I Didn't Know I Was Looking for Love

"I Didn't Know I Was Looking for Love" is a song written by Ben Watt and Tracey Thorn of Everything but the Girl. The song was originally released by them in 1993 as a track on the EP of the same title reaching number 72 on the UK Singles Chart.[1] It has been covered by Meja in 1996, Karen Ramirez in 1998, Jay Lopez in 2004, and Sitti Navarro in 2006.

For other songs with similar titles, see Looking for Love.
"I Didn't Know I Was Looking for Love"
Single by Everything but the Girl
from the EP I Didn't Know I Was Looking for Love
Released1993
Length3:51
LabelBlanco y Negro
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Phil Ramone
Everything but the Girl singles chronology
"The Only Living Boy in New York"
(1993)		 "I Didn't Know I Was Looking for Love"
(1993)		 "Rollercoaster"
(1994)

Karen Ramirez version
"Looking for Love"
Single by Karen Ramirez
from the album Distant Dreams
Released3 June 1998
Recorded1997
Genre
Length3:56
LabelBustin' Loose
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Souled Out
Karen Ramirez singles chronology
"Troubled Girl"
(1998)		 "Looking for Love"
(1998)		 "If We Try"
(1999)

The song was covered by British singer Karen Ramirez and released as her second single from the album, Distant Dreams in 1998 with the shorter title of "Looking for Love". This version peaked at number 8 on the UK Singles Chart in June 1998 and topped the US Hot Dance Club Play chart in 2001. It additionally peaked at number five in Hungary and number 10 in Italy. On the Eurochart Hot 100, "Looking for Love" reached number 45 in August 1998.

Ramirez's version of the song was well received and garnered mainly positive reviews from critics. Coincidentally, while Ramirez never denied that the song was a cover version of an Everything but the Girl release, her version also drew comments from UK music critics of the era for its similarity to another Everything but the Girl release, "Missing", from 1995, as well as The Corrs' 1998 cover version of Fleetwood Mac's song "Dreams", both of which were remixed and produced by Todd Terry. Despite having several of the same Todd Terry hallmarks as the two aforementioned songs (most notably, a standalone introduction edited into the main song, and a recurring synth loop combined with a prominent drumbeat), contrary to popular belief in the UK music press at the time, Todd Terry had no involvement whatsoever in Ramirez's record.

Critical reception

Daily Record called "Looking for Love" a "strong R&B hit".[2] Richard Wallace from Daily Mirror stated that "the hypnotic cover" of Everything But The Girl's "I Didn't Know I Was Looking for Love" "was a beguiling introduction to the talents of Ms Ramirez".[3] Music & Media wrote that "this English soul singer first really made her mark as a lead vocalist for Italian dance production team Souled Out. After the project was finished, all involved concluded that the collaboration had been successful to such an extent that it deserved some kind of follow up. Work on Ramirez' debut album Distant Dreams accordingly began soon after. The first single Troubled Girl was reasonably successful and expectations for this underrated gem written by Everything but the Girl are justifiably high."[4] Smash Hits said that this remix could do for Karen Ramirez what Fatboy Slim's mix of "Brimful Of Asha" did for Cornershop. They added, "These housey beats increase the funk factor ten-fold without losing the delicious vocals or hummable tune. A rare dance choon that sounds just as good off the dancefloor as on it. Bangin'!"[5]

Music video

In addition to extensive dance club and radio airplay, the music video for the song (which featured Ramirez walking around a house on a continuous loop, each time seeing previous versions of herself walking around the house) also enjoyed heavy rotation on both MTV and VH-1 throughout the summer of 1998.

Charts and certifications

References
  1. "Everything but the Girl". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  2. "Chart Slot". Daily Record. 10 July 1998. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  3. Wallace, Richard (24 July 1998). "Out This Week. ALBUM". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  4. "Airborne" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 15 no. 26. 27 June 1998. p. 16. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  5. "Review: New Singles". Smash Hits. No. 509. 17 June 1998. p. 47. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  6. "Australian-charts.com – Karen Ramirez – Looking for Love". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  7. "Austriancharts.at – Karen Ramirez – Looking for Love" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  8. "Ultratop.be – Karen Ramirez – Looking for Love" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  9. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 15 no. 31. 1 August 1998. p. 11. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  10. "Lescharts.com – Karen Ramirez – Looking for Love" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  11. "Offiziellecharts.de – Karen Ramirez – Looking for Love". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  12. "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 15 no. 39. 26 September 1998. p. 12. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  13. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (NR. 289 Vikuna 10.9. – 17.9. 1998)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 11 September 1998. p. 10. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  14. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Looking for Love". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  15. "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 15 no. 34. 22 August 1998. p. 9. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  16. "Karen Ramirez – Looking for Love" (in Dutch). top40.nl. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  17. "Dutchcharts.nl – Karen Ramirez – Looking for Love" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  18. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  19. "Swedishcharts.com – Karen Ramirez – Looking for Love". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  20. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  21. "Karen Ramirez Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  22. "Best Sellers of 1998 – Singles Top 100". Music Week. 16 January 1999. p. 7.
  23. "Najlepsze single na UK Top 40–1998 wg sprzedaży" (in Polish). Archived from the original on 4 June 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  24. "British single certifications – Karen Ramirez – Looking for Love". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
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