I Feel For You

"I Feel for You" is a song written by Prince that originally appeared on his 1979 self-titled album. The most successful and well known version was recorded by female R&B singer Chaka Khan, appearing on her 1984 album, I Feel for You. Prince, as songwriter, won the 1985 Grammy Award for Best R&B Song.

Khan's version featured an all-star supporting cast, with rapping from Melle Mel, keyboard and guitar by The System's David Frank, and harmonica playing by Stevie Wonder. The song also uses vocal samples from Wonder's "Fingertips". The repetition of Khan's name by rapper Melle Mel at the beginning of the song was originally a mistake made by producer Arif Mardin (actually a sample of Melle Mel's song "Step Off"), who then decided to keep it.

This version of the song became a million-selling smash in the U.S. and UK, and it helped to relaunch Khan's career. The song peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in December 1984, matching her previous highest pop chart position from ten years prior (the 1974 hit single, "Tell Me Something Good", which she recorded with the band Rufus). The song remained on the Billboard Hot 100 for 26 weeks and became Billboard's #5 pop song of the year in 1985. The single reached #1 on both the U.S. dance and R&B charts in late 1984, remaining atop both for three weeks each. In addition, the song also reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart. While touring with Prince in 1998 in support of her collaborative album, Come 2 My House, Khan and Prince performed "I Feel for You" as a duet.

The keyboard break from the Prince original was used in the "Beautiful" remix of Prince's #1 1994 single "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World".

There are several lesser-known covers of the song. The Pointer Sisters recorded the song in 1982, two years before Khan's version was a hit, on their album So Excited!. Their version, however, was not a single. Rebbie Jackson also covered the song on her 1984 album, Centipede which was released one week after Khan's album. On an episode of The Mickey Mouse Club, Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears performed "I Feel for You".