"Wanted" is the debut single released by American country-pop singer-songwriter

Jessie James Jessica Rose James Decker (born April 12, 1988) is an American country pop singer. At age 15, after auditioning for and being rejected by most of the country labels in Nashville, Tennessee, Decker began working with Carla Wallace of Big Yello ...

, taken from her self-titled debut album (2009). It was first released to American

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...

through

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

on April 14, 2009, as the album's

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

and was later released to digital retailers on May 12. Upon release, "Wanted" was generally well received by contemporary music critics, who praised James's "powerful" voice and the song's pop radio appeal. The song entered the top 40 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and was certified Gold 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 ...

in 2010; it also charted on the ''Billboard''

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record chart in Canada; a n ...

at 82.

Composition

"Wanted" is an upbeat

dance-rock Dance-rock is a dance-infused genre of rock music. It is a post-disco genre connected with pop rock and post-punk with fewer rhythm and blues influences. It originated in the early 1980s, following the decline in popularity of both punk and disco ...

song with a duration of three minutes and five seconds (3:05). The song also draws influences from

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

in its production and

country pop Country pop (also known as pop country or urban cowboy) is a fusion genre of country music and pop music that was developed by members of the country genre out of a desire to reach a larger, mainstream audience. Country pop music blends genres ...

from James's "slight Southern twang." It was written by

Kara DioGuardi Kara Elizabeth DioGuardi (; born December 9, 1970) is an American songwriter, record producer, music publisher, A&R executive, and singer. She writes music primarily in the pop rock genre. DioGuardi has worked with many popular artists; sales o ...

Mitch Allan Mitchell Allan Scherr, known professionally as Mitch Allan, is an American record producer, songwriter, and musician. He has written and produced songs for artists such as Demi Lovato, Third Eye Blind, Miley Cyrus, Carlie Hanson, Jason Derulo, Pi ...

, and

David Hodges David Hall Hodges (born December 5, 1978) is an American songwriter and record producer from Little Rock, Arkansas. He was a studio contributor to the rock band Evanescence from 2000–2002. He has since had success co-writing and co–produci ...

, and was produced by Allan. According to the digital sheet music published by

EMI Music Publishing EMI Music Publishing Ltd. is a British multinational music publishing company headquartered in London, owned by parent company Sony Corporation of America. In May 2018, Sony Music Publishing agreed to increase its stake in EMI to 90%, pending ...

, the song was originally composed in the key of

G major G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor. The G major scale is: Notable compositi ...

with a vocal range of G₃–D₅ and a moderate pop rock tempo of approximately 110 BPM. James' vocal style on the song has been compared to

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...

. The song's lyrics describe a woman attracting the attention of a potential lover, but on her own terms, with James declaring "I only want to be wanted by you." It has been described as a message of female empowerment and praised for portraying James as being in control of the situation.

Critical reception

In a review for the song, Michael Menachem of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' said that James had "what it takes to make a name for herself." He described the song as "alluring" and "forceful." An uncredited editorial review of the album on

Amazon Music Amazon Music (previously Amazon MP3) is a music streaming platform and online music store operated by Amazon. Launched in public beta on September 25, 2007, in January 2008 it became the first music store to sell music without digital rights man ...

described "Wanted" as a catchy, "full-throttle dance-rock scorcher." Rudy K. of ''

Sputnikmusic Sputnikmusic is an American music community website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites. The format of the website is unusual in that it includes both professional and amateur c ...

'' complimented James on producing a "fantastic pop single" and praised the song's structure for building up to the chorus. Writing for ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...

'', Jonathan Keefe similarly applauded the song's dynamics for showcasing James's "powerful voice."

Commercial reception

"Wanted" debuted at number 87 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for the week of May 30, 2009. It fell off the chart for four weeks before re-entering at No. 98 on June 27, 2009. It continued to rise and eventually reached a peak position of 40 for the chart dated August 29, 2009. "Wanted" also peaked at number four on the

Heatseekers Songs Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...

chart before entering the top 50 on the Hot 100 and becoming ineligible. The song charted at number 23 and number 34 on the

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

and

Adult Pop Songs The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen B ...

radio airplay charts, respectively, and also reaching 18 on the

Hot Dance Club Songs Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

chart tracking airplay in American

dance club Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

s. The song has sold 336,750 digital copies as of August 20, 2009. On December 8, 2010, "Wanted" was certified

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

by the

, indicating sales of over 500,000.

Music video

The music video of "Wanted" was shot in Los Angeles. Actor

Erik Von Detten Erik Thomas von Detten (born October 3, 1982) is an American singer and former actor. He is known for his roles in ''Escape to Witch Mountain'', ''Toy Story'', ''Brink!'', ''Meego'', ''The Princess Diaries'', ''Complete Savages'', and ''So Weird ...

makes a cameo in the video as a police officer that chases after Jessie through a series of events and eventually "captures" her in a diner before leading her to his vehicle where they proceed to kiss. The music video was directed by Travis Kopach and premiered April 27, 2009, on VH1.

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2009 debut singles Songs written by Kara DioGuardi Songs written by Mitch Allan Jessie James Decker songs Songs written by David Hodges 2009 songs Mercury Records singles Song recordings produced by Mitch Allan