U Got the Look

Not to be confused with The Look.

"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.^[7] 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.)

"U Got the Look"
US 7-inch single
Single by Prince
from the album Sign o' the Times
B-side	"Housequake"
Released	July 14, 1987
Recorded	December 21, 1986[1]
Studio	Sunset Sound, Hollywood
Genre	Pop rock[2] funk[3] electro-funk[4] new wave[5] R&B[6]
Length	3:49 (album version) 6:45 (12-inch version)
Label	Paisley Park Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)	Prince
Producer(s)	Prince
Prince singles chronology
"If I Was Your Girlfriend" (1987) "U Got the Look" (1987) "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" (1987)

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, right behind "Lost in Emotion" by Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam. 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^[8][9][10]

• Prince – lead and backing vocals, Fairlight CMI, Prophet VS, electric guitar, Publison IM90 Infernal Machine
• Sheila E. – Linn LM-1, cymbals, hi-hat, cowbells, timbales
• Sheena Easton – uncredited lead vocals

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for "U Got the Look" Chart (1987–1988) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[11] 90 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[12] 23 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[13] 14 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[14] 17 Italy (Musica e dischi)[15] 20 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[16] 17 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[17] 11 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[18] 8 UK Singles (OCC)[19] 11 US Billboard Hot 100[20] 2 US Cash Box Top 100[21] 3 West Germany (GfK)[22] 61 2012 weekly chart performance for "U Got the Look" Chart (2012) Peak position France (SNEP)[23] 189

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for "U Got the Look" Chart (1987) Position US Billboard Hot 100[24] 38 US Hot Crossover Singles (Billboard)[25] 19 US Cash Box Top 100 Singles[26] 28

References

1. "Prince: Discography for USA". discog.info. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
2. Wood, Mikael (April 21, 2021). "All 85 Prince singles, ranked 4 u from worst 2 best". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
3. Raftery, Brian (April 22, 2016). "The 10 Essential Prince Albums, From Purple Rain to Parade". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
4. "Top 20 80s Collaborations". Classic Pop. May 27, 2021.
5. "Prince's best songs: the NME edit". NME. June 7, 2018. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
6. McGarrity, Andre (January 1, 1998). "Sheena Easton". In Graff, Gary; du Lac, Josh; McFarlin, Jim (eds.). MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide. Detroit: Visible Ink Press. pp. 190–193.
7. "U Got The Look". Discogs. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
8. Tudahl, Duane (2021). Prince and the Parade and Sign O' The Times Era Studio Sessions 1985 and 1986. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781538144527.
9. Clerc, Benoît (October 2022). Prince: All the Songs. Octopus. ISBN 9781784728816.
10. "Sign O The Times & The Black Album". guitarcloud.org. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
11. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. p. 239. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
12. "Prince – U Got the Look" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
13. "Prince – U Got the Look" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
14. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0902." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
15. "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved May 28, 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Prince".
16. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Prince" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
17. "Prince – U Got the Look" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
18. "Prince – U Got the Look". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
19. "Prince: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
20. "Prince Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
21. "U.S. Cash Box Charts" (PDF). popmusichistory. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
22. "Offiziellecharts.de – Prince – U Got the Look" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
23. "Prince – U Got the Look" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
24. "1987 The Year in Music & Video: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 99, no. 52. December 26, 1987.
25. "1987 The Year in Music & Video: Top Hot Crossover Singles". Billboard. Vol. 99, no. 52. December 26, 1987. p. Y-27. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
26. "The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1987 . TOP 100 POP SINGLES". Cash Box. December 26, 1987. Archived from the original on October 6, 2012. Retrieved April 8, 2022.