"I Don't Wanna Know" is a song by American R&B artist

Mario Winans Mario Mendell Winans ( Brown; born August 29, 1974) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer best known for his 2004 song "I Don't Wanna Know", which reached number 2 in the United States and number 1 in the United Kingdom. Winan ...

featuring rapper

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 ...

and re-recorded background vocals by

Enya Enya Patricia Brennan (; ga, Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin; born 17 May 1961), known professionally by the mononym Enya, is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician known for modern Celtic music. She is the best-selling Irish solo arti ...

. The song is based on a sample of the

Fugees Fugees (; sometimes The Fugees) is an American hip hop group formed in the early 1990s. Deriving its name from a shortening of the word "refugees", the group consists of Wyclef Jean, Pras Michel, and Lauryn Hill. The group rose to fame with its ...

' song " Ready or Not", which in turn samples the synthesizer riff from Enya's song "Boadicea", as well as the beat from

EPMD EPMD is an American hip hop duo from Brentwood, New York. The duo's name is a concatenation of the members' names "E" and "PMD" or an acronym for "Erick and Parrish Making Dollars", referring to its members: emcees Erick Sermon ("E" a.k.a. ...

's song "You're a Customer". Released on February 17, 2004, the song reached number one in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands and number two in the United States, stuck for eight consecutive weeks behind the

Usher Usher may refer to: Several jobs which originally involved directing people and ensuring people are in the correct place: * Usher (occupation) ** Church usher ** Wedding usher, one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony ** Fiel ...

singles " Yeah!" and "

Burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, cold, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ultraviolet radiation (like sunburn). Most burns are due to heat from hot liquids (called scalding), solids, or fire. Burns occur mainl ...

", respectively. The official remix features D-Block rapper Jae Hood, Enya, and P. Diddy. Another remix features

Joe Budden Joseph Anthony Budden II (born August 31, 1980) is an American media personality and former rapper. He first gained recognition as a rapper with his 2003 top 40 single " Pump It Up" and as a member of the hip hop supergroup Slaughterhouse. In ...

, Enya, and P. Diddy.

Composition and critical reception

The song is based on a sample of the

' 1996 hit single " Ready or Not", which itself was based on a slowed-down sample of the instrumental track "Boadicea" by

from her 1987 album, ''

.'' Winans said: "I first heard 'Boadicea' at the end of the movie '' Sleepwalkers'' about five or six years ago. It's something I always wanted to produce. Then when The Fugees did it, oh my God, I loved it." ''

Vibe ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down productio ...

'' wrote that "Winans adds a simple stuttering beat that prevents the song from devolving into murky, saccharine Muzak. This is the secret of Winan's magic; the soft touch of the synthesizers and his gentle piano playing blend with the signature sound of the kick and snare – hard, unadorned, punching through the music's gauzy elegiac texture."

Commercial performance

"I Don't Wanna Know" remains Winans' only major success to date. As a result of its eight weeks at number two, "I Don't Wanna Know" stands in joint fifth place for the most weeks at number two by a song which did not go to number one, behind Foreigner's "

Waiting for a Girl Like You "Waiting for a Girl Like You" is a 1981 power ballad by the British-American rock band Foreigner released as the second single from the album '' 4'' (1981) and was co-written by Lou Gramm and Mick Jones. The opening motif was written by Ian McD ...

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette Elliott (born July 1, 1971), better known as Missy Elliott or Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She embarked on her music career with R&B girl group Sista in the earl ...

's " Work It",

Donna Lewis Donna Lewis (born August 1959) is a Welsh singer. She is best known for the 1996 pop hit single "I Love You Always Forever", which peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart, and also peaked within the top ten of the charts in Australia, Aust ...

's "

I Love You Always Forever "I Love You Always Forever" is the debut single by Welsh singer Donna Lewis from her debut album, ''Now in a Minute'' (1996). Written by Lewis and produced by Lewis and Kevin Killen, it was released as the album's lead single in the United State ...

" and

Shania Twain Eilleen Regina "Shania" Twain ( , ; née Edwards; born August 28, 1965) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She has sold over 100 million records, making her the best-selling female artist in country music history and one of the best-s ...

's "

You're Still the One "You're Still the One" is a song recorded by Canadian singer Shania Twain. It was released as the third single from her third studio album ''Come On Over'' (1997). The song was written by Twain and Robert John "Mutt" Lange and produced by Lange. ...

Track listing

# "I Don't Wanna Know" – 4:17 # "Pretty Girl Bullsh*t" (featuring Foxy Brown) – 4:22 # "I Don't Wanna Know" (Instrumental) – 4:17

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

Answer songs

"You Should Really Know"

An answer to "I Don't Wanna Know" sung from a female perspective, "You Should Really Know", was released later the same year as Winans' single, on August 30, 2004. Created by producers the Pirates, it features

Shola Ama Shola Ama (born 8 March 1979) is a British singer from London, who scored her biggest hits with "You Might Need Somebody" (1997), a cover of Randy Crawford's 1981 hit, " You're the One I Love" and "Still Believe" (1999) which was one of the fi ...

Naila Boss Naila Boss is an English underground rapper from Hackney, London. Discography Singles * "It Can't Be Right" (2004) - UK No. 8 (with 2play and Raghav) * "La La La" (2004) - UK No. 65 * " You Should Really Know" (2004) - UK No. 8 (with The Pirat ...

, and Ishani, and it uses the same Enya sample as the original. Although it did not achieve the level of success Winans' single did in the US, it was a top-ten hit in the United Kingdom, peaking at number eight 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 ...

, and it also reached the top 50 in Austria, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, and Ireland.

Charts

Weekly charts Year-end charts

Others

Later, another answer song called "I Already Know" sung by Noelle was released and had the same background melody as the original song. American R&B group

Nina Sky Nina Sky is an American musical duo consisting of identical twins Nicole and Natalie Albino. Their debut single "Move Ya Body", released from their self-titled debut album in 2004, was a success, reaching number four on the ''Billboard'' Hot 10 ...

also recorded their own version of their song entitled "Time to Go" featuring rapper

Angie Martinez Angela Martinez (born January 9, 1971) is an American radio personality, rapper, singer, and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice of New York" during her two-decade tenure at New York City station HOT 97 (WQHT), she left that position in 2014 to join ...

References

{{Authority control 2004 singles 2004 songs Answer songs Bad Boy Records singles Contemporary R&B ballads Enya songs European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Number-one singles in Scotland Relentless Records singles Sean Combs songs Songs with lyrics by Roma Ryan Songs with music by Enya Songs written by Erick Sermon Songs written by Mario Winans Songs written by PMD (rapper) Songs written by Sean Combs UK Singles Chart number-one singles Songs written by Loon (rapper)