Everything She Wants

"Everything She Wants"
Standard artwork (UK vinyl single)
Single by Wham!
from the album Make It Big
Released
  • 3 December 1984 (UK)
  • 5 March 1985 (US)
Format
Recorded 1984 – Paris and London[1]
Genre
Length
  • 5:01 (album version)
  • 5:30 (7" edit)
  • 6:29 (remix version)
Label CBS
Songwriter(s) George Michael
Producer(s) George Michael
Wham! singles chronology
"Last Christmas"
(1984)		 "Everything She Wants"
(1984)		 "I'm Your Man"
(1985)
Alternative cover
Artwork of the 1984 UK 12-inch vinyl single

"Everything She Wants" is a million-selling Gold-certified hit single by British pop duo Wham!, originally released in 1984 on Epic Records on a double A-side with "Last Christmas". It was written and produced by George Michael, one half of the duo, becoming their third consecutive million-selling number one hit in the United States.

Origin

Recording

"Everything She Wants" was recorded in Paris and London after a few other tracks for Make It Big had been finished at Studio Miraval in southeastern France.[2]

History

Upon release, "Last Christmas" took the majority of the attention and airplay as it was appropriate in early December as Christmas approached. However, the presence of an equally-billed flip side meant that radio stations had something else to play once "Last Christmas" had lost its topicality.

A five-minute song (there also exists a six-and-a-half-minute-long version with an added bridge), "Everything She Wants" is written from the angle of a man being disillusioned by the material demands of his partner, despite the amount of work he does to keep her happy. In a twist, the second verse takes the story a step further by revealing that the woman is pregnant but the man cannot find any happiness in the announcement because "if my best isn't good enough, then how can it be good enough for two?"

The presence of the Band Aid project meant that the double A-side peaked at number two in the UK Singles Chart, although in the process it became the biggest-selling record not to get to number one. However, in the USA, the song did reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and became the third number-one song in a row from 1984's Make It Big album.

Wham! had two more number-one hits in the UK before splitting at their height in 1986.

Although Michael bemoaned much of Wham!'s material as he began his solo career, "Everything She Wants" remained a song of which he was proud, and he continued to perform it in his shows. Furthermore, Michael remarked in an interview (to promote 25 Live tour) that "Everything She Wants" was his favourite Wham! song.

In 1996, the song was performed at the MTV Unplugged concert.

In 1997, the song was remixed and re-released as "Everything She Wants '97" for the greatest hits album The Best of Wham!: If You Were There....

Other versions

"Everything She Wants" was used as a sample on rapper Foxy Brown's "I Can't" from her second album, Chyna Doll, in 1999.

The a cappella group Naturally 7 sampled "Everything She Wants" on their 2011 song "Life Goes On", an arrangement that was personally approved by Michael.[3]

The song features in the 2013 video game Grand Theft Auto V as part of the radio station Non-Stop-Pop FM.

Court case

The song was mentioned in a landmark 1998 sampling copyright decision in the case of Santrayll v. Burrell.[4] US Federal Court Judge Peter K. Leisure concluded that MC Hammer had sampled music by another rap group (The Legend). The Legend admitted to sampling Wham!'s "Everything She Wants" (among other songs) and not disclosing the sampled works when filing for copyright registration.

Music video

The official music video for the song was directed by Andy Morahan, and is footage of a live performance in black and white.[5]

Track listing

All tracks written by George Michael.

7": Epic / QA 4949 (UK)
No.TitleLength
1."Everything She Wants" (Remix)5:31
2."Last Christmas" (Original 1984 7" version)4:24
12": Epic / QTA 4949 (UK)
No.TitleLength
1."Everything She Wants" (12" Remix)6:34
2."Last Christmas" (Pudding Mix)6:44
  • Also released in a limited edition with a 1985 calendar (WQTA 4949)
12": Columbia / 44-05180 (USA)
No.TitleLength
1."Everything She Wants" (12" Remix)6:34
2."Like A Baby"4:12
7": Epic / 07-5p-336 (Japan)
No.TitleLength
1."Everything She Wants" (Remix) 
2."Like a Baby" 
3."Message from Wham!" 
  • Note: Track 1 plays 7" remix but is labelled only as "Remix"

Charts

Certifications and sales

Region CertificationCertified units/Sales
Canada (Music Canada)[24] Gold 5,000^
United States (RIAA)[25] Gold 500,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ Classic Tracks: George Michael ‘Faith’ – Producer: George Michael • Engineer: Chris Porter
  2. ↑ Classic Tracks: George Michael ‘Faith’ – Producer: George Michael • Engineer: Chris Porter
  3. ↑ "Pop music icon George Michael gives N7 permission to use one of his greatest hit songs". Naturally Seven. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  4. ↑ Santrayll v. Burrell, No. 91 Civ. 3166, 1998 US Dist. LEXIS 586.
  5. ↑ Garcia, Alex S. "mvdbase.com – Wham! - "Wake me up before you go-go [version 1: concept]"". Music Video DataBase. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  6. ↑ David Kent (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  7. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Wham! – Everything She Wants" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Wham! – Everything She Wants" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  9. ↑ Lwin, Nanda. Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide (2000). Mississauga, Ont.: Music Data Canada
  10. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Wham! – Everything She Wants" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Wham! – Everything She Wants". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Charts.nz – Wham! – Everything She Wants". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Wham! – Everything She Wants". VG-lista. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Wham! Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Wham! Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  17. ↑ "Wham! Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Wham! Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Wham! - Awards: AllMusic". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 21 June 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  20. ↑ http://www.tropicalglen.com/Archives/80s_files/19850601.html
  21. ↑ "RPM's Top 100 Singles of 1985". RPM. Vol. 43 no. 16. 28 December 1985. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  22. ↑ Musicoutfitters.com
  23. ↑ http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/80s_files/1985YESP.html
  24. ↑ "Canadian single certifications – Wham! – Everything She Wants". Music Canada.
  25. ↑ "American single certifications – Wham! – Everything She Wants". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
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