"I Need You" is a song written by Dennis Matkosky and Ty Lacy. It is performed by American country pop artist LeAnn Rimes. It was released on July 18, 2000 as a single from Jesus: Music From and Inspired by the Epic Mini-Series. The song spent 25 weeks on the US BillboardHot 100 and peaked at number 11, and it was also successful outside the US, reaching the top 20 in Canada, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. A music video was released in 2000.
Background and release
"I Need You" was released on July 18, 2000, as a single from Jesus: Music From & Inspired by the Epic Mini-Series. The song was re-released in 2002 by her label, Curb, in the album, I Need You, along with the Graham StackRadio Edit, and included on her 2003 Greatest Hits album. Also in 2003, the song was included on CMT Most Wanted Volume 1. The song was included on her Best of album in 2004 and the Dave Aude Radio Edit was included on the remix edition. A new remix by Digital Dog was featured on Rimes' 2014 greatest hits album, Dance Like You Don't Give a.... Greatest Hits Remixes. On February 3, 2015, it was included on her All-Time Greatest Hits album. Rimes donated her artist fees and royalties from this song to fund and build a therapeutic rehabilitation wing — the “LeAnn Rimes Adventure Gym” — at the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee. Although the single was released on July 18, 2000, it was only available as the commercial pop version. The country mix version of this song was not available until September 12, 2000, when Curb featured it on the multi-artist compilation album, "Wings Of A Dove".
Composition
"I Need You" is a Christian pop song of 3 minutes and 48 seconds. The song is written by Dennis Matkosky and Ty Lacy and is in the key of G major with Rimes' vocals spanning two octaves, from E3 to D5.
Critical reception
Entertainment Weeklymusic critic, David Browne, gave it a "C Plus" and states, "This schlock-deluxe ballad finds Rimes in full-diva mode, swooning and growling like a Celine Dion impersonator on Your Big Break." According to Carson James, Curb VP of Promotion, "I Need You" was used as the "primary vehicle for pre-promotion" of the "Jesus" mini-series that aired on CBS in May 2000 and was the lead track featured on the album. A review by Billboard stated, "Not since her pop breakthrough "How Do I Live" almost three years ago has Rimes brought forth a song so naturally beautiful and well-suited to her rich, enveloping vocal style."
Chart performance
In the United States, the song spent 25 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number 11. The song also reached number 8 on the BillboardCountry Songs chart, as well as number 2 on the BillboardAdult Contemporary chart. It received a Gold sales certification from the Recording Industry Association of America for shipping over 500,000 copies domestically. Internationally, "I Need You" peaked within the top 20 in Canada, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
Music video
The music video for the song features Rimes singing solo in a minimally furnished, abandoned house. The first 2/3's of the video features Rimes in a tan and white shirt with tan leather pants while in the darkness lit by a spotlight that travels across the room in the background while different colored leaves are billowing about. There are close-up shots of her face as she's singing and various poses of her swaying, moving and dancing to the song. After the second verse the spotlight stops in her midsection and the scenes are flooded with light. Then her outfit changes to white but she and the music video continue as before. The video was directed by Joe Rey. On July 22, 2014, as a promotion for her Dance Like You Don't Give a.... Greatest Hits Remixes album, Rimes released the Digital Dog remix of the music video.
