'". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 18. p. 66.
  7. ^ a b She Wants You (US CD single liner notes). Billie. Innocent Records, Virgin Records. 1999. V25D-38658, 7243 8 38658 2 6.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. ^ O'Connor, Rob. "Yahoo! Music Album Review: Billie - 'Honey To The B' Archived 16 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Yahoo!. 18 May 1999. Retrieved 28 December 2008.
  9. ^ Phares, Heather. "Honey to the B > Review. Allmusic. Retrieved 28 December 2008.
  10. ^ a b "Billie: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  11. ^ a b "Billie – She Wants You". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  12. ^ a b "Billie Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  13. ^ a b "Billie Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  14. ^ "She Wants You" (CD single liner notes). Innocent Records. December 1998.
  15. ^ She Wants You (UK cassette single sleeve). Billie. Innocent Records, Virgin Records. 1998. SINC6, 7243 8 95562 4 7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. ^ She Wants You (European & Australasian maxi-CD single liner notes). Billie. Innocent Records, Virgin Records. 1998. SINCD6, 7243 8 95562 2 3.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  17. ^ Honey to the B (UK CD album booklet). Billie. Innocent Records, Virgin Records. 1998. CDSIN1, 7243 8 46614 0 3.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  18. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 219.
  19. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 15, no. 52. 26 December 1999. p. 7. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  20. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – She Wants You". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  21. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  22. ^ "Best Sellers of 1998 – Singles Top 100". Music Week. 16 January 1999. p. 7.
  23. ^ "Najlepsze single na UK Top 40–1998 wg sprzedaży" (in Polish). Archived from the original on 4 June 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  24. ^ "British single certifications – Billie – She Wants You". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  25. ^ "Billie: She Wants You". Radio & Records. No. 1293. 2 April 1999. p. 35.
  26. ^ "New Releases". Radio & Records. No. 1296. 23 April 1999. p. 44.