Throwback Thursday: Fantasia – “When I See U”
As we discover time and time again, a song’s initial popularity doesn’t always say much about what it’s legacy will be.
Today is Fantasia’s 38th birthday, so how about we take a look at her entry in the Hall of Fame of Unlikely Classics?
In April of ’07, Fannie Mae released “When I See U” as the second single from her self-titled second album. It is your standard mid-2000s R&B song — it has just enough melody to make you want to sing along, but it is by no means remarkable. The song peaked at No. 32 on Billboard Hot 100, which sounds about right, especially when you consider what audiences had a taste for at that time.
It’s not clear what, where or why, but somewhere along the line, “When I See U” went from moderate hit to bonafide classic. Fantasia has bigger (and better) hits, but for some reason, this one seems to have stuck in a way that the rest haven’t. It has become particularly popular among (Black) men, and no one can fully explain it. It has become such a “thing” that cynics like myself wonder if some men now pretend to like it to appear more manly — but that’s neither here nor there.
Whatever the case may be, “When I See U” is yet another example of how initial popularity — and more specifically, chart placement — doesn’t always foretell how long a song will live in the hearts of music fans.
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