"Thinking About You"
Single by Norah Jones
from the album Not Too Late
B-side"2 Men", "Wish I Could"
ReleasedDecember 5, 2006 (U.S.)
January 16, 2007 (Europe)
Recorded2006 at The Coop
(New York, New York)
GenreBlues, jazz, soul
Length3:19
LabelBlue Note
Songwriter(s)Norah Jones, Ilhan Ersahin
Producer(s)Lee Alexander
Norah Jones singles chronology
"Sunrise"
(2004) 		"Thinking About You"
(2006) 		"Not Too Late"
(2007)
Music video
"Thinking About You" on YouTube

"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 Chart[14] 8
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 Chart 9
Swiss Singles Chart[17] 35
US Billboard Hot 100[10] 82

All-time charts

Chart (1995–2021) Position
US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)[20] 82

References

  1. ^ "Thinking About You by Norah Jones Songfacts". Songfacts. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
  2. ^ "I Like Music... for Media". Ilikemusic.com. Retrieved 2016-07-27.
  3. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (January 30, 2007). "Not Too Late - Norah Jones | Allmusic". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
  4. ^ Michel, Sia (January 27, 2007). "Not Too Late (2007) Review | Music Reviews and News | EW.com". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
  5. ^ Spencer, Neil (January 21, 2007). "CD: Norah Jones, Not Too Late | Music | The Observer". The Observer. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
  6. ^ Woods, Tom (January 29, 2007). "Norah Jones - Not Too Late | album reviews | musicOMH". MusicOMH. Archived from the original on May 24, 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
  7. ^ Fisher, Tyler (February 1, 2007). "Norah Jones - Not Too Late (staff review) | Sputnikmusic". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
  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. ^ a b "Norah Jones | Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-07-27.
  11. ^ "NEW RELEASE: Norah Jones "Thinking About You"" Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine. Videostatic.com. December 19, 2006. Retrieved February 10, 2007.
  12. ^ Ann Maloney "Irma Thomas' new CD finds her in good company" NOLA.com (29 Aug. 2008).
  13. ^ Steffen Hung. "Norah Jones - Thinking About You". Austriancharts.at. Retrieved 2016-07-27.
  14. ^ a b Steffen Hung. "Norah Jones - Thinking About You". Lescharts.com. Retrieved 2016-07-27.
  15. ^ "Norah Jones - Thinking About You".
  16. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-04-30. Retrieved 2016-03-29.((cite web)): CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  17. ^ a b "Norah Jones - Thinking About You: Charts - Music Square". Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-01-31.
  18. ^ "Classifica". Archived from the original on 2007-09-10. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
  19. ^ "Thinking About You by Norah Jones - Music Charts". Acharts.us. Retrieved 2016-07-27.
  20. ^ "Greatest of All Time Adult Alternative Songs". Billboard. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
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