This I Promise You

Richard Marx was asked by A&R executive David Novik if he had any songs that he could give to NSYNC. He specifically requested a ballad.{{cite web|url=https://www.etonline.com/nsyncs-no-strings-attached-turns-20-inside-making-the-hit-album-143277|title=*NSYNC's 'No Strings Attached' Turns 20: How Destiny's Child, Heartache & Lawsuit Fueled the Album (Exclusive)|last=Tailor|first=Leena|website=Entertainment Tonight|date=March 20, 2020|access-date=March 20, 2020}} Initially, the song "This I Promise You" was written with a three-person girl group in mind. Marx quickly finished the song writing the harmonies specifically for NSYNC.

Marx would later record the song twice, first for the Japanese release of his 2000 album Days in Avalon similar to the NSYNC version from their album No Strings Attached, and again as a rock song for the European version of his 2010 Stories to Tell album. Marx would later use the Days in Avalon version of "This I Promise You" for his 2014 Now and Forever: The Ballads album as a duet with singer Sabrina.{{citation needed|date=March 2020}}

"This I Promise You" was NSYNC's fifth top-ten single in the U.S., reaching number five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the autumn of 2000. In addition, the song spent 13 weeks at number one on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, the group's first and only song to do so.{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/03/20/818464377/nsync-no-strings-attached-20th-anniversary-timberlake-backstreet|title=The Future According To NSYNC: 20 Years Of 'No Strings Attached'|last=Sherman|first=Maria|publisher=NPR|date=March 20, 2020|access-date=March 20, 2020}} Internationally, the song reached number twenty-one on the UK Singles Chart.

File:Redwood_National_Park,_fog_in_the_forest.jpg.]]

The music video was shot at Redwood National Park and San Francisco's Embarcadero in 2000 by Dave Meyers. During the video shoot, Justin Timberlake and Joey Fatone ended up exploring Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary without paying for tickets. Both members were eventually caught when they reached Al Capone's cell, and let off with a warning.{{cite web|url=https://www.etonline.com/justin-timberlake-recalls-breaking-into-alcatraz-with-one-of-his-nsync-bandmates-142939|title=Justin Timberlake Recalls Breaking Into Alcatraz With One of His *NSYNC Bandmates|last=Gawley|first=Paige|website=Entertainment Tonight|date=March 11, 2020|access-date=March 20, 2020}}

It debuted on an episode of Total Request Live on October 27, 2000.

The video shows the group members clad in turtlenecks singing in the Redwood National and State Parks, with different shots of different love relationships shown in bubbles floating around the forest. Footage of the San Francisco skyline appears at different intervals and at the key change towards the end of the song, the video pans to the members of NSYNC sitting at a table of an outdoor restaurant along the Embarcadero while eating and singing.

The music video on YouTube has received over 300 million views as of May 2024.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6thmPrTxBtI *NSYNC - This I Promise You (Official Video)].YouTube

A Spanish language version of the song, titled "Yo te Voy a Amar" was recorded at the same time and released in Spanish-speaking countries such as Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Ecuador, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Cuba, Dominican Republic, and Spain.

Irish Westlife lead singer Shane Filan included his version of this song on his third solo album Love Always in 2017. This served as a buzz single which was first released online and later released with a music video exclusively available in Europe. He dedicated this song to his wife Gillian Walsh.{{Cite web |url=http://news.audiopremieres.co.uk/2017/05/shane-filan-love-always-this-i-promise.html |title=Shane Filan "Love Always" | "This I Promise You" (Song Premiere) |access-date=February 16, 2018 |archive-date=February 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180216144825/http://news.audiopremieres.co.uk/2017/05/shane-filan-love-always-this-i-promise.html |url-status=dead }}

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;CD single

1. "This I Promise You" (Radio Edit) – 4:27
2. "It's Gonna Be Me" (Maurice Joshua Radio Remix) – 4:13
3. "I Thought She Knew" – 3:22

;Cassette

1. "This I Promise You" (Radio Edit) – 4:27
2. "This I Promise You" (Hex Hector Radio Mix) – 3:57
3. "I Thought She Knew" – 3:22

;Making the Tour exclusive bonus disc

1. "This I Promise You" (Live Home Video Mix) – 5:10

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;CD1

1. "This I Promise You" (Album Version) – 4:43
2. "This I Promise You" (Hex Hector Radio Mix) – 3:57

;CD2

1. "This I Promise You" (Album Version) – 4:43
2. "I Thought She Knew" – 3:22

;Limited edition remix single

1. "This I Promise You" (Album Version) – 4:43
2. "This I Promise You" (Hex Hector Club Mix) – 9:10
3. "This I Promise You" (Hex Hector Radio Mix) – 3:57
4. "Yo te Voy a Amar" (Spain Only)

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;Personnel

• Richard Marx – songwriter, producer, arranger
• David Cole – recording engineer, mixing engineer
• Adam Barber – vocal recording
• Cesar Ramirez – assistant engineer
• Ok Hee Kim – assistant engineer
• Toby Dearborn – assistant engineer
• Jeffrey CJ Vanston – drum and keyboard programming
• Michael Thompson – guitar
• Chaz Harper – mastering

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{{Certification Table Top}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|artist=*NSYNC|title=This I Promise You|award=Platinum|type=single|relyear=2000|certyear=2023|accessdate=September 5, 2023}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|artist=NSYNC|title=This I Promise You|award=Gold|type=single|relyear=2000|certyear=2023|source=radioscope|access-date=April 10, 2025}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|artist=N SYNC|title=This I Promise You|award=Platinum|type=single|relyear=2000|certyear=2025|accessdate=March 21, 2025}}

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• List of Billboard Adult Contemporary number ones of 2000 and 2001 (U.S.)

{{Reflist}}

• {{youTube|6thmPrTxBtI|"This I Promise You" Official Music Video}}

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Category:2000s ballads

Category:2000 singles

Category:2000 songs

Category:NSYNC songs

Category:Jive Records singles

Category:Pop ballads

Category:Songs written by Richard Marx

Category:Contemporary R&B ballads

Category:Soul ballads