Format 7"
12" Label CBS | Recorded 1984 | |
Released 10 December 1984 (UK)
5 March 1985 (US) Genre Pop
post-disco
new wave Length 5:01 (album version)
5:30 (7" edit)
6:29 (remix version) | ||
"Everything She Wants" is a million-selling Gold-certified hit single by British pop duo Wham!, originally released in 1984 on Columbia 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.
Contents
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 the summit of the Billboard Hot 100, and became the third number-one song in a row from 1984's Make It Big album.
Wham! would go on to have 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" is 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....
"Everything She Wants" was used as a sample on Foxy Brown's "I Can't" from her sophomore 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.
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 also mentioned in a landmark 1998 sampling copyright decision in the case of Santrayll v. Burrell. 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.
Track listing
All tracks written by George Michael.