"This I Promise You" is a ballad

Ballad

A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...

 by 'N Sync

'N Sync

N Sync was an American boy band formed in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich, *NSYNC consisted of JC Chasez, Justin Timberlake, Lance Bass, Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick...

, released as the third single in America and the fourth single in Europe from their fourth studio album, No Strings Attached, in 2000. The song was composed by pop singer Richard Marx

Richard Marx

Richard Noel Marx is an American adult contemporary and pop/rock singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He had a string of hit singles in the late 1980s and 1990s, including "Endless Summer Nights", "Right Here Waiting", "Now and Forever", and "Hazard"...

, who would later record the song twice, first for the Japanese release of his album, Days in Avalon similar to the 'N Sync version, and again as a rock song for the European version of his Stories To Tell

Stories To Tell

Stories To Tell is an acoustic album released by Richard Marx featuring several songs from his previous albums. It is his eighth compilation album. The 11 track collection was first released in March 2010 and available for purchase exclusively at his solo acoustic concerts...

 album. "This I Promise You" was the group's fifth top-ten single in the U.S., reaching number five on the 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...

 chart in the autumn of 2000. In addition, the song spent 13 weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks

Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks

The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...

 chart, the group's first song to do so. The single was less successful internationally, reaching number 21 on the UK Singles Chart

UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

 and failing to make the top 20 in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

.

Music video

The video, directed by Dave Meyers

Dave Meyers (director)

David "Dave" Meyers is an American music video director.-Career:Meyers has directed over 200 music videos including: P!nk's "There You Go", "Most Girls", "You Make Me Sick", "Get The Party Started", "Don't Let Me Get Me", "Feel Good Time", "Stupid Girls", "U + Ur Hand", "So What", "Please Don't...

, shows the group clad in turtlenecks singing in a forest, with different shots of different love relationships being shown in bubbles floating around the forest. Footage of the San Francisco skyline appears at different intervals and at the key change, the video switches to the group sitting at a table at an outdoor eatery along the Embarcadero

Embarcadero

Embarcadero may refer to:* Embarcadero , California** Embarcadero Circle, waterfront re-development project* Embarcadero , California** Embarcadero Center, office complex** Embarcadero Freeway, former California State Route 480...

, with little girls blowing bubbles around.

The video debut on TRL October 27, 2000. MadTV

MADtv

MADtv is an American sketch comedy television series. It licensed the name and logo of Mad, but otherwise had no connection with the humor magazine outside the animated Spy vs. Spy and Don Martin cartoon shorts and images of Alfred E. Neuman that the show featured during the late 1990s. Its first...

 spoofed the video on December 16, 2000, with "This We Promise You", mocking and exaggerating the group's clean-cut image.

Track listing

• UK

CD Single

1. "This I Promise You" [Radio Version] - 4:27
2. "It's Gonna Be Me" [Maurice Joshua Radio Remix] - 4:13
3. "I Thought She Knew" - 3:22

Cassette

1. "This I Promise You" [Radio Version] - 4:27
2. "This I Promise You" [Hex Hector Radio Mix] - 3:57
3. "I Thought She Knew" - 3:22

• Europe

CD1

1. "This I Promise You" [Album Version] - 4:43
2. "This I Promise You" [Hex Hector Radio Mix] - 3:57

CD2

1. "This I Promise You" [Album Version] - 4:43
2. "I Thought She Knew" - 3:22

Limited Edition Remix Single

1. "This I Promise You" [Album Version] - 4:43
2. "This I Promise You" [Hex Hector Club Mix] - 9:10
3. "This I Promise You" [Hex Hector Radio Mix] - 3:57
4. "Yo Te Voy A Amar"

• America

Making The Tour Exclusive Bonus Disc

1. "This I Promise You" [Live Home Video Mix] - 5:10

Charts

Chart (2000)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...	42
Belgium Ultratop 50 Ultratop 50 Ultratop 50 singles, often just Ultratop 50, is the weekly chart of fifty best-selling singles in Flanders, Belgium, and is produced and published by the Ultratop organization. The chart has existed since March 31, 1995...	43
Canadian RPM RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... Singles Chart Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays....	8
Netherlands Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting...	80
New Zealand Singles Chart Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand...	32
Swedish Singles Chart	12
Swiss Singles Chart	40
UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	21
US 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...	5
US Billboard Adult Contemporary	1

See also

• List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 2000 and 2001 (U.S.)