"Everything She Wants" is a song by British pop duo
Wham!
Wham! (briefly known in the US as Wham! U.K.) were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981. The duo consisted of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They became one of the most commercially successful pop acts of the 1980s, selling mor ...
, originally released as a single in 1984 on
Epic Records on a double A-side with "
Last Christmas
"Last Christmas" is a song by British pop duo Wham!, originally released in December 1984 on CBS Records International, CBS Records internationally and as a double A-side and B-side, A-side on Epic Records with "Everything She Wants" in the UK ...
". 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.
Origin
Writing
Like most other Wham! songs from this period, it was written by George Michael. He discussed in the Fall 1985 issue of ASCAP In Action:
Michael elaborated on the song's lyrics and the meaning behind them in
Dick Clark
Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American radio and television personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting '' American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 19 ...
's Countdown radio show:
Recording
"Everything She Wants" was recorded in August 1984 at Marcadet Studios in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
using a 3M 32-track recorder and was most likely finished off at
Sarm West’s Studio 2 in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
after most of ''Make It Big'' had been finished at
Studio Miraval in southeastern
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
over a period of six weeks.
[Classic Tracks: George Michael ‘Faith’](_blank)
– Producer: George Michael • Engineer: Chris Porter The song was based around a mono 2-bar
LinnDrum
The LinnDrum, also referred to as the LM-2, is a drum machine manufactured by Linn Electronics between 1982 and 1985. About 5,000 units were sold.
Its high-quality samples, flexibility and affordability made the LinnDrum popular; it sold far m ...
loop, which wasn’t intended as the "keeper drum part" initially but it was eventually used for the finished record.
Despite being credited as a Wham! track, it's also a departure in the sense that George Michael recorded the track entirely by himself (with engineer Chris Porter in attendance), as opposed to the typical procedure of using session musicians to realise his ideas (which he did for most of the ''Make It Big'' record). According to Porter, “I think this was when George started to realise that if he wanted to, he could do everything himself. He could cut out all these other people and their ideas.” This would pave way for
Last Christmas
"Last Christmas" is a song by British pop duo Wham!, originally released in December 1984 on CBS Records International, CBS Records internationally and as a double A-side and B-side, A-side on Epic Records with "Everything She Wants" in the UK ...
, which would be recorded the same month using the same approach.
Plus, all the musicians that had participated in the Marcadet sessions had already flown back to the UK by the time Michael came around to recording it, so perhaps there wasn’t any point in hiring any more session musicians.
[
Michael confirms:
He added that both songs were all made on one synthesizer, referring to a ]Roland Juno-60
The Roland Juno-60 is an analog synthesizer manufactured by the Roland Corporation between 1982 and 1984. It followed the Juno-6, an almost identical synthesizer released months earlier. The Juno synthesizers introduced Roland's digitally contr ...
.[
]
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.
The presence of the Band Aid project meant that the double A-side peaked at number two in the UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
, although in the process it became the biggest-selling record not to get to number one. However, in the USA
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, the song did reach number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and became the third number-one song in a row from 1984's ''Make It Big
''Make It Big'' is the second and final studio album from British pop duo Wham!, released in 1984. In comparison to their earlier work, Wham! (George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley) had more control over the album's production and Michael would a ...
'' album.
Wham! had two more number-one hits in the UK before splitting at their height in 1986.
'' Cash Box'' said that the song is a "probing R&B cut" that is "perfect dance floor material".
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" was his favourite Wham!
Wham! (briefly known in the US as Wham! U.K.) were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981. The duo consisted of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They became one of the most commercially successful pop acts of the 1980s, selling mor ...
song.
In 1996, the song was performed at the ''MTV Unplugged
''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV showcasing musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999 and less frequently from 2000 to 2009, when it was usually billed as ''MTV Un ...
'' 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...''.
In September 2011 during the Symphonica Tour, at a concert at SAP Arena
SAP Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Mannheim, Germany. It is primarily used for ice hockey and handball, and is the home arena of the Adler Mannheim ice hockey club and the Rhein-Neckar Löwen handball club. Inaugurated in 2005, the arena h ...
, Mannheim
Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's ...
, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, George Michael said that "Understand" featured on ''Twenty Five'' was written as a follow-up to "Everything She Wants" with the man in the song realizing that his woman cared a lot more about love than he ever dreamed of.
"Everything She Wants" was featured on the official soundtrack album to Last Christmas
"Last Christmas" is a song by British pop duo Wham!, originally released in December 1984 on CBS Records International, CBS Records internationally and as a double A-side and B-side, A-side on Epic Records with "Everything She Wants" in the UK ...
released by Sony Music
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainme ...
on CD, 2-disc vinyl
Vinyl may refer to:
Chemistry
* Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer
* Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation
* Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry
* Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...
, and digital formats on 8 November 2019.
Other versions
The a cappella group Naturally 7
Naturally 7 is an American music group with a distinct a cappella style they call "vocal play," which, according to group leader Roger Thomas, is "the art of becoming an instrument using the human voice to create the sound." They simulate the s ...
sampled "Everything She Wants" on their 2011 song "Life Goes On", an arrangement that was personally approved by Michael.
In 2020, Alien Ant Farm
Alien Ant Farm is an American rock band that formed in Riverside, California in 1996. They have released five studio albums and sold over 5 million units worldwide. The band's cover of Michael Jackson's " Smooth Criminal" topped the ''Billboard ...
recorded a rock remake the song. Its music video, shot during the COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
pandemic, features cameos from artists like Insane Clown Posse, Hyro the Hero, Charlie Benante of Anthrax, CJ Pierce of Drowning Pool
Drowning Pool is an American rock band formed in Dallas, Texas, in 1996. The band was named after the 1975 film '' The Drowning Pool''. Since its formation, the band has consisted of guitarist C.J. Pierce, bassist Stevie Benton, and drummer M ...
, and several others.
Music video
The official music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...
for the song was directed by Andy Morahan
Andrew Douglas Morahan (born 11 August 1958) is a British commercial, film and music video director. He is the son of director Christopher Morahan and the half-brother of actress Hattie Morahan.
Married to Joanna Lewis, he has two children.
...
, and is footage of a live performance in black and white.
Track listing
* Also released in a limited edition with a 1985 calendar (WQTA 4949)
*Note: Track 1 plays 7" remix but is labelled only as "Remix"
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications and sales
References
External links
*
{{authority control
1984 songs
1984 singles
1985 singles
Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
Cashbox number-one singles
CBS Records singles
Music videos directed by Andy Morahan
Number-one singles in Iceland
RPM Top Singles number-one singles
Songs written by George Michael
Song recordings produced by George Michael
Wham! songs