"I Wish" is a song by American R&B singer Carl Thomas, released by Arista and

Bad Boy Records Bad Boy Entertainment, doing business as Bad Boy Records, is an American independent record label. The label was founded in 1993 by rapper and record producer Sean Combs. During the mid-1990s, the label signed hip-hop and contemporary R&B, R&B a ...

on February 15, 2000 as the second single from his debut album ''

Emotional Emotions are physical and mental states brought on by neurophysiology, neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavior, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or suffering, displeasure. There is ...

''. It was co-written by Thomas and

Mike City Michael Flowers, known professionally as Mike City (born December 2, 1970), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for producing the singles " I Wish" for Carl Thomas, " Heard It All Before" for Sunshine Ande ...

, while production was handled by the latter. The song peaked at number 20 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and spent six weeks atop the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart.

Background

Lyrically, the song describes a narrator who finds himself in a " situationship." According to producer

, the song was written based on a personal story of his. Several connections led City's demo of the song to be discovered by Sean "P. Diddy" Combs. After City rearranged the song for Carl Thomas, he claims to have been kicked out of Combs' recording studio (Daddy's House). https://youknowigotsoul.com/youknowigotsoul-interview-with-producer-mike-city-part-1-of-2

Remixes

The official remix of "I Wish" features guest appearances from Bad Boy Records label boss P. Diddy and

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip ho ...

, while another remix that features Prodigy and

Shyne Moses Michael Levi Barrow (born Jamal Michael Barrow; November 8, 1978), best known by his stage name Shyne, is a Belizean politician and former rapper. He served as Leader of the Opposition in the Belize House of Representatives, and the lead ...

. A "megamix" compiled by

DJ Clue Ernesto Shaw (born January 8, 1975), better known as DJ Clue (often stylized as DJ Clue?), is an American disc jockey (DJ), record producer, radio personality and record executive. Early life DJ Clue was born in Queens, New York City to Pana ...

features all three performers.

Charts

Year-end charts

References

1999 songs 2000 singles Carl Thomas (singer) songs Bad Boy Records singles Arista Records singles Music videos directed by Marcus Raboy Songs written by Mike City Songs about infidelity {{2000s-R&B-song-stub