’93-’13: When I See You, Macy Gray

Sounding like the best Jackson 5 song never released, When I See You was coupled with a handful of subtle William Orbit-esque production blips and fired out into the world… in 2003.

After the massive success of 2001’s I Try, it appears that the public weren’t willing or able to take Macy when she was in party-mode; the spontaneous feel of this track – complete with background chatter, loose harmonies and vocal ad-libs – didn’t find favour at all, failing to chart in the US,  and just scrapping into the ARIA charts at #40.

Macy’s cigarette-stained vocals can be too much at times, especially during her more morose moments, but when anchored to a Motown-stomp, a skipping stone melody, and a wide-eyed lyric, she is the natural heiress apparent to an eight-year-old Michael Jackson – which isn’t an odd a compliment as it seems.

This track should be part of every DJ’s bag of party tracks – just keep it running to the end, when Macy victoriously yells to producer Dallas Austin, “Now, don’t tell us to double that shit.”