- Source: I Miss You (Haddaway song)
"I Miss You" is a song by Trinidadian-German musician Haddaway, released in November 1993 by Coconut Records as the third single from the musician's debut album, The Album (1993). Unlike his two previous hit singles, the song is a ballad. It was written by Dee Dee Halligan, Junior Torello and Clyde Lieberman, and produced by Halligan and Torello. A sizeable hit in several countries, particularly in the United Kingdom and Finland, it entered the top 10, reaching number nine and four, respectively. The single entered the Eurochart Hot 100 at number 87 on 11 December 1993 and peaked at number 10 on 19 February 1994. However, it did not reach the same level of success as "What Is Love" and "Life". By March 1994, worldwide sales had reached 300,000 units.
Critical reception
American magazine Billboard named "I Miss You" "among the most potent offerings" from the album. A reviewer from Kingston Informer described it as a "commercial slice of pop from the dance floor master with a penchant for leather." In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton wrote, "The new single is, as might be expected, a ballad but in actual fact is far better than the current crop of seasonal hits. It's gone in too slow to be a massive Christmas hit, but a good track nonetheless." Pan-European magazine Music & Media noted, "After two massive pop dance hits, this is another, more tender side of this year's biggest new male star. For this ballad he borrowed the sequencer hook out of Seal's 'Crazy'."
Alan Jones from Music Week commented, "An unexpectedly subtle record, with a slow and shuffling beat that draws a subdued but competent vocal from Haddaway. Repeated plays draw out its finer qualities." A reviewer from Reading Evening Post stated that "after two fast-paced dancefloor smashes, Haddaway makes a brave but mistaken move in slowing things down on this deeply ordinary bed foray". James Hamilton from the Record Mirror Dance Update viewed the song as a "mournful husky smoocher". Leesa Daniels from Smash Hits opined, "This is a slowie that has every love song cliché that's ever existed in lyrics and sounds uncannily like a Milli Vanilli hand-me-down tune."
Chart performance
"I Miss You" was a notable hit in several countries, particularly in Europe. It entered the top 10 in Finland (4), Lithuania (5), and the United Kingdom, as well as on the Music & Media Eurochart Hot 100, the European Adult Contemporary Radio and European Hit Radio charts, where it reached numbers ten, nine and seven. The single debuted on the Eurochart at number 87 on 11 December 1993, after charting in Belgium, Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands, and peaked nine weeks later. In the UK, the single peaked at number nine on 16 January 1994, during its fifth week at the UK Singles Chart. It entered the chart five weeks earlier at number 34 and stayed within the UK Top 100 for 14 weeks. Additionally, "I Miss You" was a top-20 hit in Austria (11), France (16), Germany (18), Ireland (13), the Netherlands (17), and Switzerland (17). In Germany, it debuted on the German Singles Chart at number 92, before peaking seven weeks later. The song spent 20 weeks inside the chart. On the African continent, it was successful in Zimbabwe, peaking at number seven, while in Oceania, it reached number 44 on the ARIA singles chart in Australia.
Airplay
"I Miss You" entered the European Music & Media airplay chart Border Breakers at number 11 on 4 December 1993 due to crossover airplay in West Central-, East Central-, North- and South-Europe. It peaked at number two on 8 January 1994. In the UK, the song reached number three on the Music Week Airplay chart on 22 January.
Music video
A music video was produced to promote the single, filmed in Park Güell in Barcelona, Spain. It received heavy rotation on MTV Europe and was A-listed on Germany's VIVA. Later, the video was made available on Coconut Records' official YouTube channel in 2012, and had generated more than ten million views as of February 2024.
Track listings
12-inch single
"I Miss You" (club mix) — 5:20
"I Miss You" (12-inch mix) — 5:07
"Haddaway Mega Mix" — 5:37
"I Miss You" (radio edit) — 3:37
CD single
"I Miss You" (radio edit) — 3:37
"I Miss You" (12-inch mix) — 5:07
CD maxi
"I Miss You" (radio edit) — 3:37
"I Miss You" (12-inch mix) — 5:07
"I Miss You" (club mix) — 5:20
"I Miss You" (album mix) — 4:12