"Miss You" is a song by American singer Aaliyah. It was written in 1998, by Johnta Austin, Ginuwine and Teddy Bishop. The song was recorded for Aaliyah's third album (2001). However, it was decided not to be included on the album. "Miss You" remained an unreleased song. When Aaliyah died in the Bahamas in August 2001, it was released on her greatest hits album I Care 4 U (2002). It was released as the first single from the album in 2003.

The song is a ballad. It was given positive reviews from music critics. It reached the top twenty in Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. In the US, the song reached number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It then became Aaliyah's highest-charting single after her 2000 number one single "Try Again" featuring Timbaland.

A music video of the song was released. It was directed by Darren Grant. It features Aaliyah's friends and other artists lip synching the song. These artists include Missy Elliott, Lil' Kim, Toni Braxton, Queen Latifah, Rosario Dawson and Quincy Jones among others. The music video was nominated for Best R&B Video at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards. American rapper Jay-Z used the instrumental and chorus of "Miss You" for its official remix version.

Background 
"Miss You" was written by Johnta Austin and Teddy Bishop. It was produced by Bishop. It was originally written for American R&B singer Ginuwine's second album 100% Ginuwine (1999). During the fall of 1999, when Aayliah was recording songs for her next album in the Manhattan Center Studios, she asked Austin and Bishop if she could hear what they written for other artists. Ginuwine had already recorded "Miss You", which was originally titled as "I Miss You". Bishop told in an interview, "She was like, 'I want to cut this record' [...] She got on the phone, called him and said 'Hey I know you cut this record already, but I would love to cut it'." Ginuwine, who also co-wrote the song, allowed her to record her own version. Aaliyah redone the entire song and recorded that night. Aaliyah wanted the song to be on her next album. However her record company, Blackground Records, did not believe it would be successful. It was left unreleased until her death in August 2001.

Reception 
Slant Magazine called the single "Aaliyah-lite". MusicOMH.com gave a positive review of the song and said that it is the best new song from her album. A writer from Allmusic believed "Miss You" was not the best of her productions with Timbaland but said it "stand[s] up well".

"Miss You" debuted at number 55 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It then reached number three. It was the eighth best-song of that year for the Hot 100. It was the third best-song of that year on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. In the week of November 22, 2008, "Miss You" debuted at number 38 on the Top Ringtone chart. This marked its fifth year since it was first released.

Music video 
A music video for the song was released. It was directed by Darren Grant. It features Aaliyah's friends and other artists lip synching to the song. The video was shot in two locations. These include Long Island City, New York and Los Angeles, California. American artists Tweet, Lil' Kim, Jaheim, and Lil' Jon were among those who came to the Long Island shoot. However, Jamie Foxx, DMX, Quincy Jones, and Ananda Lewis were some of the celebrities who appeared at the Los Angeles shoot.

There are clips of Aaliyah on the music video. These include some footage's of her in her music videos and in others. "Miss You" reached number 23 on BET: Notarized Top 100 videos of 2003.

List of cameos

 DMX
 Missy Elliott
 La-La
 Lil' Kim
 Tweet
 Jamie Foxx
 Queen Latifah
 Toni Braxton
 Tank
 Rosario Dawson
 U-God of the Wu-Tang Clan
 A. J. Calloway
 Free
 Quddus
 Nick Cannon

 Playa
 Dallas Austin
 Big Tigger
 Ananda Lewis
 Laz Alonso
 Elise Neal
 Timbaland
 Montel Williams
 Jaheim
 J. D. Williams
 Quincy Jones
 Andre Royo
 Steele & Buckshot
 Static Major
 Brittany Harper

Track listing

US/UK CD single
 "Miss You" (album version) – 4:04
 "Miss You" (remix) – 3:51

US promo single
 "Miss You" (album version) – 4:04
 "One in a Million" (album version) – 4:03

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

2003 songs