U Got the Look

{{Distinguish|The Look}}

{{Infobox song

| name = U Got the Look

| cover = Prince_Ugot.jpg

| alt =

| caption = US 7-inch single

| type = single

| artist = Prince

| album = Sign o' the Times

| B-side = Housequake

| released = July 14, 1987

| recorded = December 21, 1986{{cite web |url=http://www.discog.info/prince-discog.html |title=Prince: Discography for USA |website=discog.info |access-date=February 5, 2020 }}

| studio = Sunset Sound, Hollywood

| genre = {{hlist|Pop rock{{cite web|last=Wood|first=Mikael|date=April 21, 2021|title=All 85 Prince singles, ranked 4 u from worst 2 best|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2021-04-21/every-prince-single-ranked|access-date=April 25, 2021|website=Los Angeles Times}}|funk{{cite magazine|last=Raftery|first=Brian|date=April 22, 2016|title=The 10 Essential Prince Albums, From Purple Rain to Parade|magazine=Wired|url=https://www.wired.com/2016/04/10-essential-prince-albums-purple-rain-parade/|access-date=April 25, 2021|issn=1059-1028}}|electro-funk{{cite web|url=https://www.classicpopmag.com/2021/05/top-20-80s-collaborations/|title=Top 20 80s Collaborations|date=May 27, 2021|website=Classic Pop}}|new wave{{cite web|date=June 7, 2018|title=Prince's best songs: the NME edit|url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/best-prince-songs-9053|access-date=April 25, 2021|website=NME}}|R&B{{cite book|last=McGarrity|first=Andre|chapter= Sheena Easton|editor-last1=Graff|editor-first1=Gary|editor-last2=du Lac|editor-first2=Josh|editor-last3=McFarlin|editor-first3=Jim|date=January 1, 1998|title=MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide|publisher=Visible Ink Press|location=Detroit|pages=190-193}}}}

| length = {{ubl|3:49 (album version)|6:45 (12-inch version) }}

| label = {{hlist|Paisley Park|Warner Bros.}}

| writer = Prince

| producer = Prince

| prev_title = If I Was Your Girlfriend

| prev_year = 1987

| next_title = I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man

| next_year = 1987

| misc =

}}

"U Got the Look" is a song by American musician Prince. It opens the second disc of Prince's double album Sign o' the Times (1987), and became the album's runner-up chart single. Musically, the song is a standard 12-bar rock song with emphasis on the contrast between heavy drum beats by a Linn LM-1 drum machine and Sheila E.'s live percussion, and a vastly distorted almost completely saturated guitar sound. Although not credited on the single release, the song also features Scottish recording artist Sheena Easton.{{cite web |url=https://www.discogs.com/Prince-U-Got-The-Look/master/22072|title=U Got The Look|website=Discogs|access-date=January 12, 2021}} Prince sings in his sped-up "Camille" voice, although the song was not intended for the Camille album. The lyrics recite the familiar "boy versus girl in the World Series of love" line. (Coincidentally, the 1987 World Series came to Prince's hometown of Minneapolis a few months after the song was released.)

The music video for the song featuring Sheena Easton was filmed in Paris, France, and was directed by American music video director David Hogan. It was included in the film Sign "☮" the Times, and features the intro from the extended version of the song. The entire video is portrayed to be a dream sequence by Prince, dozing off in his dressing room. In the United States, the single went to number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles tally, the week of October 17, 1987. The single stayed in the top 10 of the chart for six weeks.

The extended version of the song (called the "Long Look") is similar to the video but has an additional musical section in the middle of the song with Sheena Easton's vocal, and continues for a few more seconds instead of fading out at the end. The "Long Look" was included on the Ultimate compilation album in 2006.

The B-side of the single was the P-funk-influenced album track, "Housequake". The song was considered for release as the first single from the unreleased Camille album, and therefore, arguably holds a place of importance in Prince's album history, considering the events that followed the creation of the track. The 12-inch also included an extension of the song called "7 Minutes Mo'Quake", which was a mostly instrumental version with the end of the album version tacked on. The remix is noteworthy for some of Atlanta Bliss's trumpet solos, which often were included in live versions of the song. Leaked versions of an unedited "original version" (often called "Camille's Mix") are attainable on the internet.

When Prince performed this song live, he incorporated "I Can't Stand Myself".

Track listings

7-inch: Paisley Park / 7-28289 (US)

  1. "U Got the Look" – 3:46
  2. "Housequake" (edit) – 3:24

12-inch: Paisley Park / 0-20727 (US)

  1. "U Got the Look" (Long Look) – 6:45
  2. "U Got the Look" (Single Cut) – 3:46
  3. "Housequake" (Album Cut) – 4:38
  4. "Housequake" (7 Minutes MoQuake) – 7:15

12-inch: Warner Bros. / W8289T (UK)

  1. "U Got the Look" (Long Look) – 6:45
  2. "Housequake" (7 Minutes MoQuake) – 7:15
  3. "U Got the Look" (Single Cut) – 3:46

*Also available as a picture disc (W8289TP)

Personnel

Credits from Duane Tudahl, Benoît Clerc and Guitarcloud{{cite book|last=Tudahl |first=Duane |date=2021 |title=Prince and the Parade and Sign O' The Times Era Studio Sessions 1985 and 1986 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=9781538144527}}{{cite book|last=Clerc |first=Benoît |date=October 2022 |title=Prince: All the Songs |publisher=Octopus |isbn=9781784728816}}{{cite web|title=Sign O The Times & The Black Album|url=http://guitarcloud.org/era/sign-o-times|access-date=2023-04-09|website=guitarcloud.org}}

Charts

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

=Weekly charts=

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+ Weekly chart performance for "U Got the Look"

! scope="col"| Chart (1987–1988)

! scope="col"| Peak
position

scope="row"| Australia (Kent Music Report){{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, NSW|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6|page=239}}

| 90

{{single chart|Austria|23|artist=Prince|song=U Got the Look|rowheader=true|access-date=May 4, 2016}}
{{single chart|Flanders|14|artist=Prince|song=U Got the Look|rowheader=true|access-date=May 4, 2016}}
{{single chart|Canadatopsingles|17|chartid=0902|rowheader=true|access-date=April 8, 2022}}
scope="row"| Europe (European Hot 100 Singles){{cite magazine|title=European Hot 100 Singles|magazine=Music & Media|volume=4|issue=34|page=12|date=August 29, 1987}}

| 14

scope="row"| Italy (Musica e dischi){{cite web|url=http://www.musicaedischi.it/classifiche_archivio.php|title=Classifiche|website=Musica e dischi|language=it|access-date=May 28, 2022}} Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Prince".

| 20

{{single chart|Dutch40|17|artist=Prince|rowheader=true|access-date=April 8, 2022}}
{{single chart|Dutch100|11|artist=Prince|song=U Got the Look|rowheader=true|access-date=May 4, 2016}}
{{single chart|New Zealand|8|artist=Prince|song=U Got the Look|rowheader=true|access-date=May 4, 2016}}
{{single chart|UKsinglesbyname|11|artist=Prince|artistid=17019|rowheader=true|access-date=May 6, 2023}}
{{single chart|Billboardhot100|2|artist=Prince|rowheader=true|access-date=May 4, 2016}}
{{single chart|Billboarddancesales|18|artist=Prince|rowheader=true|access-date=March 22, 2025}}
{{single chart|Billboardrandbhiphop|11|artist=Prince|rowheader=true|access-date=March 22, 2025}}
scope="row"| US Cash Box Top 100{{cite web|url=https://www.popmusichistory.co.uk/_files/ugd/b4848d_80ac2aa38d1847beb63521fe5117145a.pdf|title=U.S. Cash Box Charts|website=popmusichistory|access-date=May 6, 2023}}

| 3

{{single chart|West Germany|61|artist=Prince|song=U Got the Look|songid=23182|rowheader=true|access-date=May 6, 2023}}

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+ 2012 weekly chart performance for "U Got the Look"

! scope="col"| Chart (2012)

! scope="col"| Peak
position

{{single chart|France|189|artist=Prince|song=U Got the Look|rowheader=true|access-date=May 4, 2016}}

{{col-2}}

=Year-end charts=

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+ Year-end chart performance for "U Got the Look"

! scope="col"| Chart (1987)

! scope="col"| Position

scope="row"| US Billboard Hot 100{{cite magazine |date=December 26, 1987 |title=1987 The Year in Music & Video: Top Pop Singles |magazine=Billboard |volume=99 |issue=52 }}

| 38

scope="row"| US Hot Crossover Singles (Billboard){{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JCgEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22i+knew+you+were+wating%22|date=December 26, 1987 |title=1987 The Year in Music & Video: Top Hot Crossover Singles |magazine=Billboard |volume=99 |issue=52 |page=Y-27|access-date=April 7, 2022}}

| 19

scope="row"| US Cash Box Top 100{{cite web|url=http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/80s_files/1987YESP.html|title=The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1987 . TOP 100 POP SINGLES|website=Cash Box|access-date=April 8, 2022|date=December 26, 1987|archive-date=October 6, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121006043744/http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/80s_files/1987YESP.html}}

| 28

{{col-end}}

References