"This Is for the Lover in You" is a song written by

Howard Hewett Howard Hewett Jr. (born October 1, 1955) is an American singer–songwriter. Hewett rose to fame as the lead vocalist of the group Shalamar. In 1985, he left the group to pursue his solo career, but he later returned to the group in 2001. He sig ...

, member of the trio

Shalamar Shalamar () is an American R&B and soul music vocal group active since the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s. Shalamar's classic line-up on the SOLAR label consisted of Howard Hewett, Jody Watley, and Jeffrey Daniel, together with dancer ...

, and songwriter Dana Meyers. The track was originally recorded by Shalamar and appeared on their 1980

Platinum album Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

, '' Three for Love''. The song was the third single released from their album, ''Three for Love''. The single peaked at No. 17 on the U.S. R&B chart in 1981. In 2009, ''Essence'' magazine included the song in their list of the "25 Best Slow Jams of All Time".

Charts

Babyface version

"This Is for the Lover in You" was later remade by American singer, songwriter, and record producer Babyface for his fourth studio album, ''

The Day The Day may refer to: Film and television * ''The Day'' (1914 film), an Australian silent film * ''The Day'' (1960 film), a short film * ''The Day'' (2011 film), a Canadian film * ''The Day'' (2022 film), a Bangladeshi–Iran joint production ...

'' (1996). It features

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, along ...

and the former members of Shalamar:

Jody Watley Jody Vanessa Watley (born January 30, 1959) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and artist,USA Today (February 16, 1996), Best Bets: Albums Jody Watley Greatest Hits, "Few singers fired up the disco like Jody Watley who set trends ...

, and Jeffrey Daniel. The Babyface version was a successful hit, reaching #6 on the

US Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' 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), radio play, and online streaming in ...

chart, #2 on the US R&B chart, and #12 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 ...

. The song was considered to be atypical for Babyface when it was released. The song's main melody bears resemblance to

Teddy Pendergrass Theodore DeReese Pendergrass (March 26, 1950 – January 13, 2010) was an American soul and R&B singer-songwriter. He was born in Kingstree, South Carolina. Pendergrass spent most of his life in the Philadelphia area, and initially rose to musi ...

' hit " Close the Door".

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

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 adverti ...

'' described Babyface's version as "a smoldering, jeep-fashioned revision" of a

chestnut that reunites the original members of that act on background vocals. He added, "It's a nice touch, though nothing diverts the ear from Babyface's suave and soulful vocals for longer than a second or two. Added juice is provided by

, who freestyles in the background with macho flair—a vibrant contrast to Babyface's performance. No need to speculate on this single's success. Just get used to hearing it on the radio nonstop for the next couple of months."

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Other versions

In 1994, saxophonist

Gerald Albright Gerald Albright is an American jazz saxophonist. He earned Grammys for 24/7 in 2012 and Slam Dunk in 2014 and has been nominated for New Beginnings in 2008 and for Sax for Stax in 2009. Biography Born in Los Angeles, Albright grew up in its ...

released a rendition from the album ''Smooth''.

References

1980 songs 1981 singles 1996 singles Shalamar songs Babyface (musician) songs LL Cool J songs Song recordings produced by Babyface (musician) Song recordings produced by Trackmasters Epic Records singles SOLAR Records singles Hip hop soul songs {{1980s-R&B-song-stub