American singer-songwriter Frank Ocean opens up on Thinkin Bout You, the lead single from his debut album Channel Orange.
Shea Taylor produced Thinkin Bout You after earlier working on Beyoncé’s Love on Top. Ocean first wrote it with other pop and R&B acts in mind, so it began as a song for others. The album cut adds a string section, while the earlier Tumblr demo was stripped down. The track runs 3:20.
Writers have read it as a forbidden love song, since Ocean calls the ex a boy in the lyrics. Ocean introduced it on the radio as a song about his first love. That origin still lets many hear it as a unisex love song.
It became Ocean’s highest-charting single, peaking at number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100. The RIAA later gave Ocean his first platinum plaque for it, while the album sat at gold. It leaked online a month after Watch the Throne came out, which built hype before the album. Channel Orange itself debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200.
Ocean sang it at the MTV VMAs beside a faux campfire under a starry backdrop. Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers later recorded an instrumental take for his album Honora. Cue up Thinkin Bout You and tell us in the comments – which line sticks with you most after all these years?
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