I Just Can't Stop Loving You

"I Just Can't Stop Loving You"
Single by Michael Jackson featuring Siedah Garrett
from the album Bad
B-side "Baby Be Mine"
Released July 20, 1987
Format 7" / 12" / CD single
Recorded May 1987
Genre
Length 4:25 (Album version)
4:17 (7" w/ spoken intro)
4:12 (7" w/o spoken intro)
Label Epic
Writer(s) Michael Jackson
Producer(s) Quincy Jones
Michael Jackson (co-producer)
Michael Jackson singles chronology
"Thriller"
(1983)		 "I Just Can't Stop Loving You"
(1987)		 "Bad"
(1987)
Bad track listing
"Man in the Mirror"
(7)		 "I Just Can't Stop Loving You"
(8)		 "Dirty Diana"
(9)
HIStory Begins track listing
"Bad"
(6)		 "I Just Can't Stop Loving You"
(7)		 "Man in the Mirror"
(8)
Number Ones track listing
"Thriller"
(5)		 "I Just Can't Stop Loving You"
(6)		 "Bad"
(7)
The Ultimate Collection track listing
"Man In The Mirror"
(3)		 "I Just Can't Stop Loving You"
(4)		 "Dirty Diana"
(5)
This Is It track listing
"Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)"
(7)		 "I Just Can't Stop Loving You'"
(8)		 "Thriller"
(9)
Audio sample
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"I Just Can't Stop Loving You" is a 1987 ballad by Michael Jackson featuring a duet with Siedah Garrett, and was the first single released from his seventh album, Bad. The song was written by Jackson, and co-produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. It reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, R&B and adult contemporary charts.

The song became the first of five consecutive number-one Hot 100 singles from the Bad album. It was Jackson's second number-one song on the AC chart (his first, coincidentally, had also been a duet: 1982's "The Girl Is Mine" with Paul McCartney).[1] It was released without an accompanying music video.

The presence of Garrett on the track was a last-minute decision by Jackson and Jones, after Jackson's first two choices for the duet, Barbra Streisand and Whitney Houston, both decided against participating. Garrett, a protégé of Jones's who co-wrote another song on Bad, "Man in the Mirror", did not know that she would be singing the song until the day of the recording session. It became her first hit since Dennis Edwards' 1984 song "Don't Look Any Further".

Jackson and Garrett later recorded "Todo Mi Amor Eres Tú", a Spanish-language version of the song, with lyrics translated by Rubén Blades, and "Je Ne Veux Pas La Fin De Nous", a French-language version, with translation by Christine "Coco" Decroix. All three versions are featured on the 2012 reissue album Bad 25. The original English-language version was re-released as a single in 2012, as part of the Bad 25 release.

Originally, the song featured a spoken intro by Jackson backed with a longer version of the opening music. According to Jackson, he recorded that part of his song while lying in bed. This intro was mixed out on the single, on future releases of Bad and on most compilation albums. However, an alternate version of this single was made available as a limited release through Walmart stores. It features Jackson's original mastered album version mix and spoken word intro for "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" now backed with another outtake "Don't Be Messin' 'Round."

Background and writing

For the duet ballad "I Just Can't Stop Loving You," Michael Jackson wanted to share vocals with Barbra Streisand or Whitney Houston. Both singers took a pass on the invitation.[2] The co-duet duties were given to Siedah Garrett who had previously dueted on former Temptations member Dennis Edwards' "Don't Look Any Further." Garrett first came to the attention of producer Quincy Jones after auditioning for and winning a spot in the group Deco. She later signed as a recording artist with Jones' Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution.[2] The singer was constantly sent song demos including one for "I Just Can't Stop Loving You," though she didn't know that the demo was a song written and sung by Jackson. While reporting for a recording session, Garrett thought that she was summoned to do overdubs for a song she'd co-written titled "Man in the Mirror." Instead she was surprised to learn that she'd been chosen to sing a duet with Jackson.[2] To some, the wispy ballad was reminiscent of Jackson's Motown classic "Got to Be There."[2]

The album version opens with Jackson cooing a tremulous spoken intro that goes, in part, "I just want to lay next to you for awhile [sic]. You look so beautiful tonight... A lot of people misunderstand me. That's because they don't know me at all. I just want to touch you and hold you..."[3]

Critical reception

Sputnikmusic's staff gave to the song 4 out of 5 stars, writing: "It's not one the most fondly remembered songs on the album but I've come to appreciate it more as I listen to it, especially the instrumentation at the start. It's a nice song really, the lyrics are a bit soppy but still it adds something different to the album and the vocals are top notch."[4] Richard Cromelin from Los Angeles Times was negative with the song, writing: "soliloquy is meant to be revealing, tender and vulnerable, but with his quivering timbre and the haunting music behind, it comes off a little creepy, like Norman Bates gearing up for "Psycho IV'."[3] Davitt Sigerson from Rolling Stone wrote a review about the song, commenting:

"Churls may bemoan 'I Just Can't Stop Loving You,' Jackson's duet with the often indistinguishable Siedah Garrett, as a second unworthy entry. Without descending to musical McCarthyism and questioning the honor of anyone who can fault a record with both finger snaps and timpani, it need only be asked, Who, having heard the song at least twice, can fail to remember that chorus?"[5]

Chart performance

"I Just Can't Stop Loving You" was the lead single from Jackson's much-anticipated Bad album. The single debuted on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart at #37, the week of August 8, 1987. The single was the highest debuting single of 1987, and quickly traveled to the top quarter of the Hot 100, advancing to #16 in its second week, and soaring to #1 in its seventh week on the tally, the week of September 19, 1987.

However, due to the album title track's quick release as a single (it debuted on the Hot 100 at #40 in the same week that "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" hit number one), the duet had a relatively short chart run and fell out of the top 40 just five weeks after topping the chart, spending a total of 11 weeks in the top 40. Billboard ranked it as #43 on the year-end Hot 100 chart for 1987.

The track spent three weeks at number one on Billboard's Adult Contemporary singles chart, becoming only the second Michael Jackson single to top that chart and the last one to date (although "Man in the Mirror" would come close to topping the chart when it reached #2 in 1988). In the United Kingdom, the song reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart for the week of August 11, 1987 and ranked #30 on the year-end UK tally.

In his autobiography, Moonwalk, Jackson stated the song was not written with someone in mind, but that he had been thinking of someone when singing the song live.

Live performances

Jackson performed the song on his Bad World Tour with background singer Sheryl Crow and on his Dangerous World Tour with Siedah Garrett. He also performed the song at the Royal Concert in Brunei with Marva Hicks. Live versions of the song are available on the DVDs Live at Wembley July 16, 1988 and Live in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour.

Jackson would have performed it on This Is It with Judith Hill, but the concert series was canceled due to his sudden death. However, this is a featured song in the movie Michael Jackson's This Is It. As a tribute to Jackson, Hill recorded and released a "sequel" to the song, entitled "I Will Always Be Missing You."

Chart performance

Chart (1987) Peak
position
Australian (Kent Music Report)[6] 10
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary[7] 1
Canadian RPM Top Singles[8] 2
France (SNEP)[9] 12
Germany (Media Control Charts)[10] 2
Irish Singles Chart[11] 1
Italy (FIMI)[12] 1
Japan Singles Chart (International Singles) 1
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[13] 1
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[14] 5
South African Chart[15] 1
Spanish Singles Chart 5
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[16] 2
UK (Official Charts Company)[17] 1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[18] 1
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary[18] 1
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles[18] 1
Zimbabwean Singles Chart[6] 1
Chart (2009) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[19] 59
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[20] 75
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[16] 40
UK (Official Charts Company)[21] 78
Chart (2012) Peak
position
France (SNEP)[9] 64

Releases

  1. "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" (7" version) – 4:12
  1. "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" (with spoken intro) – 4:17
  2. "Baby Be Mine" – 4:20
  1. "Todo Mi Amor Eres Tu" – 4:06
  2. "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" (7" version) – 4:12
  1. "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" (7" version) – 4:12
  2. "Baby Be Mine" – 4:20
  1. "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" (original album version) - 4:25
  2. "Don't Be Messin' 'Round" (demo) - 4:19

Mixes

  1. Album version / Original album mix* – 4:25
  2. 7" version – 4:11 *This version replaced the original version on the later releases of Bad
  3. "Todo mi amor eres tú" Spanish version – 4:06 (which means "You Are All My Love")
  4. "Je ne veux pas la fin de nous" French version – 4:06 (which means "I Don't Want the End of Us")
  5. Live version from Live at Wembley July 16, 1988, included in the deluxe edition of Bad 25 – 4:25
  6. "You Are Not Alone"/"I Just Can't Stop Loving You," remix included on Immortal – 6:08

Personnel

Covers

2012 reissue

"I Just Can't Stop Loving You"
Single by Michael Jackson featuring Siedah Garrett
from the album Bad 25
B-side
Released June 1, 2012
Format
Recorded May 1987
Length 4:25
Label Epic
Writer(s) Michael Jackson
Producer(s)
Michael Jackson singles chronology
"Immortal Megamix: Can You Feel It/Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough/Billie Jean/Black or White (Immortal Version)"
(2011)		 "I Just Can't Stop Loving You"
(2012)		 "Don't Be Messin' 'Round"
(2012)

On June 5, 2012, to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of Jackson's Bad album (on which "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" appears), the single was re-released to Walmart stores in the United States, but was denied a digital release.[28] The single included the original 1987 edit of "I Just Can't Stop Loving You," which included a spoken word intro that was removed from current versions of the Bad album, as well as "Don't Be Messin' 'Round," an untouched demo that was recorded for the album in 1986. On Billboard''s Hot Singles Sales Chart, which ranks the best-selling physical singles of the week, "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" debuted at no. 1 with 5,000 copies sold. This gave Jackson his first no. 1 single on a Billboard chart since 2003, when "One More Chance" spent three weeks atop the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Singles Sales Chart.[29][30] The vinyl single was released in USA on June 26, 2012.[31]

Track listing

  1. "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" (Album Version) - 4:23
  2. "Don't Be Messin' 'Round" (Demo) - 4:19
  1. "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" (with spoken intro) – 4:25
  2. "Baby Be Mine" – 4:20

Charts

Chart (2012) Peak
position
Hungarian Singles Chart[33] 6
Japan Hot 100[18][34] 94
Japan Oricon Singles Chart[35] 39
US Billboard Hot Singles Sales Chart[29] 1
Canadian Physical Singles Sales Chart[36] 1
Spanish Physical Singles Chart[37] 1
French Singles Chart[38] 64

Release history

Country Date Format
Germany June 1, 2012[39] CD single
Japan June 6, 2012[40]

References

  1. ↑ Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications), page 324.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Hogan, Ed. "I Just Can't Stop Loving You | Allmusic". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2013-03-25.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Cromelin, Richard (August 31, 1987). "Michael Jackson has a good thing in 'Bad'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2013-03-25.
  4. ↑ "Michael Jackson - Bad (album review) | Sputnikmusic". Sputnikmusic. April 23, 2006. Retrieved 2013-03-25.
  5. ↑ Sigerson, Davitt (2001). "Album Reviews: "Bad"". Rolling Stone (Wenner Media LLC). Retrieved 2010-02-07.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Craig Halstead, Chris Cadman (2003). Authors On Line Ltd, ed. Jacksons Number Ones. p. 66. ISBN 978-0755200986.
  7. ↑ "I just can't stop loving you in Canadian Adult Contemporary Chart". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  8. ↑ "I just can't stop loving you in Canadian Top Singles Chart". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Lescharts.com – Michael Jackson – I Just Can't Stop Loving You" (in French). Les classement single.
  10. ↑ "Officialcharts.de – Michael Jackson – I Just Can't Stop Loving You". GfK Entertainment.
  11. ↑ "I just can't stop loving you in Irish Chart". IRMA. Retrieved 20 June 2013. Only one result when searching "I just can't stop loving you"
  12. ↑ "The best-selling singles of 1987 in Italy". HitParadeItalia (it). Retrieved 20 June 2013.
    9. I just can't stop loving you - Michael Jackson & Siedah Garrett [#2]
  13. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Michael Jackson search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
  14. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Michael Jackson – I Just Can't Stop Loving You". Top 40 Singles.
  15. ↑ John Samson. "I just can't stop loving you in South African Chart". Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Swisscharts.com – Michael Jackson – I Just Can't Stop Loving You". Swiss Singles Chart.
  17. ↑ "1987 Top 40 Official UK Singles Archive - 15th August 1987". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 "Michael Jackson awards on Allmusic". Allmusic. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  19. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Michael Jackson – I Just Can't Stop Loving You" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  20. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Michael Jackson – I Just Can't Stop Loving You" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  21. ↑ "UK Singles Chart". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
  22. ↑ "My Shining Hour overview". Allmusic.
  23. ↑ Video on YouTube
  24. ↑ "YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved 2014-03-30.
  25. ↑ "Tropical Songs - Week of April 13, 2013". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2013-04-13.
  26. ↑ "Latin Hits". Monitor Latino. RadioNotas. Archived from the original on 2013-03-25. Retrieved 2013-03-25.
  27. ↑ "22nd Annual El Premio ASCAP 2014". ASCAP Latin Awards (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers). 2014-03-18. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 "Michael Jackson - I Just Can't Stop Loving You - Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH". Retrieved 2013-03-25.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 "Weekly Chart Notes: Carly Rae Jepsen, Michael Jackson, Eric Church". Billboard.com. 2012-06-16. Retrieved 2012-06-20.
  30. ↑ "Alan Jackson Scores Top Debut on Billboard 200, Adele's Back at No. 1". Billboard.com. 2012-06-13. Retrieved 2012-06-26.
  31. ↑ "I Just Can't Stop Loving You (VINYL): Michael Jackson: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-03-25.
  32. ↑ "I Just Can't Stop Loving You / Baby Be Mine: Music". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2014-03-30.
  33. ↑ "MAHASZ – Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége". mahasz.hu. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
  34. ↑ "Hot 100 JAPAN Charts｜publisher=Billboard JAPAN". Retrieved 2012-06-20.
  35. ↑ "キャント・ストップ・ラヴィング・ユー マイケル・ジャクソンのプロフィールならオリコン芸能人事典-ORICON STYLE". Oricon Style. Retrieved 2012-06-20.
  36. ↑ "CANOE - JAM! Music - SoundScan Charts". Jam.canoe.ca. Retrieved 2014-03-30.
  37. ↑ "Spanish Physical Singles Chart". PROMUSICAE. Retrieved 2013-03-25.
  38. ↑ "lescharts.com - Les charts français". PROMUSICAE. Retrieved 2012-06-20.
  39. ↑ "I Just Can't Stop Loving You: Michael Jackson: Amazon.de: Musik". Amazon.de. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
  40. ↑ "I Just Can'T Stop Loving You: Michael Jackson: HMV Japan:". hmv.co.jp. Retrieved 2012-06-06.

External links

Preceded by
"La Bamba" by Los Lobos		 UK number-one single
9 August 1987 - 23 August 1987 		Succeeded by
"Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley
Preceded by
"Love Power" by Dionne Warwick & Jeffrey Osborne		 Billboard Adult Contemporary number-one single
August 29, 1987 		Succeeded by
"Didn't We Almost Have It All" by Whitney Houston
Preceded by
"La Bamba" by Los Lobos		 Billboard Hot 100 number-one single
September 19, 1987 		Succeeded by
"Didn't We Almost Have It All" by Whitney Houston
Preceded by
"Love is a House" by Force M.D.'s		 Billboard Hot Black Singles number-one single
September 19, 1987 - September 25, 1987 		Succeeded by
"I Need Love" by LL Cool J