(It's Just) The Way That You Love Me

"(It's Just) The Way That You Love Me"
Single by Paula Abdul
from the album Forever Your Girl
Released	August 2, 1988 September 15, 1989 (re-release)
Recorded	October 1987 [1]
Genre	New jack swing [2] techno-dance [3] funk
Length	5:21 (album version) 4:01 (single version)
Label	Virgin
Songwriter(s)	Oliver Leiber
Producer(s)	Oliver Leiber
Paula Abdul singles chronology
"Knocked Out" (1988) "(It's Just) The Way That You Love Me" (1988) "Straight Up" (1988)
Licensed audio
"The Way That You Love Me" on YouTube

"(It's Just) The Way That You Love Me" (shortened simply as "The Way That You Love Me" for its 1989 re-release) ^[4] is a song by American singer and dancer Paula Abdul. It is taken from her debut studio album Forever Your Girl (1988) and was the album's second single. Written and produced by Oliver Leiber, son of Jerry Leiber of Leiber and Stoller fame, it was released on August 2, 1988, via Virgin Records America in its remixed form. The parentheses (It's Just) was added to avoid confusion with Karyn White's "The Way You Love Me" which was also climbing the charts the same time. ^[4]

The track was initially a moderate success, peaking within the top ten of the US Hot Black Singles chart but stalled at number 88 on the Billboard Hot 100 and alienated the little fanbase Abdul had built up from her debut single "Knocked Out". Following the release of the preceding three singles from Forever Your Girl which all topped the Billboard Hot 100, the track was re-released on September 15, 1989, in its original version. This version peaked at number three, and became her longest charting single to date. The track had little success internationally.

Composition

The song is performed in the key of D♯ minor with a tempo of 120 beats per minute. Abdul's vocals span from A♯₃ to D♯₅. ^[5] Lyrically, the track "organizes diverse things that illustrate wealth and power by brand names" and how "material things are unimportant by comparison with the way he loves her." ^[6]

Critical reception

Betty Hollars and John Martinucci of the Gavin Report responded favorably, calling it "one of the finer follow-ups" to "Knocked Out". ^[3] Their colleague Dave Sholin reviewed the 1989 reissue saying, "While not "new" in a handful of markets, the vast majority of stations didn't air it the first time around. Of course, the single that followed went "straight up" and the rest is history. Expect this second run at the chart to be more successful." ^[7] Cashbox reviewed positively writing that it has "sensational production value" that "elevates this funk rave-up." ^[8]

Chart performance

"The Way That You Love Me" debuted on the US Billboard Hot Black Singles (now known as Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs) chart the week of September 10, 1988, at number 75. It reached a peak of number 10 on November 12, 1988, her second consecutive urban top ten hit following "Knocked Out". However, it stalled at number 88 initially on the Billboard Hot 100. The little chart success it got was cut early when San Francisco urban radio station KMEL began playing "Straight Up" instead, ^[4] which led Virgin Records to officially release the track as a single and focused promotion efforts on it. The track would get a second life when it was re-released in September 1989. This release proved to be much bigger, peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Cash Box Top 100 Singles for one week in December 1989. On pop radio, it reached number two on the Radio & Records CHR chart on December 2, 1989, behind Milli Vanilli's "Blame It on the Rain". It was subsequently included as the demonstration song on several Casio keyboards (e.g. CT-670 ToneBank Keyboard).^{[ citation needed ]}

In the United Kingdom, "The Way That You Love Me" was also Abdul's second single release following "Knocked Out" in 1988. It failed to chart in the Top 100 initially. Following the success of preceding singles "Straight Up", "Forever Your Girl", and the re-release of "Knocked Out", "The Way That You Love Me" was re-released on November 13, 1989 on 7-inch and 12-inch single. ^[9] It became Abdul's least successful release in the country to date, charting at number 74.

Music video

The song's first video was Abdul's first with director David Fincher in July 1988, who would later direct her most successful videos. It consisted of Abdul dancing and singing with male dancers at a photo shoot, while expensive product shots were flashed in and out. It also featured Abdul's first tap dancing sequence, which she would use again in her videos for "Straight Up", "Opposites Attract", and "Forever Your Girl".

A new video was made in August 1989 with the same director and theme for the single's rerelease. It consisted of less dancing and more interaction between Abdul and her material world.

Track listings and formats

US 12"

1. "The Way That You Love Me" (12" remix)
2. "The Way That You Love Me" (7" dub)
3. "The Way That You Love Me" (Houseafire mix)

US cassette

1. "The Way That You Love Me" (7" Radio edit)
2. "The Way That You Love Me" (7" dub)

US promo/Euro 5"/3" CD singles

1. "The Way That You Love Me" (7" Radio edit)
2. "The Way That You Love Me" (12" remix)
3. "The Way That You Love Me" (7" dub)
4. "The Way That You Love Me" (Houseafire mix; on the Euro 3" single, this mix is faded early, at 2:53)

Official mixes

• Album version – 5:21
• LP edit – 4:02 (re-released in 1989 used on Version 2 of video)
• 7" radio edit – 4:07
• Single mix – 4:00 (Shorter version of 7", omits spoken part)
• 12" extended remix – 6:55
• 7" dub – 5:11
• Houseafire Mix – 6:35
• Housefire Edit – 4:42
• Housefire Short Edit – 2:53
• UK Remix – 5:44
• 7" Dance Edit – 5:03

Charts

Weekly charts Original release Chart (1988) Peak position Australia (ARIA) [10] 76 US Billboard Hot 100 [11] 88 US Dance Club Songs ( Billboard ) [12] 18 US Dance Singles Sales ( Billboard ) [13] 11 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs ( Billboard ) [14] 10 US Cash Box Top 100 Singles [15] 75 US Top Black Contemporary Singles ( Cash Box ) [16] 8 US Urban Contemporary ( Gavin Report ) [17] 11 US Urban Contemporary ( Radio & Records ) [18] 7 Re-release Chart (1989–1990) Peak position Canada Retail Singles ( The Record ) [19] 9 Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [20] 5 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [21] 12 UK Singles (OCC) [22] 74 US Billboard Hot 100 [23] 3 US Cash Box Top 100 Singles [24] 1 US Top 40 ( Gavin Report ) [25] 4 US Contemporary Hit Radio ( Radio & Records ) [26] [27] 2

Year-end charts Chart (1989) Position Canada Top Singles (RPM) [28] 84 US Top 40 (Gavin Report) [29] 38 US CHR (Radio & Records) [30] 56 Chart (1990) Position US Billboard Hot 100 [31] 86

References

1. "Oliver Leiber: Songwriter Interviews". Songfacts. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
2. Manning, Toby (2023). Mixing Pop and Politics: A Marxist History of Pop Music. Repeater. Retrieved January 28, 2025– via Google Books.
3. Hollars, Betty; Martinucci, John (August 26, 1988). "Urban — New Releases". Gavin Report . No. 1721. p. 17.
4. Bronson, Fred (2003). "Cold Hearted — Paula Abdul". The Billboard Book of Number One Hits. Billboard Books. p. 740. ISBN   9780823076772.
5. Leiber, Oliver (20 July 2015). "Paula Abdul "(It's Just) The Way That You Love Me" Sheet Music in D Minor - Download & Print". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved 2017-10-13.
6. Butler, Jeremy G. (July 2001). Television: Critical Methods and Applications. Taylor & Francis. ISBN   9781135635404.
7. Sholin, Dave (September 8, 1989). "Personal Picks — Singles". Gavin Report . No. 1773. p. 56.
8. "Single Releases: Feature Picks". Cash Box . Vol. LII, no. 16. New York, NY. October 15, 1988. p. 12. ISSN   0006-2510.
9. "New Singles". Music Week . November 11, 1989. p. 42. ISSN   0265-1548.
10. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
11. "The Hot 100 Chart". Billboard .
12. "Paula Abdul Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
13. "Paula Abdul Chart History (Dance Singles Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
14. "Paula Abdul Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
15. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles". Cashbox . Vol. LII, no. 21. New York, NY. November 19, 1988. p. 2. ISSN   0008-7289.
16. "Cash Box Top Black Contemporary Singles". Cashbox . Vol. LII, no. 20. New York, NY. November 12, 1988. p. 14. ISSN   0008-7289.
17. "the Gavin Report: Urban Contemporary". Gavin Report . No. 1731. November 4, 1988. p. 20.Note: The October 28 issue that "(It's Just) The Way That You Love Me" reached its peak position has not been archived; the peak for this week is derived from the "Last Week" position in the November 4 issue.
18. "The Back Page". Radio & Records . November 11, 1988. p. 112. ProQuest   1017212943.
19. Lwin, Nanda (2000). Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide. Music Data Canada. p. 18. ISBN   1-896594-13-1.
20. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5020." RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
21. "Paula Abdul – (It's Just) The Way That You Love Me". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
22. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
23. "Paula Abdul Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
24. "Cash Box Charts: Top 100 Singles". Cashbox . Vol. LIII, no. 21. New York, NY. December 2, 1989. p. 21. ISSN   0008-7289.
25. "the Gavin Report – Top 40". Gavin Report . No. 1781. November 3, 1989. p. 8.
26. "Paula Abdul chart history on the Radio & Records airplaychart". February 27, 2017.
27. "The Back Page – National Airplay Overview". Radio & Records . No. 816. November 24, 1989. p. 88.
28. "Top Singles - Volume 51, No. 8, December 23, 1989". RPM. December 23, 1999. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
29. "Top 40 1989 – Top 100". Gavin Report. No. 1787. December 15, 1989. p. 19.
30. "Top 89 of '89 – CHR". Radio & Records. No. 819. December 15, 1989. p. 64.
31. "Billboard Top 100 - 1990". Archived from the original on 2009-07-06. Retrieved 2009-09-15.