Alan Thicke married actress Gloria Loring, known for starring in programs such as 'Days of Our Lives', in 1970, and he had the two sons Brennan Thicke and Robin Thicke. Half-brother Carter Thicke would become another member of the clan years later after Alan Thicke divorced and remarried. Brother Robin grew up in a household filled with music, with his dad being a singer (of tracks such as "Thicke of the Night") as well as a co-composer for several TV show theme songs and a seminal actor on both the big and small screens (examples being the shows 'Growing Pains' and 'How I Met Your Mother').
The young Robin Thicke taught himself to play piano at the age of twelve. Even at the age of fourteen, he found that he could play just about anything that he heard on the radio, feeling a drive to keep going further. Before his days as a singer-songwriter performing his own material,Robin Thicke wrote songs for the soul and pop groups 3T (with 1995's "Sexual Attention" bringing Thicke alongside Damon Thomas), Brownstone (with 1997's "Around You"), and Color Me Badd (an example being 1996's "Sexual Capacity"). He also collaborated with the acclaimed production duo of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis on several songs for Jordan Knight's 1999 self-titled album. Thicke seemed to receive a great omen when Knight's album was certified Gold and gained huge fan acclaim.
In 2000, Thicke went to work on material for his debut album, which ended up being titled 'A Beautiful World'. The album focused more on blue-eyed soul than his pop-centered offerings for other artists, and he mixed in influences from eclectic funk (in the vein of the British group Jamiroquai) and and modern neo-soul music (in the vain of Canadian crooner Remy Shand). Thicke hoped that he was primed for huge things by late 2002 when the album became ready for release.
Thicke's lead single, called "When I Get You Alone", had a distinctive music video made for it. The disco and slick rnb fueled track sounded rather unlike the commercial pop ethos of the time, having a distinctive sampling of Walter Murphy's 70s dance music hit "A Fifth of Beethoven" (which itself had been inspired by Beethoven's Fifth Symphony). The video featured an unshaven Thicke, with long, grungy hair, as a courier racing through the streets of Manhattan on a bicycle. It received some rotation on MTV 2 and BET's "Rated Next", the song being spun moderately on urban radio. On the Hot 100, it reached #29 quite quickly, yet it fell out the chart just as fast. Globally, however, the song was quite popular. With his single peaking at #17 in Australia, #15 in Belgium, #15 in Italy, #8 in New Zealand, and #5 in the Netherlands, Thicke felt that he wanted another shot at the 'big time' in the U.S.
Devising the re-release of this album, which it then gaining its final title of 'A Beautiful World', Thicke added a few extra songs that he seemed confident of. Yet the album received very little corporate promotion, irritating Thicke despite the release of a second single, a Prince-like groove mixing funk with rock called "Brand New Jones". The album debuted at #152 in the Billboard 200 and didn't do much from there, selling a mere 59,000 copies. Still, his work ended up being received well by many critics and musical peers, with Trevor Nelson and Lil' Wayne (Weezy's 2005 release 'Tha Carter, Vol. 2' would even include some of Thicke's work) lauding Thicke's music, as well as many fans.
In 2004, artist Pharrell Williams asked Jimmy Iovine, CEO of Interscope, “What are you doing with Robin Thicke?” A few months later, Robin was recording a new single, titled “Wanna Love You Girl” with Pharrell in Miami, as a newly signed artist on Pharrell’s label, Star Trak Records. With the two musicians sharing the same love for genre-hopping, deliberately 'retro' music, the single immediately attracted the attention of radio and club DJs across the world after its August 2005 release. The song often given revamped names such as "Wanna Love U Girl", "Wanna Love You Girl (Feat. Pharrell)", and the like, it ended up doing very well in the U.K. in particular, hitting #5 on Trevor Nelson's BBC Radio 1 "Soul Nation" chart.
Now appealing more to the mainstream, Thicke cut off his trademark long hair in an attempt to further recreate himself. By October 2006, when his second album, titled 'The Evolution of Robin Thicke', came out in its entirely, he had built up a ton of momentum, and his work paid off. Thicke earned the #1 slot on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and additional singles such as "Got 2 Be Down" and "Lost Without U" saw huge fan responses. As the months went by, his album even earned platinum certification by the RIAA.
Having 'made it' in the truest sense commercially as well as critically, Thick remarked, "My greatest desire with this album was to write songs that were completely honest and sing them with the emotion I was feeling when I wrote them, so that whoever listens to my music is brought as close to my experiences and life as possible."
With this intention, Robin created songs such as, “Lost without You” (the second single). An instant classic, this song is about Robin’s insecurities and his need to be desired and loved. With sweeping vocals over rhythmic Spanish guitar, this song takes you away and makes you sing along.
On the psychedelic, “High School Man” is where Robin infuses rock and hip-hop and poetically admits “I’m a hater” as he hates on those with more success than him realizing, ironically, he just wants what they have.
Finishing off The Evolution of Robin Thicke is the hopeful and encouraging “Thank You.” On this gospel inspired, piano ballad Robin sings, “maybe I’m the one who never gets up ‘till he falls,” making the discovery that he has to be thankful for everything that comes into his life…the tears, the joy, the failures and the successes.
Always carrying a heavy heart, Robin taught himself to play piano at the age of twelve so he could have an outlet to express himself. By the age of fourteen, he could play anything he heard on the radio. At sixteen, with no formal training, Robin began professionally writing and producing music for recording artists like Brandy and Brian McKnight. Over the years he has amassed dozens of gold and platinum records with artists including Usher, Mary J. Blige, Michael Jackson and Christina Aguilera.
Reflective, redemptive, passionate and etched with a soulfulness that is undeniable, The Evolution of Robin Thicke is an imaginative and heart-felt album that you cannot help but be moved by, bob your head to and smile throughout.
The album was released on October 3rd, 2006 and includes songs with Lil Wayne and Faith Evans, as well as Pharrell. The song "Got 2 Be Down" featuring Faith Evans was recently leaked (June '06). There will be two to three more videos released before the album comes out. Lately, there was a Busta Rhymes remix video shot for "Wanna Love You Girl," a Lil’ Wayne feat Robin Thicke "Shooter" video, and Robin has released the video for "Lost Without You," making that song the official 2nd single of the album.
Make U Love Me
Robin Thicke Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If I wasn't me
Would you stand next 2 me in the street
If I changed my hair
Would you then be proud
If I ran round town with a different crowd
Would you be my baby
If I had more money
Would that make you love me more
If I practiced a different religion
If I spoke my words differently
If I changed my tune 2 your favorite song
Would you wrap your arms around me
If I dug down deep 2 the bottom
Would you love me unconditionally
If I sound like you and we laugh the same
Would you mind if I hang around
Would that make you love me more
Would that make you love me more
If I came 2 you from a different place
Would my message finally be heard
If its just me and you and there's no one else
Would you see how much were the same
Would you be my lover
If I'm a different color
Would you be my brother
Would that make you love me more
In Robin Thicke’s song “Make U Love Me,” he contemplates whether a potential romantic partner would love him unconditionally if he changed certain things about himself. He poses a series of hypothetical questions, such as if he changed his hair or ran around with a different crowd, would they still stand by his side in the street? If he practiced a different religion, spoke differently, or even had more money, would that make them love him more? Thicke also asks if they would love him unconditionally if he was different in different ways, such as having a different skin color or coming from a different place.
The song touches on the universal human desire to be loved and accepted for who we are, regardless of external factors. Thicke’s lyrics also bring up questions about the nature of love itself, asking whether it is truly possible to love someone unconditionally, even if certain parts of their identity change over time.
Overall, Thicke’s song emphasizes the importance of self-acceptance and finding someone who will love us for who we are, faults and all.
Line by Line Meaning
If I wasn't who I was
If I was not in my current form as myself
If I wasn't me
If I was not my true self
Would you stand next 2 me in the street
Would you stand next to me in public despite any perceived differences
If I changed my hair
If I physically altered my appearance
Would you then be proud
Would you still be proud of me despite any physical changes
If I ran round town with a different crowd
If I associated myself with different people
Would you be my baby
Would you still be in a romantic relationship with me
If I had more money
If I was financially better off
Would that make you love me more
Would your love for me be based on my financial status
If I practiced a different religion
If I had different religious beliefs
If I spoke my words differently
If I communicated differently
If I changed my tune 2 your favorite song
If I changed my behavior to appease you
Would you wrap your arms around me
Would you still embrace me regardless of my changes
If I dug down deep 2 the bottom
If I exposed the deepest parts of myself
Would you love me unconditionally
Would your love for me be unconditional despite any exposed flaws or insecurities
If I sound like you and we laugh the same
If we had similar personalities
Would you mind if I hang around
Would you be okay with spending time with me
If I came 2 you from a different place
If I have different cultural, social, or economic background
Would my message finally be heard
Would my ideas or values be recognized and respected despite the differences
If its just me and you and there's no one else
If we were alone without the influence of others
Would you see how much were the same
Would you recognize the similarities between us
Would you be my lover
Would you still be in a romantic relationship with me
If I'm a different color
If I had a different skin color or ethnicity
Would you be my brother
Would you still treat me with familial love and respect
Would that make you love me more
Would your love for me be based on superficial factors such as race or ethnicity
Lyrics © Regard Music, Downtown Music Publishing, Peermusic Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: MAX, NICKI LEONTI, RICHARD VELONSKIS, ROBIN A. THICKE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind