"The Thing I Like" is a song recorded by American singer

Aaliyah Aaliyah Dana Haughton (; January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) was an American singer and actress. She has been credited for helping to redefine contemporary R&B, pop and hip hop, earning her the nicknames the "Princess of R&B" and " ...

for her debut studio album ''

Age Ain't Nothing but a Number ''Age Ain't Nothing but a Number'' is the debut studio album by American singer Aaliyah. It was released on May 24, 1994 by Blackground Records and Jive Records. After being signed by her uncle Barry Hankerson, Aaliyah was introduced to recordi ...

'' (1994). It was written and produced by R. Kelly. The song appeared on the soundtrack for the film ''

A Low Down Dirty Shame ''A Low Down Dirty Shame'' is a 1994 American action comedy film written, directed by, and starring Keenen Ivory Wayans. The film also stars Charles S. Dutton, Jada Pinkett, and Salli Richardson. Plot Former LAPD detective Andre Shame is a priv ...

'' (1994). It was released as the fifth and final single from ''Age Ain't Nothing but a Number'' exclusively in the United Kingdom on August 28, 1995, by

Blackground Records Blackground Records 2.0 (legal name Blackground Records, LLC, formerly known as Blackground Records) is an American record label founded and owned by Jomo and Barry Hankerson. Initially named Blackground Enterprises, the label switched its name t ...

and

Jive Records Jive Records was an American independent record label founded by Clive Calder in 1981 as a subsidiary to the Zomba Group. In the US, the label had offices in New York City and Chicago. Jive was best known for its successes with hip hop, R&B, ...

. A moderate commercial success, "The Thing I Like" peaked at number 33 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 ...

, becoming her fifth consecutive top-40 single in the United Kingdom.

Critical reception

In a review of the ''

'' soundtrack, David Browne from ''

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 ...

'' felt that "The Thing I Like", along with others, was "more workmanlike than inspired".

Commercial performance

"The Thing I Like" was released as the fifth and final single from ''Age Ain't Nothing but a Number'' exclusively in the United Kingdom, being Aaliyah's second consecutive UK-only single. It debuted and peaked at number 33 on the

dated September 9, 1995. The same week, it debuted and peaked at number four on the

UK R&B Singles Chart The UK Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart and the UK Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart (also known as The Official UK Hip Hop and R&B Charts, the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Singles and the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Albums, or simply the UK Urban Chart) are 40-posi ...

. Additionally, it peaked at number 15 on the

UK Dance Singles Chart The UK Dance Singles Chart and the UK Dance Albums Chart are music charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company from sales of songs in the dance music genre (e.g. house, trance, drum and bass, garage, synthpop) in record ...

the following week.

Track listings and formats

UK 12-inch vinyl # "The Thing I Like" (album version) – 3:21 # "The Thing I Like" (Paul Gotel's Classic Anthem Mix) – 6:48 # "The Thing I Like" (Paul Gotel's Deep & Dubby Mix) – 6:29 # "The Thing I Like" (PG Tips Satellite Mix) – 7:21 UK maxi CD single # "The Thing I Like" (album version) – 3:21 # "The Thing I Like" (Paul Gotel's Radio Mix) – 3:57 # "The Thing I Like" (Paul Gotel's Classic Anthem Mix) – 6:48 # "The Thing I Like" (PG Tips Satellite Mix) – 7:21 # "The Thing I Like" (Paul Gotel's Deep & Dubby Mix) – 6:29

Charts

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thing I Like, The 1993 songs 1995 singles Aaliyah songs Songs written by R. Kelly Song recordings produced by R. Kelly Blackground Records singles