"Boy" is a song co-written and co-produced by Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...

 and Just Blaze

Just Blaze

Justin Smith, better known as Just Blaze, is an American hip hop music producer from Paterson, New Jersey. Blaze is also the CEO of Fort Knocks Entertainment. He is most well known for producing Jay-Z songs on the albums The Blueprint, The Blueprint 2, and The Black Album. He is also known for...

 for Carey's twelfth album Charmbracelet

Charmbracelet

Charmbracelet is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, released on December 3, 2002 through Island Records and MonarC Entertainment. The album was her first release since facing a breakdown following the release of her film Glitter and its accompanying...

(2002). It features a sample of the Rose Royce

Rose Royce

Rose Royce is an American soul and R&B band. The group is best known for several hit singles including "Car Wash," "I Wanna Get Next to You," "Wishing on a Star", "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" and "I'm Going Down".-Career:...

 song "I'm Going Down

I'm Going Down (Rose Royce song)

"I'm Going Down" is a Grammy Award-nominated 1977 R&B single written and produced by the late American singer-songwriter Norman Whitfield, as performed by R&B/soul band Rose Royce, the single is from the film, Car Wash and is featured on the film's soundtrack...

", which is also sampled in the same fashion in rapper Cam'ron

Cam'ron

Cameron Giles , better known by his stage name Cam'ron or "Killa Cam", is a Grammy-nominated American actor. He is the founder of the hip-hop group The Diplomats , and also of The U.N. group....

's 2002 single "Oh Boy

Oh Boy (song)

"Oh Boy" is the title of a number-one, Grammy nominated Hip hop single by rapper Cam'ron from his album Come Home with Me. It features rapper Juelz Santana....

". Cam'ron himself provides verses for the song. "Boy (I Need You)" was released as the album's second single in 2003.

Commercial release

During promotion for "Through the Rain

Through the Rain

"Through the Rain" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, taken from her ninth studio album, Charmbracelet . It was written by Carey and Lionel Cole, and produced by the former and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. The song was released as the album's lead single on October 17, 2002...

" (the first single from Charmbracelet), a 12" vinyl maxi-single titled "MC... Move the Crowd" was released in the U.S. in November 2002 and featured three tracks from Charmbracelet alongside their instrumental versions: "Boy (I Need You)", the G-funk

G-funk

G-funk, or Gangsta-funk, is a sub-genre of hip hop music that emerged from Westcoast gangsta rap in the early 1990s. G-funk incorporates multi-layered and melodic synthesizers, slow hypnotic grooves, a deep bass, background female vocals, the extensive sampling of P-funk tunes, and a high-pitched...

-inspired jam "Irresistible (Westside Connection)" (featuring Ice Cube

Ice Cube

O'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper and actor. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer,...

, Mack 10

Mack 10

Dedrick Rolison, , better known by his stage name Mack 10 is an American rapper and actor. He was a member of hip hop trio Westside Connection, along with Ice Cube and WC...

 and WC

WC (rapper)

William L. Calhoun Jr. , better known by his stage name WC , is an American rapper. He was born in Texas, but moved to South Central Los Angeles at an early age. He originally was a rapper in the group Low Profile, and later formed his group WC and the Maad Circle, which also included fellow rapper...

), and "You Got Me" with Jay-Z

Jay-Z

Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...

 and Freeway

Freeway (rapper)

Leslie Edward Pridgen , better known by his stage name Freeway, is an American rapper. Best known for his tenure on Roc-A-Fella Records and his affiliation with Jay-Z and Beanie Sigel, he is recognized by his high-pitched delivery and for the long beard he keeps due to his Muslim faith...

.

Selected as the second single, "Boy (I Need You)" was less successful than "Through the Rain": it failed to chart on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 and became Carey's first single not to appear on Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

's Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles

The Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. It lists the top 25 singles below number 100 that have not yet charted on the Billboard Hot 100. Sometimes, however, singles halt their progress on this chart, and never appear on the Hot 100...

 chart. It performed better elsewhere, reaching 17 in the United Kingdom and the top forty in Canada and Australia, but it failed throughout most of Europe.

Music video

The single's music video, directed by Joseph Kahn

Joseph Kahn

Joseph Kahn is an American music video, advertising, and feature film director.-Early life:Kahn was born in Jersey Village, Texas, a suburb of Houston. He is of Korean ancestry. He spent part of his childhood growing up in Livorno, Italy until his family moved to Texas...

, was largely influenced by Japanese culture. It features anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 renditions of Carey and Cam'ron, cameos by Godzilla

Godzilla

is a daikaijū, a Japanese movie monster, first appearing in Ishirō Honda's 1954 film Godzilla. Since then, Godzilla has gone on to become a worldwide pop culture icon starring in 28 films produced by Toho Co., Ltd. The monster has appeared in numerous other media incarnations including video games,...

, cyber Japanese space cars, ninjas

Ninja

A or was a covert agent or mercenary of feudal Japan specializing in unorthodox arts of war. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, as well as open combat in certain situations...

, Japanese symbols, and crowds of Japanese fans. Bianca, Carey's alter ego

Alter ego

An alter ego is a second self, which is believe to be distinct from a person's normal or original personality. The term was coined in the early nineteenth century when dissociative identity disorder was first described by psychologists...

 who previously appeared in the videos for "Heartbreaker

Heartbreaker (Mariah Carey song)

"Heartbreaker" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It was released on September 21, 1999 by Columbia Records as the lead single from Carey's seventh studio album, Rainbow . The song was written by Carey and Jay-Z and produced by the former and DJ Clue...

" (1999), tries to run Carey off a Japanese highway, but Carey is able to evade her and she falls off the highway. In Cam'ron's opening dialogue Carey is publicly referred to as "Mimi" for the first time, a nickname that she used for the title of her fourteenth album, The Emancipation of Mimi

The Emancipation of Mimi

The Emancipation of Mimi is the tenth studio album by American recording artist Mariah Carey, released in the United States on April 12, 2005, by Island Records. Following the relatively poor critical and commercial responses to her albums, Glitter and Charmbracelet , The Emancipation of Mimi...

(2005). Actor Will Yun Lee

Will Yun Lee

Will Yun Lee is an Korean American actor.He is best known for his roles on TNT's supernatural drama series Witchblade as Danny Woo and as Jae Kim on NBC's science fiction television drama Bionic Woman...

 is featured in the music video as well.

Remixes

The main remix, the "Roc-A-Fella Remix", featured raps by Dipset rappers Cam'ron

Cam'ron

Cameron Giles , better known by his stage name Cam'ron or "Killa Cam", is a Grammy-nominated American actor. He is the founder of the hip-hop group The Diplomats , and also of The U.N. group....

, Juelz Santana

Juelz Santana

LaRon Louis James , better known by his stage name Juelz Santana, is an American rapper, producer, and actor. He appeared on Cam'ron's 2002 singles, "Oh Boy" and "Hey Ma"...

, Jim Jones

Jim Jones (rapper)

Joseph Guillermo Jones II , better known by his stage name Jim Jones, is an American rapper and original member of The Diplomats, also known as Dipset. He is Co-CEO of Diplomat Records...

, and Roc-A-Fella rapper Freeway

Freeway (rapper)

Leslie Edward Pridgen , better known by his stage name Freeway, is an American rapper. Best known for his tenure on Roc-A-Fella Records and his affiliation with Jay-Z and Beanie Sigel, he is recognized by his high-pitched delivery and for the long beard he keeps due to his Muslim faith...

, who were Carey's Def Jam labelmates signed on former Def Jam labelmate Jay-Z

Jay-Z

Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...

's Roc-A-Fella Records label at that time. It was also produced by Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...

 and Just Blaze

Just Blaze

Justin Smith, better known as Just Blaze, is an American hip hop music producer from Paterson, New Jersey. Blaze is also the CEO of Fort Knocks Entertainment. He is most well known for producing Jay-Z songs on the albums The Blueprint, The Blueprint 2, and The Black Album. He is also known for...

. The remix also features a sample of the Rose Royce

Rose Royce

Rose Royce is an American soul and R&B band. The group is best known for several hit singles including "Car Wash," "I Wanna Get Next to You," "Wishing on a Star", "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" and "I'm Going Down".-Career:...

 song "I'm Going Down

I'm Going Down (Rose Royce song)

"I'm Going Down" is a Grammy Award-nominated 1977 R&B single written and produced by the late American singer-songwriter Norman Whitfield, as performed by R&B/soul band Rose Royce, the single is from the film, Car Wash and is featured on the film's soundtrack...

" & "Make The Music With Your Mouth Biz" by Biz Markie.

The Copenhaniacs, Topnotch, the Panjabi Hit Squad

Panjabi Hit Squad

Panjabi Hit Squad are a group of Asian artists signed to the UK imprint of Hip-Hop giant, Def Jam. The members all grew up in Southall, UK. As well as working with various high-profile acts such as Mariah Carey, Ashanti, and Sway, they also work with community projects such as youth project BBC...

, Duke & MVP from Disco Montego, Agent X

Agent X (Music Producers)

Agent X is a British record production, songwriting and DJ team, originally founded as a duo in London by Music College classmates Greg Bonnick and Leon Price, adding Hayden Chapman and Peter Renshaw to the collective in 2009...

 / Dutti Boy, and others created remixes of the song.

Formats and track listings

Canadian/European CD single

1. "Boy (I Need You)" (Album Version)
2. "Boy (I Need You)" (Roc-A-Fella Remix Radio Edit featuring Cam'ron, Juelz Santana, Jim Jones & Freeway)

Japanese CD single

1. "Boy (I Need You)" (Radio Edit featuring Cam'ron)
2. "Boy (I Need You)" (w/o Rap)

Australian CD maxi-single

1. "Boy (I Need You)" (Album Version)
2. "Boy (I Need You)" (Remix by the Duke & MVP from Disco Montego)
3. "Boy (I Need You)" (Radio Edit feat Cam'ron, Juelz Santana, Jimmy Jones & Freeway)
4. "Through the Rain
   Through the Rain
   "Through the Rain" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, taken from her ninth studio album, Charmbracelet . It was written by Carey and Lionel Cole, and produced by the former and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. The song was released as the album's lead single on October 17, 2002...
   
   " (Maurice Joshua Remix)
5. "Boy (I Need You)" (Video)

European CD maxi-single #1

1. "Boy (I Need You)" (w/o Rap)
2. "Boy (I Need You)" (Panjabi Hit Squad Mix)
3. "Boy (I Need You)" (Copenhaniacs Remix)
4. "Boy (I Need You)" (Video)

European CD maxi-single #2

1. "Boy (I Need You)" (Album Version)
2. "Boy (I Need You)" (Street Remix)
3. "Boy (I Need You)" (Topnotch L8 Mix)
4. "Boy (I Need You)" (Topnotch Tox Mix)

European CD maxi-single #3

1. "Boy (I Need You)" (Album Version)
2. "Boy (I Need You)" (Radio Edit Without Rap)
3. "Boy (I Need You)" (Topnotch Tox Remix)
4. "Through the Rain" (Video)

European CD maxi-single #4

1. "Boy (I Need You)" (Album Version)
2. "Boy (I Need You)" (Radio Edit featuring Cam'ron, Juelz Santana, Jimmy Jones & Freeway)
3. "Boy (I Need You)" (Copenhaniacs Remix)
4. "Boy (I Need You)" (Video)

Charts

Chart (2003)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart	29
Dutch Singles Chart	35
European Singles Chart	44
French Singles Chart	51
German Singles Chart	73
Irish Singles Chart	40
New Zealand Singles Chart	45
Spanish Singles Chart	19
Swiss Singles Chart	78
UK Singles Chart	17
U.S. Billboard Hot Singles Sales	57
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs	68