If I Wanted To

"If I Wanted To"
Single by Melissa Etheridge
from the album 'Yes I Am'
Released	February 1995
Format	CD single Cassette
Recorded	A&M Studios, Los Angeles
Genre	Rock, Pop
Length	3:55 (Album Version) 3:35 (Edit)
Label	Island Records
Songwriter(s)	Melissa Etheridge
Producer(s)	Melissa Etheridge Hugh Padgham
Melissa Etheridge singles chronology
"All American Girl" (1994) "If I Wanted To" (1995) "Your Little Secret" (1995)
"All American Girl" (1994) "If I Wanted To" (1995) "Your Little Secret" (1995)

"If I Wanted To" is a song by American singer, Melissa Etheridge. It was released in 1995 as the final single from Etheridge's 1993 studio album, Yes I Am.

"If I Wanted To", which was released as the two-sided single "If I Wanted To / Like the Way I Do", debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1995 at No. 25, making it the highest-debuting single of 1995.^[1] The single's debut was the best for any song since Boyz II Men's "On Bended Knee" debuted at No. 14 in November 1994.^[1] Fred Bronson of Billboard wrote, at the time, that with the single's record debut, "Melissa Etheridge continues to solidify her new status as a chart superstar with the highest-debuting single of 1995."^[1]

"If I Wanted To" peaked at #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1995.^[2] Strong singles sales in March 1995 for TLC's "Red Light Special," Real McCoy's "Run Away," and The Notorious B.I.G.'s "Big Poppa" prevented "If I Wanted To" from rising higher on the Hot 100, despite widespread airplay on major U.S. radio stations.^[3]

Music video

The single's music video was directed by Samuel Bayer.

Charts

References