Waiting for a Girl Like You

"Waiting for a Girl like You" is a 1981 power ballad by the British-American rock band Foreigner. The distinctive synthesizer theme was performed by the then-little-known Thomas Dolby.

It was the second single released from the album 4 (1981) and was co-written by Lou Gramm and Mick Jones. It has become one of the band's most famous songs worldwide, peaking at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on Billboard's Rock Tracks chart.^[2] On the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, the song reached the top five.^[3] The song peaked at number 8 on the UK Singles Chart.

"Waiting for a Girl Like You" achieved a chart distinction by spending its record-setting 10 weeks in the number 2 position of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, without ever reaching the top. It debuted on the Hot 100 chart dated October 10, 1981. It reached the number 2 position in the week of November 28, where it was held off the number 1 spot by Olivia Newton-John's single "Physical" for nine consecutive weeks, and then by Hall & Oates' "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" for a tenth week on January 30, 1982.^[4] Because of its chart longevity, it ended up being the number 19 song on the Top 100 singles of 1982.

Prior to the release of the song as a single, Foreigner was considered a hard rock band getting airplay mostly on rock stations and some top 40 ones. This song gave the group more exposure on top 40 radio stations. Also because the song was soft, most adult contemporary radio stations played it as well, giving the group exposure to an audience they were not really aiming at in general. This song was pivotal in exposing harder rock acts to a broader audience.

The song lists at number 80 on "Billboard's Greatest Songs of All Time".^[5]

Chart performance

Weekly singles charts

Chart (1981–82)	Peak position
Australia^[6]	3
Canada	2
Germany	29
New Zealand	16
UK	8
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	2
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary	5
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock	1
U.S. Cash Box Top 100	2

Year-end charts

Chart (1981)	Position
Canada	34

Chart (1982)	Position
Australia ^[7]	21
UK ^[8]	87
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 ^[9]	19

In other media

In the original Footloose, Ren and Ariel slow dance to this song in a bar.
The song was featured on the soundtrack for the 2002 videogame Grand Theft Auto: Vice City on the in-game radio station Emotion 98.3
The song is featured in Karaoke Revolution Party and as downloadable content for the Rock Band franchise.
The song was covered by Mark Salling (who plays Noah 'Puck' Puckerman) in the fourth episode of the third season of the smash TV-show Glee, Pot o' Gold.
The song was also covered by Glee's sister show The Glee Project in its second season.
The song was used in Nickelodeon movie Snow Day and was featured on the soundtrack.
Rick Springfield also recorded a cover version of this song on his 2005 covers album, The Day After Yesterday.
Cliff Richard covered the song on his 2007 album, Love... The Album, which reached No. 13 on the UK Album Chart.
Also in 2007, Paul Anka released a cover version on his album Classic Songs, My Way.
Also exists a cover sung by Joe Lynn Turner, an EP and an official video was made in 1999.
The song is included in the rock/jukebox musical Rock of Ages, and included on the 2009 original Broadway cast recording.
In the movie Swades, Shahrukh Khan sings this song while taking a bath.

References

↑ 12" Extended Version on YouTube
↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 234.
↑ Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of No. 1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications), page 333.
↑ Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard Book of No. 1 Hits, 5th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 601.
↑ Billboard Greatest Songs of the Hot 100
↑ http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-end-of-year-charts-top-50-singles-1988.htm
↑ http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-end-of-year-charts-top-50-singles-1988.htm
↑ http://www.uk-charts.top-source.info/top-100-1982.shtml
↑ http://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1982.htm

External links

Foreigner

Mick Jones Thom Gimbel Jeff Pilson Kelly Hansen Michael Bluestein Chris Frazier Dennis Elliott Lou Gramm Al Greenwood Ian McDonald Ed Gagliardi Rick Wills Johnny Edwards Jeff Jacobs Mark Schulman Bruce Turgon Ron Wikso Brian Tichy Denny Carmassi Jason Bonham Chaz West Paul Mirkovich Bryan Head Jason Sutter

Studio albums	Foreigner Double Vision Head Games 4 Agent Provocateur Inside Information Unusual Heat Mr. Moonlight Can't Slow Down

Compilations	Records The Very Best ... and Beyond Jukebox Heroes: The Foreigner Anthology Complete Greatest Hits Hot Blooded and Other Hits The Essentials The Definitive Collection No End in Sight: The Very Best of Foreigner

Live albums	Classic Hits Live/Best of Live Extended Versions Can't Slow Down...When It's Live!

Singles	"Feels Like the First Time" "Starrider" "Cold as Ice" "Long, Long Way from Home" "Hot Blooded" "Double Vision" "Blue Morning, Blue Day" "Love Has Taken Its Toll" "Dirty White Boy" "Head Games" "Love on the Telephone" "Women" "I'll Get Even with You" "Urgent" "Juke Box Hero" "Waiting for a Girl Like You" "Night Life" "Break It Up" "Luanne" "I Want to Know What Love Is" "That Was Yesterday" "Tooth and Nail" "Reaction to Action" "Growing Up the Hard Way" "Down on Love" "Say You Will" "I Don't Want to Live Without You" "Heart Turns to Stone" "Can't Wait" "Lowdown and Dirty" "I'll Fight for You" "With Heaven on Our Side" "Soul Doctor" "White Lie" "Until the End of Time" "Rain" "Under the Gun" "Too Late" "When It Comes to Love" "Can't Slow Down" "In Pieces"

Related articles	Discography Shadow King Black Sheep "Revenge of the Mooninites"

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