"I Don't Wanna Know" is a song by American singer

Mario Winans Mario Mendell Winans ( Brown; born August 29, 1974) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer from South Carolina. An extended member of the Winans musical family, he is best known for his 2004 single " I Don't Wanna Know" (f ...

, featuring American rapper P. Diddy and Irish singer

Enya Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin (born 17 May 1961; anglicised as Enya Patricia Brennan) known mononymously as Enya, is an Irish singer and composer. With an estimated equivalent of over 80 million albums sold worldwide, Enya is the best-selli ...

. The song is based on a sample of the

Fugees The Fugees () are an American hip hop group formed in South Orange, New Jersey, in 1990. The trio of Wyclef Jean, Pras Michel, and Lauryn Hill was known for their fusion of hip hop, reggae, R&B, and funk; their socially conscious lyrics; and ...

' song " Ready or Not", which in turn samples the synthesizer riff from Enya's song "

Boadicea Boudica or Boudicca (, from Brythonic * 'victory, win' + * 'having' suffix, i.e. 'Victorious Woman', known in Latin chronicles as Boadicea or Boudicea, and in Welsh as , ) was a queen of the ancient British Iceni tribe, who led a failed up ...

". The drums are sampled from the end of

EPMD EPMD is an American hip hop duo from Brentwood, New York. The duo's name is an initialism for "Erick and Parrish Making Dollars", referring to its members: emcees Erick Sermon ("E" a.k.a. E Double) and Parrish Smith ("PMD" a.k.a. Parrish Mi ...

's "You're a Customer". Released on February 17, 2004, "I Don't Wanna Know" spent eight consecutive weeks at number two on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, behind the Usher singles " Yeah!" and "

Burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ionizing radiation (such as sunburn, caused by ultraviolet radiation). Most burns are due to heat from hot fluids (called scalding), soli ...

", respectively, and reached number one in Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. It became a top-10 hit in many other countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Ireland, and New Zealand, and has received multiple sales certifications. In 2023, record producer

Metro Boomin Leland Tyler Wayne (born September 16, 1993), known professionally as Metro Boomin, is an American record producer and music executive. Widely acclaimed for his dark and cinematic production style, he is regarded as one of the most influential p ...

, singer

the Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (; born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is best known for adding Pop music, pop, electronic music, electronic and hip-hop stylings ...

, and rapper

21 Savage Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph (born October 22, 1992), known professionally as 21 Savage, is an American-British rapper. Born in London and raised in Atlanta, he began his recording career in 2013 and released three independent mixtapes to regiona ...

released the single " Creepin'", a

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of c ...

of the song mainly performed by the Weeknd, with a rap verse performed by 21 Savage instead of P. Diddy. Winans himself contributed to this version, while Diddy himself would be featured on the official remix of the song, released in March 2023.

Composition

The song is sung over a background track that samples "

" by

from her 1987 debut album ''Enya'', inspired by the use of the sample in the

' 1996 hit single " Ready or Not". Winans said: "I first heard 'Boadicea' at the end of the movie '' Sleepwalkers'' about five or six years ago. It's something I always wanted to produce. Then when the Fugees did it, oh my God, I loved it."

Critical reception

Vibe Vibe, alternatively '' vibes,'' is short for ''vibration''. A "vibe" is an emotional reaction to the aura or energy felt to belong to a person, place or thing. Vibe may also refer to: People * DJ Vibe (born 1968), Portuguese DJ * Lasse Vibe (b ...

'' wrote that "Winans adds a simple stuttering beat that prevents the song from devolving into murky, saccharine Muzak. This is the secret of Winan's magic; the soft touch of the synthesizers and his gentle piano playing blend with the signature sound of the kick and snare – hard, unadorned, punching through the music's gauzy

elegiac The adjective ''elegiac'' has two possible meanings. First, it can refer to something of, relating to, or involving, an elegy or something that expresses similar mournfulness or sorrow. Second, it can refer more specifically to poetry composed in ...

texture."

Commercial performance

"I Don't Wanna Know" peaked at number two on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for eight weeks and reached the same position on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart. It topped the ''

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 advertis ...

Rhythmic Rhythmic may refer to: * Related to rhythm * Rhythmic contemporary, a radio format * Rhythmic adult contemporary, a radio format * Rhythmic gymnastics Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform individually or in groups on a floor ...

chart and also peaked at number four on the

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

ranking. The song was a radio hit in Canada, reaching number two on ''

Radio & Records ''Radio & Records'' (''R&R'') was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It started as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006 and became a relaunched sister ...

'' CHR/Pop Top 30 chart. Outside North America, the song reached number one on the

Eurochart Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by ''Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately f ...

, topping the charts of Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Across the rest of Europe, the song became a top-five hit in several regions, including

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-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 culture, la ...

, France, Ireland, Norway, and Switzerland. In

Australasia Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and sometimes including New Guinea and surrounding islands (overlapping with Melanesia). The term is used in a number of different context ...

, "I Don't Wanna Know" peaked at number two in Australia and number three in New Zealand.

Track listings

Australian CD1 and UK CD single # "I Don't Wanna Know" – 4:17 # " Pretty Girl Bullsh*t" (featuring Foxy Brown) – 4:22 # "I Don't Wanna Know" (instrumental) – 4:17 # "I Don't Wanna Know" (video) Australian CD2 # "I Don't Wanna Know" – 4:17 # "I Already Know" – 1:54 # "The Game" – 3:57 # "I Don't Wanna Know" (video) UK 12-inch single :A1. "I Don't Wanna Know" – 4:17 :A2. "I Don't Wanna Know" (instrumental) – 4:17 :B1. "Pretty Girl Bullsh*t" (featuring Foxy Brown) – 4:29 :B2. "Pretty Girl Bullsh*t" (instrumental) – 4:30 UK mini-CD single and European CD single # "I Don't Wanna Know" – 4:17 # "Pretty Girl Bullsh*t" (featuring Foxy Brown) – 4:22

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

Answer songs

"You Should Really Know"

An answer to "I Don't Wanna Know" sung from a female perspective, "You Should Really Know", was released later the same year as Winans' single, on August 30, 2004. Created by producers the Pirates, it features

Shola Ama Shola Ama (born 8 March 1979) is a British singer from London, who scored her biggest hits with " You Might Need Somebody" (1997), a cover of Randy Crawford's 1981 hit, " You're the One I Love" and "Still Believe" (1999) which was one of the ...

Naila Boss Naila Boss is an English underground rapper from Hackney, London. Discography Singles * "It Can't Be Right" (2004) - UK No. 8 (with 2Play and Raghav) * "La La La" (2004) - UK No. 65 * "You Should Really Know" (2004) - UK No. 8 (with the Pirat ...

, and Ishani, and it uses the same Enya sample as the original. Although it did not achieve the level of success Winans' single did in the US, it was a top-ten hit in the United Kingdom, peaking at number eight on the UK Singles Chart, and it also reached the top 50 in Austria, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, and Ireland.

Charts

Weekly charts Year-end charts

Others

Later, another answer song called "I Already Know" sung by Noelle was released and had the same background melody as the original song. American R&B group

Nina Sky Nina Sky is a Puerto Rican-born musical duo based in the United States, consisting of identical twins Nicole and Natalie Albino. Their debut single "Move Ya Body", released from their Nina Sky (album), self-titled debut album in 2004, was a succ ...

also recorded their own version of their song entitled "Time to Go" featuring rapper

Angie Martinez Angela "Angie" Martinez (born January 9, 1971) is an American radio personality, podcaster, singer, former rapper and actress. Dubbed "The Voice of New York", Martinez is widely known for her 28-year run at New York City station WQHT, Hot 97 ( ...

. The song has also been covered by Dega, a Kompa artist, featuring a rap verse from

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean ( ; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, singer, and record producer. Born in Haiti, Jean emigrated to the Northeastern United States, United States as a child. He gained fame as a founding member of the Fugees, a Ne ...

and a small section from

T-Vice T-Vice is a Haitian konpa band currently based in Miami, Florida. The group has performed throughout the world, most notably in cities of Miami, New York City, Chicago, Toronto, Paris and throughout the Caribbean through various concerts, carniva ...

in the album ''Ba Li Gazzz'' in 2004.

References

{{Authority control 2004 songs 2004 singles Mario Winans songs Enya songs Sean Combs songs Bad Boy Records singles European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Number-one singles in Scotland Songs with lyrics by Roma Ryan Songs with music by Enya Songs written by Erick Sermon Songs written by Loon (rapper) Songs written by Mario Winans Songs written by PMD (rapper) Songs written by Sean Combs UK singles chart number-one singles Songs about infidelity