Thats What I Want

Album: Montero (2021)
Charted: 10 8
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Songfacts®:

  • Over a crunchy acoustic guitar, glittering synth, and a background choir, Lil Nas X sings of his quest for love. He yearns for a romance with a dark-skinned man who can cuddle with him at night and reassure him when he's stressed. But such a relationship is hard to find in this COVID era, as many are cautious about getting intimate with strangers.
  • Lil Nas X co-wrote the song with the four co-producers:

    Pop hit-maker and OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder (Beyoncé's "Halo," Adele's "Rumour Has It," Ellie Goulding's "Burn").

    Los Angeles producer Omer Fedi. He also collaborated with Lil Nas X on his chart-topping single "MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)." His other credits include 24kGoldn's "Mood" and The Kid Laroi's "Without You" and "Stay."

    Producers Blake Slatkin and KBeazy, who worked with Fedi on "Mood." Slatkin also collaborated with Fedi on The Kid Laroi's "Without You" and "Stay."
  • Tedder, Fedi, Slatkin and KBeazy also handled the background choir vocals.
  • Lil Nas X released this queer heartache song on September 17, 2021, as the fourth single from Montero. He'd teased a portion of the track during the end credits of the "Industry Baby" video, released five weeks earlier. Two weeks later, the track featured in an ad for Taco Bell's Toasted Breakfast Burritos.
  • Did you spot the incorrect grammar in the title - the song should read "That's What I Want." This was intentional – it's the way Lil Nas styles his song names. Another Montero track, "Dont Want It," is also missing an apostrophe.
  • Colombian creative Stillz directed the song's music video, which finds Lil Nas X falling in love with a football player. Actor Billy Porter cameos as a priest, and one scene pays homage to the 2005 romantic drama Brokeback Mountain.

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