"I Want You Back" is the debut single by Americanpop bandthe Jackson 5.[2] It was released byMotown on October 7, 1969, and became the first number-one hit for the band on January 31, 1970.[3] It was performed on the band's first television appearances, on October 18, 1969, onThe Hollywood Palace and on their milestone performance on December 14, 1969, onThe Ed Sullivan Show.[3] "I Want You Back" has sold over 6 million copies worldwide.[4]
Originally considered forGladys Knight & the Pips and later forDiana Ross, as "I Wanna Be Free", "I Want You Back" explores the theme of a lover who decides that he was too hasty in dropping his partner. An unusual aspect about "I Want You Back" was that its main lead vocal was performed by atween, a then-11-year-oldMichael Jackson. The song is composed inA-flat major.[7]
It is the first of four Jackson 5 number-ones released in a row (the others being "ABC" – 1970, "The Love You Save" – 1970, and "I'll Be There" – 1970) and the first Jackson 5 song recorded inLos Angeles, California; the quintet had previously been recordingBobby Taylor-produced remakes of other artists' hits, including "Who's Lovin' You", the B-side to "I Want You Back", atHitsville U.S.A. inDetroit, Michigan. From late 1969 and on, nearly all of the Jackson 5's recordings were done in Los Angeles when the majority of recordings for other artists on the label were done in Detroit.
Although Gladys Knight had been the first to mention the Jacksons to Berry Gordy, and Bobby Taylor brought the Jackson brothers to Motown,[9] Motown credited Diana Ross with discovering them.[9] This was done not only to help promote the Jackson 5, but also to help ease Ross' transition into a solo career,[9] which she began in 1970 soon after the Jackson 5 became a success.[9]
Michael Jackson performed the song as part of the "Jackson 5 Medley" (which also included the songs "The Love You Save" and "I'll Be There") during all of his world tours:Bad, theDangerous World Tour and theHIStory World Tour. The song was performed live at theMichael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special in 2001, in which Jackson reunited with his brothers on stage for the first time since 1984.[13] The song was to be performed at Jackson'sThis Is It comeback concerts in London, which were cancelled due to his death.[citation needed]
The song has sold six million copies worldwide.[14] In 1999, "I Want You Back" was also inducted into theGrammy Hall of Fame.[15]
"I Want You Back" ranks number 104 onRolling Stone's list of the '500 Greatest Songs of All Time'.[6] It also ranks ninth onRolling Stone's list of the '100 Greatest Pop Songs since 1963'.[14] In 2020, it was ranked number 2 onRolling Stone's list of 'The 100 Greatest Debut Singles of All Time'.[16]
In 2006,Pitchfork named it the second best song of the 1960s, adding that the chorus contains "possibly the best chord progression in pop music history".[17] A June 2009 article byThe Daily Telegraph called it "arguably the greatest pop record of all time".[18]Digital Spy called the song "one of the most enduring pop singles of the sixties".[19]
English girl groupCleopatra recorded a cover version of "I Want You Back" for their 1998 debut studio album,Comin' Atcha!. It was released as the album's third single on August 10, 1998, and received mixed reviews from music critics. "I Want You Back" became the group's third and final top-five hit on theUK Singles Chart, peaking at number four and staying on the chart for 11 weeks, making it their longest-charting single along with "Cleopatra's Theme". It also charted in several other countries, reaching the top 20 in France and New Zealand.
British trade paperMusic Week reviewed the song before its release, calling it "close-to-the-original" and giving it a "side-thumb" rating.[45] British columnistJames Masterton wrote that this cover version has "no merit whatsoever" but ultimately called the track "forgivable" due to Cleopatra's talents and worldwide popularity, referring to the single as "nothing short of a superb but faithful rendition of an all time classic song by a group with the voices to carry it off perfectly".[46]
Credits are taken from the UK CD1 liner notes.[47]
Studios
Recorded at Cookhouse Recording Studios (Minneapolis, Minnesota), The Loft Studios (Los Angeles),RAK Studios (London, England), and Plus XXX Studios (Paris, France)
A cover version of "I Want You Back" performed by theVictorious cast first appeared in amusic video in July 2011 onNickelodeon.[72][73] It then appeared in a one-hourVictorious special titled "Locked Up!" on July 30, 2011.[74][75] The episode features Tori Vega (Victoria Justice) as she wins a free vacation for herself and her friends in a fictional country called Yerba.[76][77] The trip goes wrong when Tori accidentally strikes the Yerbanian chancellor in the eye with her shoe, resulting in her being put in jail.[74][75] When Tori's friends try to get her out of jail, they get locked up as well.[75][77] Tori and her friends later perform "I Want You Back" for the Chancellor.[74][76] The song was officially released as the eighth track on the show's debutsoundtrack albumVictorious: Music from the Hit TV Show on August 2, 2011.[78][79] William Ruhlmann forAllMusic described the cover's genre asbubblegum pop.[80]
Joe DeAndrea, writing forAbsolutePunk, stated that Justice and theVictorious cast perform a version of the song "which they don’t completely murder", opining that the cover shows "the intricacy of how fun the show really is".[81] Writing forMovieWeb, Israel Olorunnisola labeled it as a "classic cover".[82] Jessica Dawson forCommon Sense Media labeled the track as one of the soundtrack's "standouts".[83] Miranda forWKNC-FM described it as a "classic cover song with talented vocalists", mentioning that she "love[s] the energy the cast brings to this track".[84] She declared that Justice's voice "dominates the track".[84] In a negative review, Ruhlmann opined that the cover "demonstrates that bubblegum pop hasn't changed much in 40 years".[80]
Commercially, the song debuted and peaked at number eight on the USBillboardBubbling Under Hot 100 chart dated August 20, 2011, lasting one week.[85] The track also peaked at number one on the USKid Digital Song Sales chart and number 38 on the USPop Digital Song Sales chart.[86][87] The cover ranked at number 24 on the 2011 Kid Digital Song Sales year-end list.[88]
A cover of "I Want You Back" by South Korean girl groupTwice was released byWarner Music Japan on June 15, 2018, as a digital single.[89] The song was used as the theme song to the 2018 live-action film adaptation forSensei Kunshu.[90] A second version of the music video featuring the cast of the film dancing with Twice was released on June 26, 2018.[91]
^Hughes, Keith (2018)."I Want You Back".Don't Forget the Motor City. Ritchie Hardin.Archived from the original on September 16, 2024. RetrievedNovember 12, 2024.
^abI Want You Back (UK CD1 liner notes).Cleopatra.WEA. 1998. WEA172CD1, 3984 24380 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^I Want You Back (UK CD2 liner notes). Cleopatra. WEA. 1998. WEA172CD2, 3984 24381 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^I Want You Back (UK 12-inch single sleeve). Cleopatra. WEA. 1998. WEA172T, 3984246560.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^I Want You Back (UK cassette single sleeve). Cleopatra. WEA. 1998. WEA172C, 3984 24382 4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^I Want You Back (European CD single liner notes). Cleopatra. WEA. 1998. 3984 24813-9.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^I Want You Back (Australian CD single liner notes). Cleopatra. WEA. 1998. 3984253892.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^I Want You Back (Japanese CD single liner notes). Cleopatra.WEA Japan. 1998. WPCR-2116.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Dawson, Jessica (August 2, 2011)."Victorious Soundtrack".Common Sense Media. Archived from the original on November 8, 2011. RetrievedOctober 15, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)