"(It's Just) The Way That You Love Me" is a song recorded by American singer

Paula Abdul Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreograph ...

for her debut album '' Forever Your Girl'' (1988). Written and produced solely by producer Oliver Leiber, the song was originally released in its remix form as the second single from the album on August 2, 1988, by Virgin to minor success in the States. Following the breakthrough success of her next three singles, the song was re-released on September 15, 1989, under its original version to commercial success, becoming Abdul's fourth consecutive top three entry on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and to date, tying with "Straight Up" as her longest charting performance on the chart. The song, however, did not replicate the same success in the UK where it managed to peak at number seventy-four on the UK Singles Chart, thus becoming her lowest charting single in the region to date.

Composition

The song is performed in the key of

D minor D minor is a minor scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative major is F major and its parallel major is D major. The D natural minor scale is: Changes needed for t ...

with a tempo of 120 beats per minute. Abdul's vocals span from A₃ to D₅.

Chart performance

In June 1988, ''Forever Your Girl'' was released, along with the follow-up single "The Way That You Love Me". Virgin and Abdul's producers felt that it was necessary to remix the song for its single release, hence the addition of (It's Just) to the song's title; also, Karyn White's "The Way You Love Me" was out at this time, thus helping to avoid confusion among consumers. The song failed to attract much attention, despite its dance-pop remix. The song stalled at #88 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 but reached the top 10 of Billboard's R&B chart. In the UK, "The Way That You Love Me" was also Abdul's second single release,With the Wild Pair Marvin Gunn and Bruce DeShazer AKA Tony Christian on Background Vocals following "Knocked Out" in 1988. It failed to chart in the Top 100, although after the success of "

Straight Up Straight up is a bartending term referring to a chilled drink served in a stemmed glass without ice. Straight Up may also refer to: * ''Straight Up'' (book), by author, blogger, physicist and climate expert Joseph J. Romm * ''Straight Up'' (Ha ...

", " Forever Your Girl" and the re-release of "Knocked Out" in 1989, this song was also rereleased but it was not a success. It charted at #86 on 25 November 1989, going on to peak at #74 the following week, becoming Abdul's least successful single in the UK. In the autumn of 1989 in the US, "The Way That You Love Me" was re-released in its original edit. This time, it became a huge success, peaking at #3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. But it peaked one spot higher at #2 on the ''

Radio & Records ''Radio & Records'' (''R&R'') was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It started as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006 and became a relaunched sister ...

'' CHR/Pop Airplay Chart on December 2, 1989, blocked from the top by Milli Vanilli's "

Blame It on the Rain "Blame It on the Rain" is a song written by Diane Warren and performed by the German dance-pop group Milli Vanilli. It was released as a new track from the group's North American debut album, ''Girl You Know It's True'' (1989), and did not appear ...

". It was subsequently included as the demonstration song on several Casio keyboards (e.g. CT-670 ToneBank Keyboard).

Music video

The song's video was Abdul's first with director

David Fincher David Andrew Leo Fincher (born August 28, 1962) is an American film director. His films, mostly psychological thrillers and biographical dramas, have received 40 nominations at the Academy Awards, including three for him as Best Director. Fin ...

in July 1988, who would later direct her most successful videos. It consisted of Abdul dancing and singing with male dancers at a photo shoot, while expensive product shots were flashed in and out. It also featured Abdul's first tap dancing sequence, which she would use again in her videos for "Straight Up", "Opposites Attract", and "Forever Your Girl". A new video was made in August 1989 with the same director and theme for the single's rerelease. It consisted of less dancing and more interaction between Abdul and her material world.

Track listings and formats

US 12" #"The Way That You Love Me" (12" remix) #"The Way That You Love Me" (7" dub) #"The Way That You Love Me" (Houseafire mix) US cassette #"The Way That You Love Me" (7" Radio edit) #"The Way That You Love Me" (7" dub) US promo/Euro 5"/3" CD singles #"The Way That You Love Me" (7" Radio edit) #"The Way That You Love Me" (12" remix) #"The Way That You Love Me" (7" dub) #"The Way That You Love Me" (Houseafire mix; on the Euro 3" single, this mix is faded early, at 2:53)

Official mixes

* Album version – 5:21 * LP edit – 4:02 (re-released in 1989 used on Version 2 of video) * 7" radio edit – 4:07 * Single mix – 4:00 (Shorter version of 7", omits spoken part) * 12" extended remix – 6:55 * 7" dub – 5:11 * Houseafire Mix – 6:35 * Housefire Edit – 4:42 * Housefire Short Edit – 2:53 * UK Remix – 5:44 * 7" Dance Edit – 5:03

Charts

Weekly charts

Original release

Re-release

Year-end charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Its Just The Way That You Love Me 1988 singles 1989 singles Paula Abdul songs Cashbox number-one singles Music videos directed by David Fincher Songs written by Oliver Leiber Virgin Records singles 1988 songs New jack swing songs