Frank Ocean’s “Thinkin Bout You” remains a quiet storm of a record that pulls you in slowly and refuses to let go. Shea Taylor produced the track, having earlier worked on Beyoncé’s “Love on Top.” Ocean wrote it with other pop and R&B acts in mind at first, so it started as a song meant for someone else. The album version adds a string section, while the earlier Tumblr demo stayed stripped down. It runs just 3:20, yet it says plenty in that short space.
Writers have long read “Thinkin Bout You” as a forbidden love song, because Ocean calls the ex a boy in the lyrics. He introduced it on the radio as a song about his first love. That origin still lets many hear it as a unisex love song. The mood is late-night and reflective, so it suits headphones more than a crowded room.
It became Ocean’s highest-charting single, peaking at number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100. The RIAA later gave him his first platinum plaque for it, while the album sat at gold. Channel Orange debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200.
So cue up “Thinkin Bout You” tonight and tell us which line still sticks with you in the comments below.
