"When I Get You Alone" is the debut single of American singer

Robin Thicke Robin Alan Thicke (born March 10, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his 2013 hit single " Blurred Lines", which is one of the best-selling singles of all time. At the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, h ...

—under the name Thicke—released on September 23, 2002. It was originally to be featured on his debut studio album ''Cherry Blue Skies'', before being placed on a revamped version of that album called '' A Beautiful World''. The song became a top-20 hit in Australia,

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

, Italy, the Netherlands, and New Zealand, entering the top 10 in the latter two regions.

Writing and inspiration

The track samples

Walter Murphy Walter Anthony Murphy Jr. (born December 19, 1952) is an American composer, keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for the instrumental " A Fifth of Beethoven", a disco adaptation of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony which top ...

's "

A Fifth of Beethoven "A Fifth of Beethoven" is a disco instrumental recorded by Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band, adapted from the first movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 5. The record was produced by production music and sound effects recording p ...

", which is based on Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. Songwriting credits thus went to "Murphy/Thicke".

Chart performance

"When I Get You Alone" did not chart on any US ''Billboard'' charts, though it did reach number 49 on the Radio & Records Pop chart; however, the song charted well in other countries. It peaked at number 3 on the Belgium's

Ultratip Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium. Ultratop is a non-profit organization, created on the initiative of the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), the Belgian member organization of ...

, number 5 on the Dutch

Mega Single Top 100 The Dutch Single Top 100 or Single Top 100 is a Dutch chart, based on official physical single sales, legal downloads and since July 2013 streaming and composed by Dutch Charts. It is one of the three official charts, the other two being the ...

, number 8 on the New Zealand Top 40 Singles, number 15 on the Belgium

Ultratop 50 Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium. Ultratop is a non-profit organization, created on the initiative of the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), the Belgian member organization of ...

and the Italy Top Digital Download, number 17 on the Australian ARIA Top 50 Singles (did not release until mid-2003), number 60 on the Austrian

Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Tuesdays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as ...

, and number 62 on the Switzerland Singles Chart.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

for the song featured an unshaven Thicke, with long, grungy hair, as a

courier A courier is a person or organisation that delivers a message, package or letter from one place or person to another place or person. Typically, a courier provides their courier service on a commercial contract basis; however, some couriers are ...

racing through the streets of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

on a bicycle. It received some rotation on MTV2 and

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...

's ''Rated Next'' and was played moderately on pop and urban radio.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

In popular culture

The song, along with Robin himself, was featured in a 2002 commercial for Sprite with appearances by

Paula Patton Paula Maxine Patton (born December 5, 1975) is an American actress and producer. Patton made her feature film debut in the 2005 comedy '' Hitch'', and has had starring roles in the films ''Déjà Vu'' (2006), '' Precious'' (2009), '' Jumping th ...

and Andre Harrell. The song received its most attention in the US in 2007, when ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'' runner-up

Blake Lewis Blake Colin Lewis (born July 21, 1981) is an American musician, singer and actor who was the runner-up on the sixth season of ''American Idol''. His major label debut album '' A.D.D. (Audio Day Dream)'' was released on December 4, 2007, through ...

performed it during the top three. It has been a staple of other ''Idol'' productions as well, notably appearing on ''

New Zealand Idol ''New Zealand Idol'', also known as ''NZ Idol'', was the New Zealand version of the Idol series originated as the hit British TV series '' Pop Idol''. New Zealand first saw the ''Idol'' format when TV2 aired '' American Idol 2'', which garnered ...

'' and '' Australian Idol''. This song was featured in the films ''

The Rules of Attraction ''The Rules of Attraction'' is a satirical black comedy novel by Bret Easton Ellis published in 1987. The novel follows a handful of rowdy and often sexually promiscuous, spoiled bohemian students at a liberal arts college in 1980s New Hampsh ...

'' and ''

Agent Cody Banks ''Agent Cody Banks'' is a 2003 American spy action comedy film directed by Harald Zwart. The film follows the adventures of the 15-year-old title character, played by Frankie Muniz, who has to finish his chores, avoid getting grounded, and sa ...

'', in the episode "The Indicator" of ''

Alias Alias may refer to: * Pseudonym * Pen name * Nickname Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Alias'' (2013 film), a 2013 Canadian documentary film * ''Alias'' (TV series), an American action thriller series 2001–2006 * ''Alias the ...

'' and also on October 19, 2008, the song was featured in an episode of ''

Entourage An entourage () is an informal group or band of people who are closely associated with a (usually) famous, notorious, or otherwise notable individual. The word can also refer to: Arts and entertainment * L'entourage, French hip hop / rap collecti ...

''. An a cappella version of this song is performed by

Darren Criss Darren Everett Criss (born February 5, 1987) is an American actor, singer, and songwriter. He rose to fame starring on the television series '' Glee'' (2010–2015) and received Emmy and Golden Globe acting awards for his leading role as spree ...

and the

Beelzebubs The Tufts Beelzebubs, frequently referred to as "The Bubs", is a male a cappella group of students from Tufts University that performs a mix of pop, rock, R&B, and other types of music while spreading their motto of "Fun through Song." Founde ...

(playing the Dalton Academy Warblers) in the ''

Glee Glee means delight, a form of happiness. Glee may also refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...

'' episode "

Silly Love Songs "Silly Love Songs" is a song by the British–American rock band Wings that was written by Paul and Linda McCartney. The song first appeared in March 1976 on the album '' Wings at the Speed of Sound,'' then it was released as a single backed wit ...

". It also was featured in the opening episode of 2020's '' Strictly Come Dancing'', where the professionals danced to it in their routine.

References

{{Authority control 2002 debut singles 2002 songs Interscope Records singles Robin Thicke songs Songs written by Robin Thicke Songs written by Walter Murphy