"He Loves U Not" is a song by American girl group

Dream A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...

. It was released on August 22, 2000, as the group's debut single and is featured on their debut album, '' It Was All a Dream'' (2001). The song was written in 1999 by

Steve Kipner Stephen Alan Kipner (born 1950) is an American-born Australian songwriter and record producer, with hits spanning a 40-year period, including chart-topping songs such as Olivia Newton-John's "Physical", Natasha Bedingfield's "These Words", an ...

, David Frank and Pamela Sheyne, with the former two doing the production. A pop and R&B song, "He Loves U Not" is about a girl confronting another girl trying to steal her boyfriend. An early version of the song started with a young girl's voice saying "He loves me, he loves you not," but was removed from both album and single versions, with the phrase "He loves you not" being heard at the end of the album version. "He Loves U Not" received mixed reviews from critics who gave credit to the production and lyrics but felt that it was derivative compared to other songs of its time. The song peaked at number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart for two weeks, behind

Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final line-up comprised Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Houston, Texas. After years of limited ...

's "

Independent Women "Independent Women Part I" is a song recorded by American group Destiny's Child for the soundtrack to the 2000 film adaptation of the television program '' Charlie's Angels''. It was written and produced by production duo Poke & Tone, consisti ...

". It also peaked at numbers three, nine, and 15 on the

Mainstream Top 40 Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/contemporary hit radio, CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played o ...

Rhythmic Rhythmic may refer to: * Related to rhythm * Rhythmic contemporary, a radio format * Rhythmic adult contemporary, a radio format * Rhythmic gymnastics, a form of gymnastics * Rhythmic (chart) The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, and ...

, and

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

charts, respectively. Worldwide, it reach the top 40 in several countries, including Canada, New Zealand, Norway, and the United Kingdom. The song was

certified Gold Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) for selling over 500,000 copies in the United States. An accompanying

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 promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for the song, directed by

Marcus Raboy Marcus Raboy (born November 30, 1965) is an American film and music video director. Since the early 1990s, Raboy has amassed a large number music video credits directing music videos for Mary J. Blige, Dixie Chicks, Rihanna, Luther Vandros ...

, premiered on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's ''

Total Request Live ''Total Request Live'' (known commonly as ''TRL'') was an American television program broadcast on MTV that premiered on September 14, 1998. TRL featured popular music videos played during its countdown, and was also used as a promotion tool by ...

'' and features the girls dancing in three different settings: a white room with the Dream logo behind them, a California desert and a rotating white room. They first performed the song live by touring with fellow pop group *NSYNC on their

No Strings Attached Tour The No Strings Attached Tour was the third concert tour by American boy band, NSYNC. Primarily visiting North America, the tour supported the band's second studio album '' No Strings Attached''. Beginning in May 2000, the tour sold out all dates ...

. They made their television debut performing the song live on ''TRL'' and would make later appearances at ''

Live with Regis ''Live with Kelly and Ryan'' (or simply ''Live'') is an American syndicated morning talk show hosted by Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest. Executive produced by Michael Gelman, the ''Live with...'' show formula has aired under various hosts sinc ...

'', ''

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014. The fourth incarnation of the ...

'', ''

The Rosie O'Donnell Show ''The Rosie O'Donnell Show'' is an American daytime variety television talk show created, hosted, and produced by actress and comedian Rosie O'Donnell. It premiered on June 10, 1996, and concluded after six seasons on May 22, 2002. This talk sh ...

'', the 2001

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Summer Jam Concert, ''

The Early Show ''The Early Show'' is an American morning television show that aired on CBS from November 1, 1999 to January 7, 2012, and the ninth attempt at a morning news-talk program by the network since 1954. The program aired Monday through Friday from ...

'' and the 7th Annual

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Content

Upon Dream's signing to

P. Diddy Sean Combs (born Sean John Combs; November 4, 1969), also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, or Diddy, is an American rapper, actor, record producer, and record executive. Born in New York City, he worked as a talent directo ...

Bad Boy Entertainment Bad Boy Records (or Bad Boy Entertainment) is an American record label founded in 1993 by rapper Sean "Puffy" Combs. It operates as an imprint of Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. It has been home to many artists, including ...

, the quartet recorded "He Loves U Not" as their breakthrough single, setting aside previously recorded songs "Do U Wanna Dance," "Baby," and "Miss You" that they had done while signed to Clockwork Entertainment with Judith Fontaine as their manager. Lead vocals are performed by Holly Arnstein with speaking breaks by Melissa Schuman. Diana Ortiz can be heard saying a few Spanish phrases, such as ''Él me quiere'' ("He loves me") and ''No te quiere'' ("He doesn't love you"). An early version of the song opened with a young girl's voice saying "He loves me, he loves you not," though this opening was removed on the album and single versions, although the phrase "he loves you not" is heard at the end of the album version. The song is sung from the point of view of a girl confronting another girl who is trying to steal her boyfriend, to whom she claims, "He loves me, he loves you not."

Critical reception

"He Loves U Not" received a mixed reception from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

who praised the production and lyrics but felt that it was derivative compared to other songs of its ilk. ''Billboard'' praised the song for having a street edge in its production, the group's performance and compared the lyrics positively to

Brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...

and

Monica Monica may refer to: People *Monica (actress) (born 1987), Indian film actress *Monica (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Monica (singer) (born 1980), American R&B singer, songwriter, producer, ...

's duet " The Boy Is Mine", concluding that "With Bad Boy's genius and solid talent here, "He Loves U Not" has a good shot at becoming a dream come true."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

highlighted the song as a "Track Pick", giving credit to P. Diddy's team of producers and songwriters. Arion Berger of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' praised the song for exuding bright attitude, saying that it has a "whipping elasticity and sass to spare." David Browne of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' called the song "an utterly derivative piece of song-and-dance pop-R&B," but did highlight the rhythm and guitar sounds as "intriguing" and the lyrical catfight for having "enough hiss in it to be interesting." A writer for ''

People A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pr ...

'', reviewing the album, was less positive towards the song's adult content and preferred the tracks "

Mr. Telephone Man "Mr. Telephone Man" is a song by New Edition, and the second single from their eponymous second album, ''New Edition''. Released as a single, by December 8, 1984, it was being added to the most "Hot Black" radio station playlists. Overview "Mr ...

" and "How Long" for how "the girls sound their age." The song gave them a

nomination for Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist, Group, Band or Duo but lost to

3LW 3LW (initialism of "3 Lil Women") was an American girl group formed in 1999 by Adrienne Bailon, Kiely Williams, and Naturi Naughton. Jessica Benson later replaced Naughton after she left the group in 2002. 3LW was signed to the label Epic Recor ...

's "

No More (Baby I'ma Do Right) "No More (Baby I'ma Do Right)" is the debut single of American girl group 3LW from their self-titled debut album (2000). The single was released on August 22, 2000, in the United States reached number 23 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The song w ...

". In 2017, ''Billboard'' placed "He Loves U Not" at number 36 on their list of the 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time.

Commercial performance

"He Loves U Not" was a U.S. hit, peaking atop on the

Hot Singles Sales This is a compendium of the best-selling music singles. The criterion for inclusion is to sell at least ten million copies worldwide. The singles listed here were cited by reliable sources from various media, such as digital journalism, news ...

chart, and number three on the

Hot 100 Airplay The Radio Songs chart (previously named Hot 100 Airplay until 2014 and Top 40 Radio Monitor until 1991) is released weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine and measures the airplay of songs being played on radio stations throughout ...

chart. The song debuted at number 99 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for the week of September 30, 2000. Six weeks later, it entered the top 40 at number 32 for the week of November 11. It entered the top 10 at number eight for the week of December 16. Despite impressive sales, the song couldn't get past rival girl group

's 11-week reign at number one with "

", thus as a result, the song peaked at number two for two weeks. It also reached number 15 on the

chart the week of January 6, 2001. It was

by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

on January 2, selling over 500,000 copies in the United States. In Australia, where the song was released on February 26, 2001, "He Loves U Not" entered the

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

on March 11, and stayed there for three weeks, peaking at number 30. The song was also released in the United Kingdom, peaking at number 17 on 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 ...

on March 17, and staying on the chart for seven weeks.

Music video

The music video for "He Loves U Not" was shot June 28–30, 2000, and directed by

. It featured three settings: in the first, the girls, clad in pink outfits, danced in a white room with the Dream logo flashing behind them; in the second, the girls danced on stage in a California desert; in the third, the girls moved around a rotating white room; the same one used previously in the videos for *NSYNC's "

Bye Bye Bye "Bye Bye Bye" is a song by the American boy band NSYNC. It was released on January 17, 2000, as the lead single from their third studio album '' No Strings Attached''. The song was written and produced by Kristian Lundin and Jake Schulze, with a ...

" and

Sugar Ray Sugar Ray is an American rock band formed in Newport Beach, California, in 1986. Originally playing heavier funk metal and nu metal style music, the band achieved mainstream popularity in 1997 with their more pop-influenced single " Fly". T ...

's "

Fly Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwing ...

". The video debuted at number nine on

's ''

'' (''TRL'') on December 11, 2000. The video peaked at number two on March 29, 2001, and was retired after spending 65 days on the countdown. It was the first video by an all-female group to be retired on ''TRL''. The video inspired the title sequence from the

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...

musical comedy series ''

Girls5eva ''Girls5eva'' is an American musical comedy television series created by Meredith Scardino that premiered on May 6, 2021, on Peacock. The series centers on four women who were part of a girl group named Girls5eva, which was briefly popular aroun ...

'', according to ''

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

s Heather Schwedel.

Live performances

Dream first performed the song live on November 26, 2000, by touring with fellow pop group *NSYNC on the second leg of their

in the

Staples Center Crypto.com Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Downtown Los Angeles. Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street. The arena opened on October 17, 1999; it was ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. The song was also performed when they opened alongside

Baha Men The Baha Men are a Bahamian junkanoo band formed in New Providence, Bahamas in 1977. They are best known for their Grammy Award-winning hit song "Who Let the Dogs Out". History Early years The Baha Men formed in 1977 as High Voltage, initia ...

and

Debelah Morgan Debelah Laksh Morgan (born September 29, 1977) is an American singer and songwriter. Morgan is best known for her hit single " Dance with Me" off of her third studio album, which reached No. 8 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Early life and educ ...

for

98 Degrees 98 Degrees (stylized as 98°) is an American pop and R&B vocal group consisting of four vocalists: the group's founding member Jeff Timmons, brothers Nick and Drew Lachey, and Justin Jeffre. The group was formed by Timmons in Los Angeles, Cali ...

on their

Revelation In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities. Background Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...

Tour (2001) and on MTV's ''Total Request Live'' Tour (2001). They made their television debut performing it live on ''TRL'' on December 11, 2000, to promote the premiere of the song's music video. On January 24, 2001, they performed it on two talk shows to promote the release of their debut album a day before: ''

'' in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

and ''

''. On February 12, it was performed on ''

''. On June 10, they performed this and "

This Is Me This Is Me may refer to: Albums * ''This Is Me'' (Charlie McDonnell album), 2010 * ''This Is Me'' (Heather Peace album), 2010 * ''This Is Me'' (Jully Black album), or the title song, 2005 * ''This Is Me'' (Kierra Sheard album), or the titl ...

" at the 2001

Summer Jam Concert, aboard the

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cruise ship in the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

. A week later, they performed it at Wango Tango, an annual all-day concert organized by

KIIS-FM KIIS-FM (102.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, United States, and broadcasts to the Greater Los Angeles area. The station airs a top 40 format. Owned by iHeartMedia, KIIS-FM is the origin of the conglomer ...

, in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Troy J. Augusto of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' put their performance alongside

Eden's Crush Eden's Crush was an American girl group who were created on the American television series ''Popstars'' which aired on the now defunct WB. The group was formed in late 2000 and released the hit song "Get Over Yourself" in 2001, following the f ...

and

Vertical Horizon Vertical Horizon is an American alternative rock band, formed in Washington, D.C. Vocalists and guitarists Matt Scannell and Keith Kane started the band in 1991 when they were students at Georgetown University. The band have undergone multiple ...

's, saying that they were "easy to forget." Eight days later, they appeared on ''

'' on June 25, 2001, to perform this and "This Is Me". On August 28, 2001, they performed both album and remix versions of the song at the 7th Annual

Track listings

US CD single # "He Loves U Not" – 3:46 # "He Loves U Not" (instrumental) – 3:46 US 12-inch single :A1. "He Loves U Not" ( HQ² club mix) – 8:24 :A2. "He Loves U Not" (HQ² instrumental) – 8:24 :B1. "He Loves U Not" (HQ² radio mix) – 3:48 :B2. "He Loves U Not" (Meeker & MC Supplier 2 step garage mix) – 6:24 Australian CD single # "He Loves U Not" (radio mix) – 3:48 # "He Loves U Not" (remix featuring G. Dep) – 3:50 # "He Loves U Not" (Ingroove club mix) – 6:36 # "He Loves U Not" (HQ² club mix) – 8:25 # "He Loves U Not" (Meeker & MC Supplier 2 step garage mix) – 6:27 UK CD single # "He Loves U Not" (radio version) – 3:47 # "He Loves U Not" (remix featuring G. Dep) – 3:49 # "He Loves U Not" (radio edit video) UK 12-inch single :A1. "He Loves U Not" (radio version) – 3:47 :A2. "He Loves U Not" (remix featuring G. Dep) – 3:49 :B1. "He Loves U Not" (remix instrumental) – 3:08 UK cassette single # "He Loves U Not" (radio version) – 3:47 # "He Loves U Not" (remix) – 3:49 European CD single # "He Loves U Not" (radio mix) – 3:48 # "He Loves U Not" (HQ² remix) – 8:52

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''It Was All a Dream''. Recording * Recorded and mixed at Canyon Reverb, The Sweatbox & Sony Studios,

Personnel *

Dave Way Dave Way is an American producer, mixer and audio engineer based in Los Angeles, California, United States. He has worked with Fiona Apple, Sheryl Crow, Kesha, Pink, Christina Aguilera, Macy Gray, Ringo Starr, Shakira, Phoebe Bridgers, John Doe, Sa ...

– mixer (

Pacifique Recording Studios Pacifique Recording Studios is a mixing and recording studio based in North Hollywood, California that was launched by Joe, Ken, and Vic Deranteriassian in 1984. In 1999, Pacifique installed its second SSL console, the 9000 J Series. In 2003, Paci ...

;

North Hollywood, Los Angeles North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North ...

) * Wassim Zreik – assistant engineer * David Frank – keyboards, drums,

songwriting A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

– additional keyboards, songwriting * Pamela Sheyne - songwriting, additional background vocals

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1999 songs 2000 debut singles Arista Records singles Bad Boy Records singles Bertelsmann Music Group singles Dream (American group) songs Music videos directed by Marcus Raboy Songs written by David Frank (musician) Songs written by Pam Sheyne Songs written by Steve Kipner