What You Don't Know (Exposé song)
Encyclopedia
"What You Don't Know" is a 1989 song by the American girl group
Exposé
. It was written and produced by the group's founder, Lewis Martineé
, and appears on Exposé's second album, What You Don't Know.
Lead vocals on "What You Don't Know" were performed by Gioia Bruno
.
from the album, the song peaked at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100
chart in July 1989, extending the group's streak of consecutive top ten U.S. pop hits to five. On the Billboard dance music charts, the song reached #2 on the Hot Dance Club Play
chart and #8 on the Hot Dance Singles Sales
charts. It was the first single by the group to be certified Gold by the U.S. RIAA
. In the United Kingdom
, the song eked out two weeks at #99 on the UK Singles Chart
in September 1989.
features the group rehearsing with a band on stage, then near the end of the video the women rush back to be with their boyfriends.
beat, with which they had become associated from most of the singles off their previous album, Exposure. Many of the pop songs released by the group from this point on were mid-tempo or adult contemporary
tunes.
Girl group
A girl group is a popular music act featuring several young female singers who generally harmonise together.Girl groups emerged in the late 1950s as groups of young singers teamed up with behind-the-scenes songwriters and music producers to create hit singles, often featuring glossy production...
Exposé
Exposé (band)
Exposé is an American vocal group. Primarily consisting of lead vocalists Ann Curless, Jeanette Jurado, and Gioia Bruno, the group achieved much of their success in the late 1980s and early 1990s, becoming the first group to have four top ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart from their debut...
. It was written and produced by the group's founder, Lewis Martineé
Lewis Martineé
Lewis Antonio Martineé is a freestyle music producer and former DJ based in Miami, Florida. In addition to founding the girl group Exposé in 1984, he also wrote and produced all of the songs on its first two albums, Exposure and What You Don't Know . He also contributed to the group's third...
, and appears on Exposé's second album, What You Don't Know.
Lead vocals on "What You Don't Know" were performed by Gioia Bruno
Gioia Bruno
Gioia Bruno is an Italian-born American popular music singer, most noted as a member of the vocal group Exposé.-Early life and career:...
.
Reception
Taken as the first singleSingle (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
from the album, the song peaked at #8 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 July 1989, extending the group's streak of consecutive top ten U.S. pop hits to five. On the Billboard dance music charts, the song reached #2 on the Hot Dance Club Play
Hot Dance Club Play
The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs...
chart and #8 on the Hot Dance Singles Sales
Hot Dance Singles Sales
Hot Dance Singles Sales is a chart released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States, established in 1985. It measures the sale of commercially released singles that deal with dance music and remixes...
charts. It was the first single by the group to be certified Gold by the U.S. RIAA
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
. In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the song eked out two weeks at #99 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 ...
in September 1989.
Music video
The music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
features the group rehearsing with a band on stage, then near the end of the video the women rush back to be with their boyfriends.
Background
The song features a prominent horn section accompanying the singers, and there is a guitar solo between the second and third verses. Although the group continued to have success on the dance charts, this was one of the final Exposé pop hits featuring a freestyleFreestyle music
Freestyle or Latin freestyle, sometimes referred to as Latin hip hop, is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in the early 1980s. Mostly popular during the mid 80s to the early 90s...
beat, with which they had become associated from most of the singles off their previous album, Exposure. Many of the pop songs released by the group from this point on were mid-tempo or adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music
Adult contemporary music is a broad style of popular music that ranges from lush 1950s and 1960s vocal music to predominantly ballad-heavy music with varying degrees of rock influence, as well as a radio format that plays such music....
tunes.
U.S. single (vinyl and cassette)
- A "What You Don't Know" (3:58)
- B "Walk Along with Me" (3:49)
U.S. 12" single
- A1 "What You Don't Know" Atomic Mix (6:35)
- A2 "What You Don't Know" Might Hurt You Beats (2:36)
- A3 "What You Don't Know" Radio Mix (4:10)
- B1 "What You Don't Know" Bass Mix (7:09)
- B2 "What You Don't Know" Crossover Mix (6:36)