Released August 27, 2002 Recorded 2001 Label Interscope Records | Format CD single, 12" Length 3:37 | |
Writer(s) Ludwig van Beethoven, Robin Thicke, Walter Murphy | ||
"When I Get You Alone" is the debut single by American singer Robin Thicke, released in August 2002. It was originally to be featured on his debut studio album Cherry Blue Skies, before being placed on a revamped version of that album called A Beautiful World.
Contents
Writing and inspiration
The track samples Walter Murphy's "A Fifth of Beethoven", which is based on Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. Songwriting credits thus went to "Murphy/Thicke".
Music video
The music video for the song featured an unshaven Thicke, with long, grungy hair, as a courier racing through the streets of Manhattan on a bicycle. It received some rotation on MTV2 and BET's Rated Next and was played moderately on pop and urban radio.
Chart performance
"When I Get You Alone" did not chart on any US Billboard charts, though it did reach number 49 on the Radio & Records Pop chart; however, the song charted well in other countries. It peaked at number 3 on the Belgium's Ultratop 50, number 5 on the Dutch Mega Single Top 100, number 8 on the New Zealand Top 40 Singles, number 15 on the Belgium Ultratop 50 and the Italy Top Digital Download, number 17 on the Australian ARIA Top 50 Singles (did not release until Mid-2003), number 60 on the Austrian Ö3 Austria Top 40, and number 62 on the Switzerland Singles Chart.
In popular culture
The song, along with Robin himself, was featured in a 2002 commercial for Sprite with appearances by Paula Patton and Andre Harrell.
The song received its most attention in the US in 2007, when American Idol runner-up Blake Lewis performed it during the top three. It has been a staple of other Idol productions as well, notably appearing on New Zealand Idol and Australian Idol.
This song was featured in the films The Rules of Attraction and Agent Cody Banks, in the episode "The Indicator" of Alias and also on October 19, 2008, the song was featured in an episode of Entourage. An a cappella version of this song is performed by Darren Criss and the Beelzebubs (playing the Dalton Academy Warblers) in the Glee episode "Silly Love Songs".