"You Wanted More" is a song by Los Angeles band Tonic that originally appeared in the 1999 film '' American Pie''. It was released on June 7, 1999, and was also featured on Tonic's second album, ''

Sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

'', released later in the year. The single peaked at number three on the US ''

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 ...

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

chart and reached the same position on the ''Billboard''

Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

chart, as well as on the Canadian ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' Rock Report.

Lyrics

The lyrics include many lines beginning with "Love is": "Love is tragic", "love is strong", "love is surely better when it's gone", etc. The chorus expresses that the singer's love interest was too demanding: "'Cause you wanted more/More than I could give/More than I could handle/In a life that I can't live".

Critical reception

All-Reviews.com commented on the contrast between

instrumentation Instrumentation a collective term for measuring instruments that are used for indicating, measuring and recording physical quantities. The term has its origins in the art and science of scientific instrument-making. Instrumentation can refer to ...

and lyrics: "The music has tough rock guitar chords but the lyrics are a sappy account of what love is", and opined that Tonic's "desire to be all things to all people is illustrated by the song's opening".

Chart performance

The single peaked at number three on the US ''

, leading some to brand Tonic a

one-hit wonder A one-hit wonder or viral hit is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music p ...

, with "

If You Could Only See "If You Could Only See" is a song by American rock band Tonic from their debut studio album ''Lemon Parade'' (1996). It was released to radio as the third and final single from the album on March 18, 1997, by Polydor Records. Frontman Emerson Ha ...

" being the band's only song to gain extended success. Despite this, the song is well known in the United States due to its use in ''American Pie''. "You Wanted More" also peaked at number three on ''Billboard''s

chart and number 10 on ''Billboard''s

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart. Its airplay peak was in October 1999, as it was the sixth-most played song on

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

, pop and rock radio stations across the United States. In Canada, "You Wanted More" peaked at number three on the ''

'' Rock Report and was the 16th most successful rock hit of 1999. The song also experienced moderate success in Australia, where it peaked at number 58 alongside another Tonic song, "Sugar".

Music video

The music video, directed by Niels Alpert, is set at a high school.

Emerson Hart Emerson Hart (born July 21, 1969) is a songwriter, vocalist, guitarist and producer. He is the lead singer and songwriter of the alternative rock band Tonic. Biography Emerson Hart was born in Washington, Pennsylvania. He grew up in Atlantic ...

is shown both as a

janitor A janitor (American English, Scottish English), also known as a custodian, porter, cleanser, cleaner or caretaker, is a person who cleans and maintains buildings. In some cases, they will also carry out maintenance and security duties. A simil ...

in the hallway and playing with his band in the

gym A gymnasium, also known as a gym, is an indoor location for athletics. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasium". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learning spaces in educational ins ...

nasium. Scenes with

cheerleader Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

s wearing uniforms with the word LOVE in the gym are interspersed throughout the video. The principal's office and

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

class are also shown, while students walk out of the building and make out on the

quad Quad as a word or prefix usually means 'four'. It may refer to: Government * Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, a strategic security dialogue between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States * Quadrilateral group, an informal group which inc ...

at the end of the video.

Track listings

European CD single German maxi-CD single Japanese CD single

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1999 singles 1999 songs Tonic (band) songs Universal Records singles