"I Need You Now" is a pop song recorded by the Swedish singer Agnes for her third album Dance Love Pop. The song was written by Anders Hansson and Sharon Vaughn. It was released as the album's second single in the UK in a remixed form. The song was re-sung and completely reproduced during summer 2009 for the single release.[1] It was also released as the third single in the Netherlands on October 9.
The song's first radio play was on Friday 11 September on BBC Radio 1's Floorfillers with Scott Mills.[2]
Background
"I Need You Now" is a slow song, track number 5 on the album. "On and On" was originally set to be the second single in the UK, but in September a re-recorded version of "I Need You Now" was announced instead. The song was released in Sweden as the fourth single, in the Netherlands and Poland as the third single and in Australia as the second. In Sweden, the song's first play was on Sweden's biggest commercial radio station on November 6; the single was released as digital download only. In Australia, the Cahill Radio Remix was used for the single release.
Talking about the song, Agnes told The Sun, "It's simple and direct, you can relate to it and I love the lyrics. The first time I heard it, I thought this is me. This is my life."[3]
The DJ Cahill Remix of the song has a piano riff similar to that which is in Coldplay's song, "Clocks".[4]
Chart performance
"I Need You Now" was released in the Netherlands on October 9, 2009,[5] but failed to enter any charts. In November it was released in Sweden and entered the Swedish Singles Chart at 10, and two weeks later peaked at eight.[6] Agnes' seventh top-ten hit in Sweden, it was in the chart for thirteen weeks. Released in the United Kingdom on November 13, it entered the UK Singles Chart one week later at number 40. It then dropped the week after to number 67 and thereafter left the chart. Though the single did not manage as well in the UK it peaked high in other European countries, in Estonia at four and in Slovenia at two. It has also charted in Slovakia, Cyprus, Poland and Malta.
The music video was shot in the Mojave Desert at the El Mirage dry lake bed outside Los Angeles on October 4, 2009. It was directed by Paul Boyd and released on AATW's official YouTube channel on October 16, 2009. Though "I Need You Now" did not meet the expectations in the UK, the music video was heavily rotated in Sweden, among other places, where it stayed on MTV's "most played chart" for numerous weeks.
The music video begins with Agnes walking around in the desert next to the futuristic Aptera electric vehicle searching for something. She later enters the Aptera and drives it, then she steps out wearing a white space suit. The video then shows a Native American (Rick Mora) riding on a horse, probably looking for Agnes. In the end, they meet up and walk away together. The video shows Agnes in three different dresses.
