I Wanna Sex You Up

Charts and rankings

The song spent three weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart and reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100, behind both "More Than Words" by Extreme and "Rush Rush" by Paula Abdul. It was the 10th best-selling single of 1991 in the UK and the Number 2 song of the year in the US, and in 1992 the song won the group a Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul Single, Group, Band or Duo and Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul Song of the Year. It was ranked #40 on Blender's list of the "50 Worst Songs Ever" and VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the 90s".

Samples

The "to the tick tock ya don't stop" soundbite is sampled from Doug E. Fresh's "La Di Da Di." The bassline and the "I know you not gonna sing that song!" soundbite are sampled from Betty Wright's "Tonight is the Night." The chorus melody is from the Shuggie Otis song "Strawberry Letter 23".

A sample of "I Wanna Sex You Up" has been used in the Kardinal Beats remix of "Tick Tock" by Lemar.

Television

The song has been used in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place, and a 1991 episode of the daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives.

The music video played on an episode of Beavis & Butt-Head, in which Beavis calls Color Me Badd a "Super Suck Group", referring to group members Sam Watters, Mark Calderon, and Bryan Abrams as Kenny G, George Michael, and Snow respectively. Butt-Head also commented that if he "sang like a wuss" that he would get chicks.

It was performed by members of the Glee cast in the episode "Acafellas", and subsequently released as a bonus track on Glee: The Music, Volume 1, which was sold at Target.

Jimmy Fallon's The Ragtime Gals did a barbershop quarter rendition of the song for Late Night (NBC).

Gabriel "Fluffy" Iglesias did the song during an episode of Lip Sync Battle.

Films

The alternate hit version also appeared on the New Jack City soundtrack.

Track listings

1. "I Wanna Sex You Up" (master mix) — 4:05
2. "I Wanna Sex You Up" (smoothed out mix) — 3:38

1. "I Wanna Sex You Up" (smoothed out mix) — 3:38
2. "I Wanna Sex You Up" (smoothed out - long version) — 5:13
3. "I Wanna Sex You Up" (instrumental) — 4:04
4. "I Wanna Sex You Up" (master mix) — 4:05
5. "I Wanna Sex You Up" (freeze mix) — 4:06

1. "I Wanna Sex You Up" (smoothed out mix) — 3:39
2. "I Wanna Sex You Up" (smoothed out mix - long version) — 5:14
3. "I Wanna Sex You Up" (Instrumental) — 4:04
4. "I Wanna Sex You Up" (master mix) — 4:05
5. "I Wanna Sex You Up" (freeze mix) — 4:07

1. "I Wanna Sex You Up" (master mix)
2. "I Wanna Sex You Up" (smoothed out mix)
3. "I Wanna Sex You Up" (master mix)
4. "I Wanna Sex You Up" (smoothed out mix)

Official Versions

Personnel

Cover versions