Boy (I Need You)

"Boy (I Need You)" was the second single from Mariah Carey's 12th album, Charmbracelet.

The Song

The single, released in 2003, was co-written and co-produced by Mariah and co-produced by Mariah and Just Blaze. The song features a sample of the song "I'm Going Down", but is more based off of that sample when it is used by Cam'ron in his song "Oh Boy". Cam'ron himself also raps on this song. The song's self explanatory message explores Mariah telling a boy how she needs him and is daydreaming about him all day.

Chart Success

"Boy (I Need You)" was marked as a comeback single after "Through The Rain", the single that was supposed to help support Charmbracelet, had flopped. Unfortunately, "Boy (I Need You)" flopped too, not making the Hot 100 and or even the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles! Fans and critics alike attributed it to the fact that the song had been released too soon after Cam'ron's "Oh Boy", the song on which "Boy (I Need You)" is heavily based. The lyrics of the song also received highly polar opinions from fans and critics alike and were often compared to similar songs such as "Heartbreaker", "Dreamlover", "Fantasy", and "It's Like That".

Music Video

The music video, which was seen as over the top, was also not very well received. It was largely influenced by Japanese culture, and featured Anime renditions of Mariah and Cam'ron, cameos of Godzilla, super cyber Japanese space cars, Ninjas, Japanese symbols, and crowds of Japanese fans. Incidentally, it was the Japanese fans themselves who had had a direct influence on the outcome of the 2nd single, as the 2nd single was originally intended to be the Jermaine Dupri produced "The One" until the fans hoarded Mariah. The single was changed to "Boy (I Need You)" to reflect the result of these actions. Also of note, Bianca, Mariah's alter ego, who last appeared in the "Heartbreaker" and "Heartbreaker (Remix)" video, also makes an appearance as she tries to run her off a Japanese highway. Mariah is able to evade her, and Bianca falls off the highway leading many to assume that her car crash has resulted in death.

Remixes

"Boy (I Need You)", like its direct predecessor, "Through The Rain", also marked a departure of sorts for Mariah in terms of remixing, as its main remix which displayed an emphasized sample of "I'm Going Down" and featuring raps by Cam'ron, Juelz Santana, Jimmy Jones & Freeway did not have a music video for it. No club remixes for the song were commissioned; however, there were other remixes of the song made by remixers such as The Copenhaniacs, Topnotch, and Duke & MVP from Disco Montego.

Comprehensive Charts

"Boy (I Need You)" Failed To Chart on The Billboard Hot 100
"Boy (I Need You)" Was Not Ranked On The Billboard Hot 100 Year End Charts (2003)
"Boy (I Need You)" Remained in The Billboard Hot 100 for 0 weeks

Official Remixes/Versions List

Boy (I Need You) (Album Version) featuring Cam'ron
Boy (I Need You) (Instrumental)
Boy (I Need You) (Radio Edit) featuring Cam'ron
Boy (I Need You) (Radio Edit Without Rap)
Boy (I Need You) (Remix) featuring Cam'ron, Juelz Santana, Jimmy Jones & Freeway
Boy (I Need You) (Remix Instrumental)
Boy (I Need You) (Topnotch L8 Mix)
Boy (I Need You) (Topnotch Tox Mix)
Boy (I Need You) (Remix by the Duke & MVP from Disco Montego)
Boy (I Need You) (Panjabi Hit Squad Mix)
Boy (I Need You) (Copenhaniacs Remix)