U Got The Look - Prince Vault (2024)

U Got The Look (originally titled The Look is the first track on the second disc of Prince’s ninth album Sign O’ The Times, and, three and a half months after the album’s release, U Got The Look was released as the album’s third single. The song also appears in the film Sign O’ The Times in its studio form (all other tracks were included in live versions).

In 1993, it was included as the 13th track on Prince’s second compilation album The Hits 2 (also included as the second disc of The Hits / The B-Sides). Prince’s original liner notes for the collection (which were not ultimately used) note that the song was written in response to Robert Palmer’s Addicted To Love, which shares a similar instrumental backing:

"A friend of PRN used 2 jump up and dance whenever Robert Palmer’s “Addicted To Love” came on. As a test this song was recorded to find out of the friend would dance 2 a similar groove or just chill because it wasn’t a hit. Sure enough the friend didn’t like the song until it was in the Top 10."

Basic tracking took place on 21 December 1986 at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, California (five days before Ponyride). The track was recorded at the time the triple-album Crystal Ball was being pared down to become Sign O’ The Times, and while the pseudonym Camille is credited with lead vocals, the song had not been included either on the Camille album or on Crystal Ball.

The song contains the first appearance of Sheena Easton on a Prince release (although he had previously worked with her on tracks for her albums A Private Heaven and No Sound But A Heart). She is credited with co-lead vocals, although the single release only featured the name Prince on the cover (this is later repeated with The Arms Of Orion).

In a 2012 interview, Sheena Easton discussed the recording process of the song:
"U Got The Look was a track he'd basically finished for himself. It was just a Prince track. He said, 'Do you want to just come in and sing some backup vocals on the choruses?' So I went into the studio, and because I didn’t know I was singing against him... I was all over the place - and he said he kind of liked that, so he expanded it into a duet."

In August 1987, Prince’s half-sister Lorna Nelson filed a lawsuit against Prince, stating that U Got The Look used lyrics from her song What’s Cooking In This Book. The case was dismissed by US District Judge David Doty on 4 May 1988, stating that the two songs were not substantially similar. Prince did not appear in court during the case.