The Jackson 5

ABC

"ABC" is a song by American pop band the Jackson 5. It was released as a single in 1970, peaking at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for two weeks in April 1970, and was number one on the Best Selling Soul Singles chart for four weeks that same month.

It is the title track to the group's second album and sold 2 million copies within the first week of its release in the US and more than 4 million copies worldwide.

I Want You Back

"I Want You Back" is the first single by American band the Jackson 5 from their debut album Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5. It was released by Motown on October 7, 1969, and became the first number-one hit for the band on January 31, 1970.

It was performed on the band's first television appearances, on October 18, 1969, on The Hollywood Palace and on their milestone performance on December 14, 1969, on The Ed Sullivan Show. "I Want You Back" has sold over 6 million copies worldwide.

Production

Originally considered for Gladys Knight & the Pips and later for Diana Ross, as "I Wanna Be Free", "I Want You Back" explores the theme of a lover who decides that he was too hasty in dropping his partner. An unusual aspect about "I Want You Back" was that its main lead vocal was performed by a tween, a then-11-year-old Michael Jackson. The song is composed in A-flat major.

Reception and legacy

The song has sold six million copies worldwide. In 1999, "I Want You Back" was also inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Critical reception

British trade paper Music Week reviewed the song before its release, calling it "close-to-the-original" and giving it a "side-thumb" rating. British columnist James Masterton wrote that this cover version has "no merit whatsoever" but ultimately called the track "forgivable" due to Cleopatra's talents and worldwide popularity, referring to the single as "nothing short of a superb but faithful rendition of an all time classic song by a group with the voices to carry it off perfectly".

Reception

Joe DeAndrea, writing for AbsolutePunk, stated that Justice and the Victorious cast perform a version of the song "which they don’t completely murder", opining that the cover shows "the intricacy of how fun the show really is". Writing for MovieWeb, Israel Olorunnisola labeled it as a "classic cover". Jessica Dawson for Common Sense Media labeled the track as one of the soundtrack's "standouts". Miranda for WKNC-FM described it as a "classic cover song with talented vocalists", mentioning that she "love[s] the energy the cast brings to this track". She declared that Justice's voice "dominates the track". In a negative review, Ruhlmann opined that the cover "demonstrates that bubblegum pop hasn't changed much in 40 years".