Thinking About You (Norah Jones song) explained

Thinking About You
Cover:Thinking About You (Norah Jones song).jpg
Type:single
Artist:Norah Jones
Album:Not Too Late
B-Side:"2 Men", "Wish I Could"
Released:December 5, 2006 (U.S.)
January 16, 2007 (Europe)
Recorded:2006 at The Coop
(New York, New York)
Genre:Blues, jazz, soul
Length:3:19
Label:Blue Note
Producer:Lee Alexander
Prev Title:Sunrise
Prev Year:2004
Next Title:Not Too Late
Next Year:2007

"Thinking About You" is the first single from Norah Jones' 2007 album Not Too Late. It was her first single to enter the Billboard Hot 100 in 4 years, since "Don't Know Why".

Background and composition

Jones wrote "Thinking About You" in 1999 with Ilhan Ersahin, her then-bandmate in Wax Poetic. She said the song had "always been in the back of my mind", but she thought it was too much of a pop song for her and preferred if someone else were to record it.[1] She recorded a version of it for her second album, Feels like Home (2004), but according to her it sounded "too country-rock". According to the producer, she "found a way to make it work" during the recording of Not Too Late.[2]

Critical reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic picked the song among the best tracks on the album, calling it a "wonderful laid-back soul".[3] Sia Michel from Entertainment Weekly called it a "safety-net single", with its sexy, cocktail-party swing, the tune could be her first real radio hit since 'Don't Know Why'."[4] Neil Spencer from The Observer commented that the song "looks like a conscious attempt not to scare the punters."[5] Tom Woods called it "a lovely pop song, with nostalgic lyrics."[6] Tyler Fisher from Sputnikmusic commented that the song is "a western jazz hybrid in the truest sense, with very country-styled melodies from the organ and Wurlitzer, but the jazzy horn section provides great countermelodies."[7]

Track listing

CD single

Europe

  1. "Thinking About You"
  2. "2 Men"
  3. "Wish I Could"

Commercial release and chart performance

Released in the United States on December 5, 2006 (see 2006 in music), "Thinking About You" was one of the first songs by a major artist to be available for paid digital download in mp3 format.[8] The single entered the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 at number eighty-two in early February 2007,[9] becoming Jones's first chart entry since "Don't Know Why" (2002). It was also her second single to appear on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[10] It peaked at number seventy in Germany.

Music video

The music video, directed by Ace Norton, was filmed on a soundstage at Steiner Studios in Brooklyn, New York with a cast of eight people, including Jones. According to videostatic.com, it contains elements from some of Norton's previous videos - for Peter Walker's "What Do I Know" (the "within the within" effect), Death Cab for Cutie's "Someday You Will Be Loved" (the animated heart) and Death Cab for Cutie's "Crooked Teeth" (the Claymation). The video premiered on December 19, 2006.[11]

Cover versions

Irma Thomas recorded the song for her 2008 album Simply Grand. Jones performed as a guest pianist on the recording.[12]

Charts

Chart (2007)Peak
position
Austrian Singles Chart[13] 49
Belgian Flanders Ultratip Chart[14] 9
Belgian Wallonia Ultratip Chart8
Dutch Singles Chart[15] 11
European Singles Chart[16] 40
German Singles Chart[17] 65
Italian Singles Chart[18] 5
Portuguese Singles Chart[19] 5
Spanish Singles Chart9
Swiss Singles Chart35
US Billboard Hot 10082

All-time charts

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Thinking About You by Norah Jones Songfacts. Songfacts. April 22, 2012.
  2. Web site: I Like Music... for Media . Ilikemusic.com . 2016-07-27.
  3. News: Erlewine. Stephen Thomas. Not Too Late - Norah Jones | Allmusic. April 22, 2012. Allmusic. Rovi Corporation.. January 30, 2007.
  4. News: Michel. Sia. Not Too Late (2007) Review | Music Reviews and News. April 22, 2012. Entertainment Weekly.. January 27, 2007.
  5. News: Spencer. Neil. CD: Norah Jones, Not Too Late | Music | The Observer. April 22, 2012. The Observer.. January 21, 2007.
  6. News: Woods . Tom . Norah Jones - Not Too Late | album reviews | musicOMH . April 22, 2012 . . January 29, 2007 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120524055703/http://www.musicomh.com/albums/norah-jones-2_0107.htm . May 24, 2012 .
  7. News: Fisher. Tyler. Norah Jones - Not Too Late (staff review) | Sputnikmusic. April 22, 2012. Sputnikmusic. February 1, 2007.
  8. Smith, Ethan and Wingfield, Nick. "In a Turnabout, Record Industry Releases MP3s". The Wall Street Journal. December 6, 2006, pg. B1. Retrieved February 5, 2007.
  9. Hasty, Kate. "Beyonce Makes It Ten Weeks At No. 1 With 'Irreplaceable'". Billboard. February 8, 2007. Retrieved February 8, 2007.
  10. Web site: Norah Jones | Awards . . 2016-07-27.
  11. http://www.videostatic.com/vs/2006/week51/index.html "NEW RELEASE: Norah Jones "Thinking About You""
  12. Ann Maloney "Irma Thomas' new CD finds her in good company" NOLA.com (29 Aug. 2008).
  13. Web site: Steffen Hung . Norah Jones - Thinking About You . Austriancharts.at . 2016-07-27.
  14. Web site: Steffen Hung . Norah Jones - Thinking About You . Lescharts.com . 2016-07-27.
  15. Web site: Norah Jones - Thinking About You.
  16. Web site: Archived copy . 2016-03-29 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070430193603/http://home.planet.nl/~laar2337/apc2/index.htm . 2007-04-30 .
  17. Web site: Norah Jones - Thinking About You: Charts - Music Square . 2007-01-31 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070929090310/http://www.musicsquare.net/charts/song/11758 . 2007-09-29 .
  18. Web site: Classifica . 2012-07-07 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070910094753/http://www.fimi.it/classifiche.asp?idtipo_classifica=3 . 2007-09-10 .
  19. Web site: Thinking About You by Norah Jones - Music Charts . Acharts.us . 2016-07-27.
  20. Greatest of All Time Adult Alternative Songs. Billboard. October 5, 2023.