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Everything She Wants

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This article is about the Wham! song. For other uses, see Everything She Wants (disambiguation).

"Everything She Wants"
UK 7-inch vinyl variant of the standard picture sleeve
Single by Wham!
from the album Make It Big
A-side"Last Christmas"
B-side
  • "Like a Baby"
  • "If You Were There"
Released3 December 1984
Recorded
Genre
Length
  • 5:01 (album version)
  • 5:10 (short remix version)
  • 6:34 (long remix and video version)
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)George Michael
Producer(s)George Michael
Wham! singles chronology
"Last Christmas"
(1984) 		"Everything She Wants"
(1984) 		"I'm Your Man"
(1985)
Music video
"Everything She Wants" on YouTube
Alternative cover
UK 12-inch vinyl variant of the alternative picture sleeve

"Everything She Wants" is a single by the British pop duo Wham!, released in 1984 under Epic Records. The song was part of a double A-side release with "Last Christmas." Penned and produced by George Michael, a member of the duo, "Everything She Wants" garnered significant acclaim, marking Wham!'s third consecutive million-selling number-one hit in the United States.

Origin

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Writing

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Like most other Wham! songs from this period, it was written by George Michael. He discussed in the fall 1985 issue of ASCAP in Action:

"It's the only song I've written that successfully came from a backing track first. I wrote the Linn drum pattern and found a synthesizer program I liked and wrote the backing track in one evening, took it back to the hotel, and wrote the vocal in a hotel room the next morning. Because it was thrown together that way, I never looked at it as a single 'til everybody started saying it was great."[5]

Michael elaborated on the song's lyrics and the meaning behind them in Dick Clark's Countdown radio show:

"It's a lyric about a man who is six or eight months into a marriage which obviously isn't going well. He's faced with the 'happy' news of an arriving baby. So he's in that situation where he can't back out. [The song] talks about the situation [in which] many men find themselves, working really hard to support a family… and see it as a kind of trap. It's a situation I've seen. It's not the kind of thing I usually write about. Our lyrics are usually a lot closer to the kind of pop lightweight lyric we enjoy, but it's a departure, and I think it worked."[5]

Recording

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"Everything She Wants" was recorded in August 1984 at Marcadet Studios in Paris using a 3M 32-track recorder, and was most likely finished off at Sarm West’s Studio 2 in London after most of Make It Big had been finished at Studio Miraval in southeastern France over a period of six weeks.[2][6] The song was based around a mono 2-bar LinnDrum loop, originally intended as a guide but it was eventually kept on the finished record.[7] Despite being credited as a Wham! track, it's also a departure in the sense that Michael recorded the track entirely by himself (with engineer Chris Porter in attendance), as opposed to the typical process of involving session musicians and Michael conveying his ideas to them. Apparently, the musicians involved in Make It Big had already flown back to the UK when Michael came around to recording the track en route from Studio Miraval, so it was partly out of necessity he worked on it himself. According to Porter, "I think this was when George started to realise that if he wanted to, he could do everything himself. He could cut out all these other people and their ideas." This would pave the way for "Last Christmas", which followed the same approach.[8]

Michael confirms:

"For the most part I try and play everything [when writing and recording, but] it wasn't the case in Wham! Apart from [that] "Last Christmas" and "Everything She Wants" are all me."[9]

He added that both songs were made on one synthesizer, referring to a Roland Juno-60.[9][8]

History

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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 seasonal topicality.

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.

Cash Box said that the song is a "probing R&B cut" that is "perfect dance floor material".[10]

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.[citation needed]

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....

In September 2011, during the Symphonica Tour, at a concert at SAP Arena, Mannheim, Germany, Michael said that "Understand" featured on Twenty Five[11] was written as a follow-up to "Everything She Wants" with the man in the song realizing that his woman cared a lot more about love than he ever dreamed of.

"Everything She Wants" was featured on the official soundtrack album to Last Christmas released by Sony Music on CD, 2-disc vinyl, and digital formats on 8 November 2019.[12] The song was also featured in the 2013 video game Grand Theft Auto V on the in-game radio station Non-Stop-Pop FM.

Other versions

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Rapper Foxy Brown sampled the song on the track "I Can't" from her 1999 album Chyna Doll. [13]

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.[14]

In 2020, Alien Ant Farm recorded a rock remake the song. Its music video, shot during the COVID-19 pandemic, features cameos from artists like Insane Clown Posse, Hyro the Hero, Charlie Benante of Anthrax, CJ Pierce of Drowning Pool, and several others.[15]

Music video

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The official music video for the song was directed by Andy Morahan, and is black and white footage of a live performance.[16]

Personnel

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Track listing

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All tracks are written by George Michael

7": Epic / QA 4949 (UK)
No.TitleLength
1."Everything She Wants" (Short Remix)5:32
2."Last Christmas"4:24
12": Epic / QTA 4949 (UK)
No.TitleLength
1."Everything She Wants" (Long 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" (Long Remix)6:34
2."Like a Baby"4:12
7": Epic / 07-5p-336 (Japan)
No.TitleLength
1."Everything She Wants" (Remix)5:32
2."Like a Baby"4:12
3."Message from Wham!" 
  • Note: Track 1 plays 7" remix but is labelled only as "Remix"

Charts

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Certifications and sales

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Certifications for "Everything She Wants"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[40] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[41] Gold 400,000‡
United States (RIAA)[42] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ "History". Wham! World. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b Classic Tracks: George Michael ‘Faith’ Archived 29 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine – Producer: George Michael • Engineer: Chris Porter
  3. ^ "Top 40 New Wave Albums". Ultimate Classic Rock. 31 May 2023.
  4. ^ Mendizibal, Maya (28 December 2016). "George Michael's History on Billboard's R&B Charts". Billboard. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  5. ^ a b Bonson, Fred (1992). The Billboard book of number one hits. Billboard books. p. 608. ISBN 978-0823082988.
  6. ^ "George Michael Wham/solo songs comments & research". 12 January 2021. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021.
  7. ^ "Modern Recording & Music June 1985" (PDF).
  8. ^ a b Aroesti, Rachel (14 December 2017). "Still saving us from tears: the inside story of Wham!'s Last Christmas". theguardian.com.
  9. ^ a b "Faith: Legacy Edition (George Michael Interview Booklet, Part 3)". gmforever.com.
  10. ^ "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. 23 February 1985. p. 11. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  11. ^ Disc 3: For the Loyal
  12. ^ "'Last Christmas' Soundtrack Track List: See It Here". Billboard. 4 October 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  13. ^ "Foxy Brown – I Can't Samples".
  14. ^ "Pop music icon George Michael gives N7 permission to use one of his greatest hit songs". Naturally Seven. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  15. ^ "Alien Ant Farm Deliver Cameo-Filled Video For Wham! Cover". Loudwire.com. 29 May 2020.
  16. ^ Garcia, Alex S. "mvdbase.com – Wham! - "Wake me up before you go-go [version 1: concept]"". Music Video DataBase. Archived from the original on 8 July 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  17. ^ David Kent (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  18. ^ "Wham! – Everything She Wants" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  19. ^ "Wham! – Everything She Wants" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  20. ^ Lwin, Nanda. Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide (2000). Mississauga, Ont.: Music Data Canada
  21. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  22. ^ "Wham! – Everything She Wants" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  23. ^ "Wham! – Everything She Wants" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  24. ^ "Wham! Chart History". RÚV. 22 March 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  25. ^ "Wham! – Everything She Wants". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  26. ^ "Wham! – Everything She Wants". VG-lista. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  27. ^ "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  28. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  29. ^ "Wham! Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  30. ^ "Wham! Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  31. ^ "Wham! Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  32. ^ "Wham! Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  33. ^ "Wham! - Awards: AllMusic". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 21 June 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  34. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 6/01/85". Archived from the original on 10 January 2017. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  35. ^ "Contemporary Hit Radio" (PDF). Radio & Records. 24 May 1985. p. 88.
  36. ^ "Top 100 Singles 1984" (PDF). Music Week. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  37. ^ "RPM's Top 100 Singles of 1985". RPM. Vol. 43, no. 16. 28 December 1985. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  38. ^ Musicoutfitters.com
  39. ^ "Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1985". Archived from the original on 12 July 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  40. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Wham! – Everything She Wants". Music Canada.
  41. ^ "British single certifications – Wham – Everything She Wants". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  42. ^ "American single certifications – Wham! – Everything She Wants". Recording Industry Association of America.
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