"You Used to Love Me"
Single by Faith Evans
from the album Faith
ReleasedJuly 13, 1995
StudioThe Hit Factory (New York City)
Length4:28
Label
Songwriter(s)Faith Evans
Producer(s)
Faith Evans singles chronology
"One More Chance"
(1995)		 "You Used to Love Me"
(1995)		 "Soon as I Get Home"
(1995)
Music video
"You Used to Love Me" on YouTube

"You Used to Love Me" is the debut single of American singer-songwriter Faith Evans. Written by Evans and produced by Sean "Diddy" Combs and Chucky Thompson for her debut album, Faith (1995), the song was initially intended to be used on fellow Bad Boy Records signees Total's self-titled first album (1996), but was eventually claimed by Evans after she had found lyrics to Thompson's track which were inspired by another argument the singer had with then-husband The Notorious B.I.G..

Released as a single in June 1995, "You Used to Love Me" earned largely positive reviews. It peaked at number 24 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and reached the top five on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. In August 1995, the song was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In 2009, the song was included in the biopic Notorious (2009). On Christmas Day 2015, Evans released a re-recorded version of the song on Faith 20, a six-track album composed of remakes from Faith.[1]

Background

"You Used to Love Me" was written by Evans and produced by Combs and Thompson for her debut studio album Faith (1995).[2] The song was originally planned for her labelmates Total,[3] but Evans wrote to the track after hearing the music and it was the first song finished for her album.[4] Commenting on the creation process, Thompson told Soul Culture in 2014: "I met [Total] and I knew they had this swag about them. We were digging in the record crates for ’70s music back then. I went into the studio and zoned out. I picked up a guitar and starting messing around with it to see what I could come up with. I gave the tape to [Combs] and I never heard back from him. One day, I hear Faith putting down some ideas in the studio. She had three or four different hooks for this song. This one hook she had was crazy because it sounded off. She sounded real lazy with it and it ended up being the hook we went with for the song."[3]

Evans further elaborated in her 2008 autobiography Keep the Faith: "It was the kind of love song that I knew any woman could relate to. But it was also a song that men would bump in their cars because the beat was crazy and my voice was more smoky than saccharine-sweet. I also knew that it perfectly fit what Puff was going for in terms of being sexy and mature. It was the kind of song I knew that people my mom's age would like just as much as young people."[5] According to Evans, Bad Boy Records instantly decided that "You Used to Love Me" would be the first single from Faith.[5]

Critical reception

Billboard editor Larry Flick found that on "You Used to Love Me" Evans "carves out her own niche by keeping her vocal flow easy and decidedly more jazzy — a stylistic choice that works well with this jam's plush, old-school R&B sound. The crowning element is a ticking jeep beat that crawls up the spine without overpowering the subtlety of Faith's performance or the song's hook."[6] Flick's colleague Paul Verna called the song a "loopy debut."[7] In a retrospective review, Demi Phillips from HotNewHipHop wrote in 2023: "A brilliant introduction to the plethora of R&B hits she would release, Faith Evans showed off her storytelling capabilities with the song. On the track, she delivered a heartbreaking and honest note about her feelings. Evans reminisced about how a former love used to cherish her but didn’t anymore."[8]

Music video

Directed Lionel C. Martin was consulted two film two music videos for "You Used to Love Me."[9] The "Biggie Version" of "You Used to Love Me" co-stars The Notorious B.I.G..[10]

Track listings

All tracks written by Faith Evans.[2]

US CD single[11]
No.TitleProducer(s)Length
1."You Used to Love Me" (album version)
  • Combs
  • Thompson
4:28
2."You Used to Love Me" (Club I mix)
  • Combs
  • Thompson
4:15
3."You Used to Love Me" (Club II mix)
  • Combs
  • Thompson
5:08
UK maxi-CD single[12]
No.TitleProducer(s)Length
1."You Used to Love Me" (album version)
  • Combs
  • Thompson
4:28
2."You Used to Love Me" (Ali mix)
4:28
3."You Used to Love Me" (Puff Daddy mix)Combs4:33
4."You Used to Love Me" (Club I mix)
  • Combs
  • Thompson
4:15

Notes

  • ^[a] signifies remix producer(s)

Sample credits

  • "You Used to Love Me (Puff Daddy mix)" contains a sample from "Are You a Customer" by EPMD.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Faith.[2]

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for "You Used to Love Me"
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[20] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

"You Used to Love Me" release history
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States June 1995
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
 Bad Boy
United Kingdom October 2, 1995
[21]

References

  1. ↑ "Faith Evans Reaches Back & Celebrates Her Debut Album With 'Faith 20'". Soulbounce. December 25, 2015. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Faith (Media notes). Faith Evans. Bad Boy Records. 1995.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  3. 1 2 Williams, Chris (January 2, 2012). "Producer Chucky Thompson recalls crafting Faith Evans' debut album, Faith (1995) | Return To The Classics". soulculture.com. Soul Culture. Archived from the original on March 15, 2014. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Interview: Chucky Thompson Talks Creating Faith Evans' Debut "Faith" and the History Behind the Notorious B.I.G.'s "Big Poppa" (Part 2)". Youknowigotsoul.com. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  5. 1 2 Evans, Faith (2008). Keep the Faith: A Memoir. Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 978-0-44619-950-6.
  6. ↑ Flick, Larry (May 27, 1995). "Reviews & Previews – Singles". Billboard. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  7. ↑ Verna, Paul (October 7, 1995). "Reviews & Previews – Albums". Billboard. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  8. ↑ Phillips, Demi (July 24, 2023). "Faith Evans: 7 Of The R&B Icon's Best Hits". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  9. ↑ "Faith Evans: You Used to Love Me". IMDb. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Faith Evans - You Used To Love Me (Biggie Version) (Official Music Video)". Retrieved November 10, 2023 – via YouTube.
  11. ↑ You Used to Love Me (US CD single liner notes). Faith Evans. Bad Boy Records, Atlantic Records. 1995.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. ↑ You Used to Love Me (UK maxi-CD single liner notes). Faith Evans. Bad Boy Records, Atlantic Records. 1995.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  13. ↑ "Faith Evans: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Faith Evans Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  16. ↑ "Faith Evans Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Faith Evans Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  18. ↑ "Billboard Top 100 - 1995". Retrieved August 27, 2010.
  19. ↑ "1995 Year End Chart: R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
  20. ↑ "American single certifications – Faith Evans – You Used to Love Me". Recording Industry Association of America.
  21. ↑ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. September 30, 1995. p. 61.


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