You Mean the World to Me (Toni Braxton song)

"You Mean the World to Me"
Single by Toni Braxton
from the album Toni Braxton
B-side	"Seven Whole Days (Live)"
Released	April 21, 1994
Genre	Pop-soul
Length	4:56
Label	LaFace
Songwriter(s)	Antonio "L.A." Reid Babyface Daryl Simmons
Producer(s)	Reid Babyface Simmons
Toni Braxton singles chronology
"Seven Whole Days" (1993) "You Mean the World to Me" (1994) "I Belong to You"/"How Many Ways" (1994)
Alternative cover
European CD Cover

"You Mean the World to Me" is a song by American singer-songwriter Toni Braxton. It was written and produced by Antonio "L.A." Reid, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, and Daryl Simmons for her self-titled debut album (1993). Selected as the album's fourth single, it was released on CD on April 21, 1994, by LaFace and Arista Records. It peaked at number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number three on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart, while reaching the top ten of the Canadian Singles Chart. The music video for "You Mean the World to Me" was directed by Lionel C. Martin.

Critical reception

Larry Flick from Billboard described the song as a "warm and fuzzy ballad", adding that "finger-poppin' rhythms give motion to a virtual mountain of slick synths. Of course, her increasingly familiar vocal style is a total joy. Watch this one soar up the charts within mere moments." Troy J. Augusto from Cash Box noted it as "a down-tempo soul burner", that "actually brings Toni closer to the style of Whitney Houston, her closest R&B competitor. Already in heavy rotation at many urban stations, a sure-bet hit." Alan Jones from Music Week declared it "a typically tuneful, intelligent and pleasing LA and BabyFace creation, custom-built for Braxton's soulful scale-sliding. As well as being a hit in its own right, expect this to push her album into a higher orbit."

Dele Fadele from NME wrote, "Toni Braxton is gifted with a gospel-tinged voice, but the big-money LA & Babyface production smothers her in molasses." Ralph Tee from the RM Dance Update commented, "On the back of two hits, this record should face very little resistance as it eases nicely into the charts. Vocally, the track gives Toni another opportunity to showcase one of the best set of tonsils about and forces the shuffling midtempo pace and production to take a back seat." Another editor, James Hamilton deemed it a "glorious gurgling sultry swayer".

Commercial performance

In the United States on April 2, 1994, the song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 86, 20 days ahead of its initial release. On April 9, 1994 in its second week the song moved up number 52. The song continued to rise at numbers 37, 23, 17 in its third, fourth and fifth week. In its sixth, seventh and eighth week the song rose to numbers 16, 14 and 10. On May 28, 1994, the song reached its peak at number seven remaining for one week. The song continued to spend a total of 31 weeks on the Billboard chart before leaving the Hot 100 at number 47 on October 29, 1994.

On June 12, 1994 the song debuted at number 36 in New Zealand and reached its peak at number 32 on July 3, 1994 spending a total of five weeks before leaving the New Zealand Singles Chart. On July 9, 1994 the song peaked at number 30 in the United Kingdom and became a non-mover for two weeks. The song later fell to numbers 40, 50, and 68 in its third, fourth and fifth week respectively. On July 25, 1994 the song peaked at number 69 in Germany and remained in the German Singles Chart for seven weeks before leaving the chart on November 11, 1994. On September 4, 1994 the song peaked at number 49 in Australia lasting one week before falling out of the Australian Singles Chart.

Music video

The music video for "You Mean the World to Me" was directed by Lionel C. Martin. The video shows a sequence of Braxton playing the piano in a mansion intercut with scenes with her love interest (portrayed by German-born Michael Calvin Bacon, who later starred as J.B. Reese on Saban's syndicated television series VR Troopers). It stayed in heavy rotation during the spring and summer of 1994. The video was released to Braxton's VEVO account on October 25, 2009.

Track listings and formats

Credits and personnel

Credits taken from liner notes.

Performers and musicians

Technical personnel

Charts

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)	Gold	500,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates and formats for "You Mean the World to Me"

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref(s).
Japan	April 21, 1994	Mini-CD	LaFace Arista
Germany	May 2, 1994	CD
United States		CD cassette vinyl	LaFace
United Kingdom		CD	LaFace Arista
Sweden	June 6, 1994
United Kingdom	June 27, 1994	7-inch vinyl 12-inch vinyl CD cassette