I Want You

**Length** | 4:07 [Album Version]
 *Same Old Story*  (2003)
 Wild

**"I Want You"** is a song recorded by Japanese-American singer and songwriter Viper Hamato for his second studio album, Burning Flag (2004). Written and Produced solely by Hamato, the song borrows heavily upon computerized drum tracks. Upon hearing the original configuration of the album, the song was still kept as the main lead single for the album as an introduction from the shifting sound presented between Dreams and Burning Flag. The song was later chosen by Sony executives and Hamato himself as the lead single, released on December 23rd, 2003, several months before the album launch.

"I Want You" is a Pop song with R&B instrumentation and drum work that heavily borrows from 90's computerized drum tracks that features instrumentation work by both Viper and Raphael Daniels, while the lyrics and production were done by Hamato himself. While it's lyrics themselves are of a typical pop structure in talking about love, the song was later revealed to be about Hamato's realization of his Bi-sexuality. The song was well received among critics who mainly praised Hamato for his more grown vocals and 'magic' that he used with the background vocals serving as the hook into the chorus of the song.

The songs music video, directed by Hamato himself, features the use of a greenscreen while a time-lapse of driving along roads, which was done in various locations including Great Ocean Road, Black Spur and many parts of the Hume Freeway were used in shots for the music video. The song was heavily promoted in Australian and US Markets such as Rage, MTV, Saturday Night Live, MTV's TRL and even became one of the first artists on YouTube as of March 2nd, 2005 to place all of his current music videos on Video Sharing platform YouTube and has become one of his most recognizable songs.

## Background and release

In 2002, after heavy success, commercially of Hamato's first Studio album, Dreams selling 1.1 Million copies. Sony Music America grew disappointed in the lack of charting sales barely able to reach the Top 40 and stay within the region of the Top 70. Though many people managing Hamato at the time had stated that this was due to poor marketing, Hamato himself had stated that the album's sales were more of a sign that people had enjoyed his album as a whole then the singles themselves. After the launch of the album, Sony then gave Hamato more freedoms and higher marketing power with a bigger contract, which, helped pay for the most part of Forest Way Studios.

After beginning the writing sessions of what would come to be said album, the few tracks that stayed upon the launch of Burning Flag was "I Want You" which interested the A&R represent ivies at Sony as a possible album lead single, Hamato was later told to hang on to the single, as it could prove to be a hit later. With the song staying through all two configurations before it was settled on the newer album. Hamato would later announce that there would be a song launched around Christmas Day, serving as the run up to his sophomore studio album.

## Composition and lyrics

"I Want You" was written and produced by Viper Hamato with backgrounds done by both Hamato and his brother. "I Want You" and a mid-tempo Pop song, about Hamato talking about a relationship in a poetic sense where the singer is talking about romantic desire upon first seeing the said person, unknowing if it was a male or female at the time. Trevor Edwards from The Guardian had stated that with the review of the song, "It was fairly obvious that Hamato was speaking of an open relationship - about anything and everything the person he was looking at, had, and that if he wanted to take the chance. He was going to die trying." Khalil Jenkins of musicrumours.com described the song as "something completely game changing in the world of Hip-Hop/Pop that was taking over the charts at the time" and that "for the first time in ages, it isn't the first few seconds that hook the listener in. It's the chorus, as it always has been with music. And even the first few seconds of the song pulls you in"

In 2018, during an interview with Stephen Colbert. Hamato had stated that the lyrics "Were the first time I knew I was Bi-sexual, because there's always pop songs that are written about men or women. And I wrote my first proper pop song that was down the middle. And it was about a guy that I was actually crushing on down the hall in my apartment in Brooklyn. And when I completely wrote it, I was just like 'oh my god, I'm not straight' I think the guy even knew, I never saw him after 2005 though because I'd moved completely to Australia at that time and I wasn't tossing up between Australia and Brooklyn."

## Critical reception

The song received mostly positive reviews from music critics. Upon first listen before the album's launch, Paul James from Pitchfork stated the song as a 'sign of things to come' from the upcoming album that this was slated to be released on. Jermaine Frank from musicrumours.com wrote a positive review upon the songs launch, stating "from the hook of the background vocals from the call back to the 90's drum tracks, the song screams pop hit", also noting the maturity from the upcoming album from Dreams, his previous album.

## Chart performance

**"I Want You"** much to Sony and Hamato's expectations, was a smash hit, becoming one of Hamato's first Top 40's in the US Billboard Hot 100 where it debuted at Number 22, his highest debuting song on the Hot 100. The song however, the next week over, due to overexposure, shifted to Number 86.

The single however, like previous ones, was more successful outside of the United States where the single debuted in the Top 20 at Number 16 in Japan, and even debuted at Number 50 on the ARIA Charts, his second Top 70 in the country. However, japan and Russia were the only known countries where Hamato debuted in the Top 20

## Remixes

Remixes, for the first time, were done by outside sources other than Viper himself. The Neptunes remix has a more dance oriented version, while using the original track as well. Dance remixes, which three of them were different versions of one, had some creative input from Hamato were done by British DJ James Delimara, but said remixes were upwards of several minutes compared to the Neptune's three minute radio remix.

## Music Video

Viper initially, on behalf of Sony, was going to outsource someone else for the video to be directed. However, it was later decided that during his time in Australia, this had caused a massive amount of inspiration for Hamato who was now based in the country due to previous controversies that left Hamato wanting to move to a new country. During his time, Hamato took many road trips across Victoria which had left him a great deal of inspiration to film a music video that was on the road. The video was Shot on December 8th, 2003. Fifteen days before the launch of the single itself and was filmed in a barely constructed Docklands Studios at the time. With green screen tactics used, Hamato was blended in during post editing to make it seem as if he was on the trailer the whole time. Hamato had stated at the time that he was 'a bit chicken back then to go 100 km/h (60MPH) on an open road like that'. This is one of the two videos that were, at the time, filmed in Melbourne

## Formats and track listings

**I Want You - Single (International Version)**

1. "I Want You" [Album Version] - 4:07
2. "I Want You" [Acoustic] - 2:44
3. "I Want You" [The Neptune's Remix] - 4:47
4. "I Want You" [James' club mix] - 8:30
5. "I Want You" [James' Needs and Wants You Mix] - 7:55
6. "I Want You" [James' Hot Radio Mix] - 3:32
7. "Why Don't You Go" - 4:28
8. "Wild" - 5:02

**I Want You - Single (2005 Australian Version)**

1. "I Want You" [Album Version] - 4:07
2. "I Want You" [Radio Edit] - 3:47
3. "I Want You" [Live] - 3:51
4. "I Want You" [Acoustic] - 2:44
5. "Why Don't You Go" - 4:28
6. "Wild" - 5:02