U Got the Look

"U Got the Look" is a song by American musician Prince. It opens the second disc of Prince's 1987 double album Sign “☮” the Times, and became the album's highest charting single. Musically, the song is standard 12-bar rock song with emphasis on the contrast between heavy drum beats by a LinnDrum 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, who sings co-lead with Prince. 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.

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 Sign “☮” the Times film, 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 US, the single went to number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles tally, the week of October 17, 1987, only 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" 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. Upon listening to them it is clear that the track required significant changes in the composition before arriving at the album version, which is now a fan favorite, and was often considered one of the standout tracks on the album.

Track listing

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

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

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

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

12": Warner Bros. / W8289T (UK)

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

*Also available as a picture disc (W8289TP)

Cover versions

Electronic music artist Gary Numan covered "U Got the Look" for his 1992 album, Machine + Soul, which also featured a cover version of Prince's "1999".
Electroclash artists Dirty Sanchez covered the song for their self-titled album.
Ween have covered "Housequake" live.

References in other media

The popular Canadian teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation, which is known for naming each episode after a 1980s hit song, named an episode after this song.
The Fla Flas released a 2003 album titled Boy vs. Girl In the World Series of Love, named after the "U Got the Look" lyric.
Erin Andrews and Maksim Chmerkovskiy danced a Paso Doble to this song during Season 10 of Dancing with the Stars.

Charts

Chart (1987)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)^[1]	90
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)^[2]	23
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)^[3]	14
France (SNEP)^[4]	189
Germany (Official German Charts)^[5]	61
Netherlands (Single Top 100)^[6]	11
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)^[7]	8
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)^[8]	11
US Billboard Hot 100^[9]	2

References

↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. p. 239. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
↑ "Austriancharts.at – Prince – U Got the Look" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
↑ "Ultratop.be – Prince – U Got the Look" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
↑ "Lescharts.com – Prince – U Got the Look" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Prince – U Got the Look". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Prince – U Got the Look" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
↑ "Charts.org.nz – Prince – U Got the Look". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
↑ "Prince: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
↑ "Prince – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Prince. Retrieved May 4, 2016.

External links

Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

Prince singles

1970s	"Soft and Wet" "Just as Long as We're Together" "I Wanna Be Your Lover"

1980s	"Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?" "Still Waiting" "Sexy Dancer" "Bambi" "Uptown" "Dirty Mind" "Do It All Night" "Controversy" "Let's Work" "Do Me, Baby" "Sexuality" "1999" "Little Red Corvette" "D.M.S.R." "Delirious" "Automatic" "Let's Pretend We're Married" "When Doves Cry" "Let's Go Crazy" "Purple Rain" "I Would Die 4 U" "Take Me with U" "Paisley Park" "Raspberry Beret" "Pop Life" "America" "Kiss" "Mountains" "Anotherloverholenyohead" "Girls & Boys" "Sign "O" the Times" "If I Was Your Girlfriend" "U Got the Look" "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" "Alphabet St." "Glam Slam" "I Wish U Heaven" "Batdance" "Partyman" "The Arms of Orion" "Scandalous!"

1990s	"The Future" "Thieves in the Temple" "New Power Generation" "Gett Off" "Cream" "Diamonds and Pearls" "Money Don't Matter 2 Night" "Insatiable" "Thunder" "Sexy MF" "My Name Is Prince" "7" "Damn U" "The Morning Papers" "Pink Cashmere" "Nothing Compares 2 U" "Peach" "Pope" (remix) "Come" "Letitgo" "Space" "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" "P Control" "Dolphin" "Endorphinmachine" "I Hate U" "Gold" "Dinner with Delores" "Betcha by Golly Wow!" "The Holy River" "Somebody's Somebody" "Face Down" "The Truth" "Extraordinary" "The Rest of My Life" "5 Women" "It's About That Walk" "The Greatest Romance Ever Sold"

2000s	"U Make My Sun Shine" (with Angie Stone) "When Will We Be Paid?" (with Audio Stepchild) "Supercute" "The Work, pt. 1" "Days of Wild" "Musicology" "Cinnamon Girl" "Controversy (Live in Hawaii)" "S.S.T." "Te Amo Corazón" "Black Sweat" "Fury" "Guitar" "F.U.N.K." "Dance 4 Me"

2010s	"Extraloveable" "Rock and Roll Love Affair" "Screwdriver" "Fixurlifeup" "Breakfast Can Wait" "Pretzelbodylogic" "Fallinlove2nite" "Breakdown" "Clouds" "Baltimore" "Hardrocklover" "This Could B Us" "Free Urself"

Promotional singles	"When You Were Mine" "D.M.S.R." "Another Lonely Christmas" "Erotic City" "Hot Thing" "Trust" "Willing and Able" "Nothing Compares 2 U" "Pope" "Love Sign" (with Nona Gaye) "Come" "P. Control" "Dolphin" "Endorphinmachine" "Slave" "Somebody's Somebody" "Face Down" "Extraordinary" "The Rest of My Life" "5 Women" "It's About That Walk" "Baby Knows" "Man'O'War" "She Loves Me 4 Me" "Last December" "One Nite Alone... Live EP" "Live at the Aladdin Las Vegas" "Call My Name" "The Song of the Heart" "Beautiful, Loved & Blessed" (with Tamar Davis) "Chelsea Rodgers" "Future Baby Mama" "The One U Wanna C" "U're Gonna C Me"

Airplay-only songs	"International Lover" "Shhh" "Satisfied" "Better with Time"

Internet downloads	"One Song" "Cybersingle" "Bataclan" "Glass Cutter" "Live from Paisley Park" "Strange Relationship" (Live in Minneapolis) "Guitar" (original "demo" version) "Love" (acoustic version) "Rock and Roll Love Affair" (Remix 7) "Screwdriver" (Remix) "Boyfriend" (Demo) "That Girl Thang" "Live Out Loud" "Ain't Gonna Miss U When U're Gone" "Extraloveable Reloaded" "Menstrual Cycle" "Octopus Heart" "Groovy Potential" "The Sweeter She Is" "Something in the Water" (Paisley Park Rehearsal) "Da Bourgeoisie" "What If" "The X's Face"

Streams	"U're Still the One" "Xylophone" "In a Large Room with No Light" "Purple and Gold" "Cause and Effect" "Hot Summer" "Rich Friends" "Same Page Different Book" "Stare"

EP's	The Scandalous Sex Suite EP New Power Generation Remixes Gett Off Remix EP Cream Remixes' My Name Is Prince Remixes 7 Remixes The Beautiful Experience Letitgo Remixes Space Remixes I Hate U Remixes 1999: The New Master The Greatest Romance Ever Sold Remixes Breakfast Can Wait

Other songs	"I Feel for You" "When You Were Mine" "Head" "Private Joy" "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?" "17 Days" "The Beautiful Ones" "Computer Blue" "Darling Nikki" "Baby I'm a Star" "4 the Tears in Your Eyes" "Housequake" "Starfish and Coffee" "Adore" "Don't Talk 2 Strangers" "I Can't Make U Love Me" "La, La, La Means I Love U" "One of Us" "Everyday Is a Winding Road" "A Case of U"

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