When I Looked At Him

Album: What You Don't Know (1989)
Charted: 10
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Songfacts®:

  • Exposé continued their remarkable run of hits with "When I Looked At Him," their sixth consecutive Top 10. All of their singles to this point were written and produced by Lewis Martineé, who formed the group in 1983. He had no trouble writing songs from a female perspective, as he did here. This one is about a girl who thinks her new man is the guy she'll be with forever - she can just tell when she looks at him. Her friends want her to play it cool, but she knows it's real.
  • Most of Exposé's hits at this time were upbeat dance songs, but they mixed in some ballads like this one with excellent results. On their first album, that ballad was "Seasons Change," their biggest hit. "When I Looked At Him" was the second single from their second album, following the uptempo "What You Don't Know."
  • Jeanette Jurado handled the lead vocals on this song. She became their primary vocalist when she joined the group in 1986 as they were making their first album. By the time that album was finished, all three original members had been replaced. Signed to the Arista label, Exposé became one of the top acts of the late '80s and early '90s, but Artist dropped them after just three albums and they split up in 1996. They eventually got back together to perform but never issued another album.

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