I Love You 3000

Album: released as a single (2019)
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Songfacts®:

  • The song title comes from the 2019 movie Avengers: Endgame. When Tony Stark (Iron Man) tucks his daughter Morgan into bed, he tells her, "I love you tons." She answers, "I love you 3000."
  • Stephanie Poetri wrote this song after asking her Instagram followers to suggest a word or phrase that she could turn into a song. Avengers: Endgame had just come out, so many of them suggested "I Love You 3000." She wrote the chorus, pulling imagery from the film:

    Baby, take my hand
    I want you to be my husband
    'Cause you're my Iron Man
    And I love you 3000


    She posted it, and the next day discovered that it got a huge reaction. Her fans asked her to finish the song, so she did, completing it in about two hours with a story where she marries her Iron Man - it's straight out of a Hollywood movie.

    Her mom, a popular Indonesian singer named Titi DJ, helped her record the song and give it a proper release. It took off, becoming a global smash and landing Stephanie a record deal with 88rising.
  • Poetri made a video for the song on her phone with help from her sister. Even though it's very low budget, it proved quite popular, racking up over 150 million views on YouTube.
  • Poetri was born in Indonesia and was living in Jakarta when she made this song. Growing up, she would often visit her grandparents in Houston, which exposed her to American culture. She speaks both Indonesian and English, but typically writes in English.

    Her multicultural, bilingual upbringing was an influence on this song, as she realized there was a common thread among all people. "Everyone has their own way of showing their love, and it's really different, but at the same time, you know it is love," she said on the Zach Sang Show.
  • The line, "I see you standing there in your Hulk outerwear" was originally "I see you standing there in your Hulk underwear," which makes a lot more sense, but Poetri was worried that if she didn't change it, the song would get age restricted and possibly demonetized.
  • Stephanie Poetri first got noticed in 2015 when she recorded a song called "Bimbang" for an Indonesian blockbuster movie called Ada Apa Dengan Cinta 2. She became an influencer with a large following on Instagram, and in 2019 released her first single, "Appreciate," which she wrote herself. "I Love You 3000" came next and launched her to the next level. She was 19 when it was released.
  • Poetri released a new version of this song called "I Love You 3000 II" a few months later in 2019. This rendition features Jackson Wang of the South Korean boy band Got7, who appears in the video as well.

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