"If You Love Me" peaked at number eight on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart as well as number two on the BillboardHot R&B Singles chart. It topped the New Zealand Singles Chart for five weeks and reached the top 20 in Australia, France, Ireland, and the Netherlands. The music video for the Remix features rapper Craig Mack. In 2015, Canadian rapper Tory Lanez sampled the song for his hit single "Say It". Billboard named the song number 84 on their list of "100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time".[2]
Critical reception
Caroline Sullivan from The Guardian complimented the song's "memorable chorus".[3] Chuck Campbell from Knoxville News Sentinel noted its "mellow seduction".[4] Geoffrey Himes from The Washington Post declared the song as "a firm demand for commitment from a lover." He explained, "It begins with Gilbert and her two partners, Charmayne "Maxee" Maxwell and Monica "Mimi" Doby, singing slow, swooning harmonies over producer Dave Hall's piano. Having established the romantic mood, Gilbert lays down her conditions to a catchy melodic chant and the beat of an insistent drum machine: "If you want my heart/ Then it's time that you start/ To act like you're mine/ In the light and the dark." It's a great single, and it sets the pattern for an album that celebrates the intoxication of romance but demands respect as well."[5]
Track listings
US maxi-CD single[6]
"If You Love Me" (Smooth Out remix extended version) – 5:45
"If You Love Me" (If You Jazz Me remix extended version) – 5:45
"If You Love Me" (Characters Funk remix extended version) – 5:45
"If You Love Me" (LP version radio edit) – 3:43
"If You Love Me" (Soft Touch Mix radio edit) – 3:44
"If You Love Me" (a cappella) – 3:42
US 12-inch single[7]
A1. "If You Love Me" (LP version) – 5:04
A2. "If You Love Me" (LP version a cappella) – 3:42
B1. "If You Love Me" (Smooth Out remix extended version) – 5:45
B2. "If You Love Me" (If You Jazz Me remix extended version) – 5:45
B3. "If You Love Me" (Characters Funk remix extended version) – 5:45
US and UK cassette single; European CD single[8][9][10]
A. "If You Love Me" (LP version radio edit) – 3:43
B. "If You Love Me" (Soft Touch mix radio edit) – 3:44
US maxi-cassette single[11]
A1. "If You Love Me" (Smooth Out remix radio edit)
A2. "If You Love Me" (If You Jazz Me remix radio edit)
A3. "If You Love Me" (Characters Funk remix radio edit)
B1. "If You Love Me" (Smooth Out remix extended version)
B2. "If You Love Me" (If You Jazz Me remix extended version)
B3. "If You Love Me" (Characters Funk remix extended version)
UK CD1[12]
"If You Love Me" (album version radio edit) – 3:43
"If You Love Me" (Smooth Out remix radio edit) – 4:14
"If You Love Me" (If You Jazz Me remix radio edit) – 4:21
"If You Love Me" (Characters Funk remix radio edit) – 4:14
"If You Love Me" (Soft Touch Mix radio edit) – 3:44
"If You Love Me" (acapella) – 3:42
UK CD2[13]
"If You Love Me" (Channel 9 mix) – 7:33
"If You Love Me" (Uno Clip dub) – 6:57
"If You Love Me" (Smooth Out remix extended) – 5:45
"If You Love Me" (If You Jazz Me remix extended) – 5:45
"If You Love Me" (Characters Funk remix extended) – 5:45
Australian maxi-CD single[14]
"If You Love Me" (Smooth Out remix extended) – 5:45
"If You Love Me" (If You Jazz Me remix extended) – 5:45
"If You Love Me" (Characters Funk remix extended) – 4:13
"If You Love Me" (LP version radio edit) – 3:43
"If You Love Me" (Soft Touch Mix radio edit) – 3:44
^If You Love Me (US 12-inch single vinyl disc). Brownstone. MJJ Music, Epic Records. 1994. 49 77733.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^If You Love Me (US cassette single sleeve). Brownstone. MJJ Music, Epic Records. 1994. 34T 77732.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^If You Love Me (UK cassette single sleeve). Brownstone. MJJ Music, Epic Records. 1994. 661413 4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^If You Love Me (European CD single liner notes). Brownstone. MJJ Music, Epic Records. 1994. EPC 661165 1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^If You Love Me (US maxi-cassette single sleeve). Brownstone. MJJ Music, Epic Records. 1994. 49T 77733.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^If You Love Me (UK CD1 liner notes). Brownstone. MJJ Music, Epic Records. 1994. 661413 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^If You Love Me (UK CD2 liner notes). Brownstone. MJJ Music, Epic Records. 1994. 661413 5.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^If You Love Me (Australian maxi-CD single liner notes). Brownstone. MJJ Music, Epic Records. 1994. 661279 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^"Brownstone – If You Love Me". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
^"Hits of the World: Canada" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 21. May 27, 1995. p. 48. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
^"Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
^"The RM on a Pop Tip Club Chart" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). April 15, 1995. p. 8. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
^"Brownstone Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
^ "Brownstone Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
^"Brownstone Chart History (Dance Singles Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
^"Brownstone Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
^"Brownstone Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
^"Brownstone Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
^ a b"The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles 1995". ARIA). Retrieved July 19, 2017 – via Imgur.
^"Tops de L'année | Top Singles 1995" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
^"End of Year Charts 1995". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
^"Top 100 Singles 1995". Music Week. January 13, 1996. p. 9.
^"Billboard Top 100 – 1995". Archived from the original on August 15, 2009. Retrieved August 27, 2010.
^"The Year in Music: Hot R&B Singles". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 51. December 23, 1995. p. YE-38.
^"The Year in Music 1995: Top 40/Rhythm-Crossover Top Titles". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 3, no. 51. December 15, 1995. p. 9.
^"British single certifications – Brownstone – If You Love Me". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved May 20, 2020.