Larry Flick from Billboard magazine described the song as a "warm and fuzzy ballad",adding that "finger-poppin' rhythms give motion to a virtual mountain of slick synths. Of course,her increasingly familiar vocal style is a total joy. Watch this one soar up the charts within mere moments."[2] Troy J. Augusto from Cash Box named it Pick of the Week,describing it as "a down-tempo soul burner",that "actually brings Toni closer to the style of Whitney Houston,her closest R&B competitor. Already in heavy rotation at many urban stations,a sure-bet hit."[3] Alan Jones from Music Week named it "a typically tuneful,intelligent and pleasing LA and BabyFace creation,custom-built for Braxton's soulful scale-sliding. As well as being a hit in its own right,expect this to push her album into a higher orbit."[4]
Dele Fadele from NME wrote,"Toni Braxton is gifted with a gospel-tinged voice,but the big-money LA &Babyface production smothers her in molasses."[5] Ralph Tee from the Record Mirror Dance Update commented,"On the back of two hits,this record should face very little resistance as it eases nicely into the charts. Vocally,the track gives Toni another opportunity to showcase one of the best set of tonsils about and forces the shuffling midtempo pace and production to take a back seat."[6] Another Record Mirror editor,James Hamilton,named it a "glorious gurgling sultry swayer" in his weekly dance column.[7]
Commercial performance
In the United States on April 2,1994,the song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 86,20 days ahead of its initial release.[8] On April 9,1994,in its second week the song moved up number 52.[9] The song continued to rise at numbers 37,23,17 in its third,fourth and fifth week.[10][11][12] In its sixth,seventh and eighth week the song rose to numbers 16,14 and 10.[13][14][15] On May 28,1994,the song reached its peak at number seven remaining for one week.[16] The song continued to spend a total of 31 weeks on the Billboard chart before leaving the Hot 100 at number 47 on October 29,1994.[17]
On June 12,1994,the song debuted at number 36 in New Zealand and reached its peak at number 32 on July 3,1994,spending a total of five weeks before leaving the New Zealand Singles Chart.[18] On July 9,1994,the song peaked at number 30 in the United Kingdom and became a non-mover for two weeks.[19][20] The song later fell to numbers 40,50,and 68 in its third,fourth and fifth week respectively.[21][22][23] On July 25,1994,the song peaked at number 69 in Germany and remained in the German Singles Chart for seven weeks before leaving the chart on November 11,1994.[24] On September 4,1994,the song peaked at number 49 in Australia lasting one week before falling out of the Australian Singles Chart.
Music video
The music video for "You Mean the World to Me" was directed by American music video director,film director and VJ Lionel C. Martin. The video shows a sequence of Braxton playing the piano in a mansion intercut with scenes with her love interest (portrayed by German-born Michael Calvin Bacon,who later starred as J.B. Reese on Saban's syndicated television series VR Troopers). It stayed in heavy rotation during the spring and summer of 1994. The video was later made available on Braxton's VEVO account on October 25,2009.[25]
Track listings and formats
US CD single 1993
"You Mean the World to Me" (Radio Edit) – 4:00
"You Mean the World to Me" (Radio Edit Remix) – 4:11
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