You Had Me

"You Had Me" is a song by English soul singer-songwriter Joss Stone from her second studio album, Mind Body & Soul (2004). Written by Stone, Francis White, Wendy Stoker and Betty Wright, it was released on 13 September 2004 as the album's lead single. In addition to being Stone's biggest hit in the United Kingdom and an international hit, the song received a nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 2005 Grammy Awards, but lost out to "Sunrise" by Norah Jones.

Recording

"You Had Me" was recorded in New York City on the afternoon of 14 August 2003, with Nile Rodgers (from the Chic fame) on guitar, Jack Daley on bass, Cindy Blackman on drums and Betty Wright, who provided vocal assistance and co-produced the track. Two seconds after completing the recording and pressing the "save" button on the computer, the lights went out in the studio at 4:09 p.m., caused by the Great Blackout of 2003,^[1][2] which affected the Northeastern and the Midwestern United States, as well as the Canadian province of Ontario. Steve Greenberg, who also co-produced the track, remembers:

They played the song live in the studio for nearly fifteen minutes—it just kept going and going because the vibe was so exciting. Finally, the musicians finished this incredible take—which we knew was the keeper—and we pushed the 'Save' button on the computer. Literally two seconds after that button was pushed, the lights went out in the studio. Betty Wright said, 'You guys funked so hard, you blew the lights out!' Little did we know that we were in the middle of the Great Eastern Blackout of 2003. If the band had played for even another 30 seconds, we wouldn't have been able to hit the 'Save' button—and this magical take would have been lost forever!^[3]

Chart performance

"You Had Me", the first song with a writing credit from Stone to be eligible to chart, remains her highest-peaking and -debuting single in the UK to date; it debuted and peaked at number nine on the UK Singles Chart the week of 25 September 2004, spending eight weeks altogether on the chart and eventually becoming the UK's one hundred and forty-ninth best-selling single of 2004 with 40,000 copies sold.^[4] It saw similar success in the rest of Europe, reaching number four in the Netherlands (the single's highest peak position), number fourteen in Hungary, number fifteen in Italy and number twenty-one in Belgium. Elsewhere, it became Stone's first single to chart in Australia and Canada, where it peaked at numbers twenty-three and twenty-nine, respectively. However, like Stone's previous singles, "You Had Me" did not chart on any US Billboard chart.

Music video

The music video for the song, shot in New York City, was directed by Chris Robinson and released in August 2004. It opens with a man (named Anthony) arriving at his flat and calling Stone's name. He suddenly takes notice of a note stuck on the refrigerator. Then, the video shows what had happened thirteen minutes earlier: Stone at the flat, sitting by the window, anguishedly writing down things on a paper. During this scene, there are flashbacks showing that Anthony had been partying out with other girls in a sort of bar. He suddenly gets angry and overthrows a table, causing him to be expelled from the bar. The video comes back to Stone. After she left the note stuck on the refrigerator, she packed her things and left. In the corridor, the lift taking Anthony back to the floor opens just a few seconds after she passes by. Stone then heads for the Prince Street Station. Meanwhile, Anthony arrives at the flat and soon takes notice of the note on the refrigerator; he seems upset as he reads it. Soon after Stone leaves the underground, the video shows her walking through the city. She rings up a friend on a payphone, asking if she could come to her house; the friend answers that she "could always come over". The video ends with Stone singing the song's final lines while dancing on the roof of her friend's block of flats.

Track listings

Personnel

Charts

Release history

References