"I Didn't Mean to Turn You On" is the debut single originally performed by American singer

Cherrelle Cheryl Anne Norton (born October 13, 1958), better known by her stage name Cherrelle, is an American R&B singer and songwriter who gained fame in the mid-1980s. Her signature hits include " I Didn't Mean to Turn You On", "Where Do I Run To", " ...

and written by

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III (born June 6, 1959) and Terry Steven Lewis (born November 24, 1956) are an American R&B/ pop songwriting and record production team. Their productions have received commercial success since the 1980s with var ...

in 1984. In the song, the singer is attempting to rebuff unwanted sexual advances following a date, including pressure to have a one-night stand. In 1986, "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On" was covered by English singer

Robert Palmer Robert Allen Palmer (19 January 1949 – 26 September 2003) was an English singer and songwriter. He was known for his powerful and soulful voice, sartorial elegance and stylistic explorations, combining soul, funk, jazz, rock, pop, regga ...

. Palmer's cover fared better on the pop chart while Cherrelle's version was a hit on the R&B chart.

Original Cherrelle version

The song was released as Cherrelle's debut single and was her first hit, peaking at number 8 on the soul chart and number 79 on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

. On the US dance chart, "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On" went to number 6. A slightly altered version of the song is featured in the 2015

N.W.A N.W.A (an abbreviation for Niggaz Wit Attitudes) was an American hip-hop group formed in Compton, California in 1987. Among the earliest and most significant figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, the group is widely considered one of the great ...

biopic ''

Straight Outta Compton ''Straight Outta Compton'' is the debut studio album by American hip-hop group N.W.A, released on January 25, 1989, through Priority Records, Priority and Ruthless Records. It was Record producer, produced by N.W.A members Dr. Dre, DJ Yella, a ...

''. The music video pays homage to ''King Kong'', featuring characters Cherrelle (as the protagonist) and the beast (presumably King Kong) in various scenes. In the end, the whole video turns out to be the singer's dream as she wakes up with a ''King Kong'' comic book around her arm.

Chart positions

Robert Palmer version

The English rock singer

recorded a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

one year later, and it was released as the fifth single from his eighth studio album '' Riptide'' (1985). The single hit No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1986, behind "

Amanda Amanda is a Latin feminine gerundive (i.e. verbal adjective) name meaning, literally, "she who must (or is fit to) be loved". Other translations, with similar meaning, could be "deserving to be loved," "worthy of love," or "loved very much by ev ...

" by

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. Palmer loved the song musically, but he found the lyrics distasteful and sexist because they were written by older men to be sung by a young woman. Palmer recorded it in part as a joke, thinking it would be an ironic role reversal to have the lyrics coming from a nearly 40-year-old man. The music video which was directed by Terence Donovan and storyboarded by concept developer Andrew Trovaioli, featured women like the ones featured in " Addicted to Love"; it hit No. 1 on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

on October 17, 1986.

Chart positions

Weekly charts

Year end charts

Other cover versions

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, singer, and actress. She has received various accolades, including a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe ...

sampled

's version on her song "Turn You On" from her 1998 album '' Order in the Court''. *

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey ( ; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Songbird Supreme" by ''Guinness World Records'', Carey is known for her five-octave voc ...

covered the song in 2001 for the

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

to the film ''

Glitter Glitter is an assortment of flat, small, reflective particles that are precision cut and come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. Glitter particles resemble confetti, sparkles and sequins, but somewhat smaller. Since prehistoric times ...

''.

also produced Carey's cover and she sang over the original instrumental. * DJ Colette covered the song in 2005 for the album ''Hypnotized''. *

Bonnie McKee Bonnie Leigh McKee (born January 20, 1984) is an American singer and songwriter. Her debut album '' Trouble'' was released in 2004 by Reprise Records. After being dropped, she took a musical hiatus and established herself as a songwriter. She ...

used an interpolation of the track, created by producer Switch, for her 2024 single "Jenny's Got a Boyfriend".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:I Didn't Mean To Turn You On 1984 debut singles 1986 singles Songs written by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis Song recordings produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis Cherrelle songs Robert Palmer (singer) songs 1984 songs Tabu Records singles Island Records singles Song recordings produced by Bernard Edwards Mariah Carey songs