How Do You Know?
"How Do You Know?" is a song recorded by American singer K. Michelle for her second studio album, Anybody Wanna Buy a Heart? (2014).[1] It was released for digital download and streaming on November 17, 2014 by Atlantic Records as the album's first promotional single.[2][3] Bianca Atterberry wrote the track alongside Michelle while Lil' Ronnie produced it with Timothy Bloom. Upon its release of, music critics were positive towards the track, praising Michelle's voice and the lyrics. Commercially, "How Do You Know?" reached positions on the digital charts of Australia and Spain. To promote the single, Michelle performed the song on The Today Show.[4][5]
"How Do You Know?" | |
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Promotional single by K. Michelle | |
from the album Anybody Wanna Buy a Heart? | |
Released | November 17, 2014 |
Length | 3:35 |
Label | Atlantic |
Songwriter(s) |
|
Producer(s) |
|
Background and composition
"How Do You Know?" was written by Michelle and Bianca "Blush" Atterberry and was produced by Lil' Ronnie, B.A.M. and Timothy Bloom.[6][7] The track was released for digital download and streaming as the first promotional single from Anybody Wanna Buy a Heart? on November 17, 2014 by Atlantic Records.[1][8] The song finds a vulnerable Michelle singing about a relationship going awry. Musically, "How Do You Know?" has been described as a soulful ballad[9][10] with a length of three minutes and thirty-five seconds.[6] According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, the song is performed in the key of Db♯ Major with a vocal range of Ab3-Db5 and a moderately slow tempo of 63 beats per minute. Michelle's vocals span from to F2 to B3.[11]
Critical reception
Rap-Up wrote about the song, sayingː "On the impassioned piano ballad, the Memphis songstress tries to move on from the past and find love again, but she has her doubts.".[12]. Lloyd Jaffe from HotNewHipHop described the song as a "piano-driven ballad about moving on and moving up after a long-term relationship".[13] Furthermore, Jaffe said that the track "wears its heart on its sleeve".[13] Vixen of Vibe compared the song to Michelle's two other songs from her album, "Love 'Em All" and "Maybe I Should Call" and stated that the song "operates on a piano melody and Michelle's voice, her doing a dance in her head of whether or not her man was the one who caused her the pain".[14] Bradley Stern from Idolator considered that Michelle said "For anyone hoping to hear Miss K. Michelle showcasing her powerhouse chops, this one ought to satisfy." and praised "her irresistible high-pitched vocals and emotional lyrics stand out the most in the piano-driven ballad".[15] During a review for Anybody Wanna Buy a Heart? for PopMatters, Devone Jones said that the song is "probably one of the most dull ballads in recent memory due to the fact that everything is wrong" and said that it sounded like a "failed Mariah moment that had too much effort put into it".[16]
Charts
Chart (2014) | Peak position |
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Australia Digital Tracks (ARIA)[17] | 70 |
Spain Physical/Digital (PROMUSICAE)[18] | 83 |
US Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[19] | 58 |
References
- "K. Michelle New Music: Ballad "How Do You Know?" Released". LoveBScott. November 17, 2014. Archived from the original on February 2, 2020. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
- "K. Michelle - How Do You Know". Discogs.com. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
- "How Do You Know? by K. Michelle". Amazon Music. Amazon.com. Archived from the original on December 24, 2014. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
- "K.Michelle belts out her ballad 'How Do You Know?'". Today.com. February 11, 2014. Archived from the original on February 2, 2020. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
- "K.Michelle Performs 'How Do You Know' LIVE On Today Show [VIDEO]". theJasmineBRAND. 2015-02-12. Archived from the original on 2020-02-02. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
- "Anybody Wanna Buy a Heart? by K. Michelle". United States: iTunes Store. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
- "Anybody Wanna Buy a Heart? by K. Michelle". United Kingdom: iTunes Store. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
- "K. Michelle – 'How Do You Know' [NEW MUSIC]". K97.5. 2014-11-17. Archived from the original on 2020-02-02. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
- "New Music: K. Michelle "How Do You Know" - YouKnowIGotSoul.com". 2014-11-17. Archived from the original on 2020-02-02. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
- Josephs, Brian. "Stream K. Michelle's 'Anybody Wanna Buy a Heart?' Album". The Boombox. Archived from the original on 2020-02-02. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
- "K. Michele "How Do You Know?" Sheet Music in Db Major". Musicnotes.com. 2014. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
- "New Music: K. Michelle – 'How Do You Know?'". Rap-Up. 2014-11-16. Archived from the original on 2020-02-02. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
- Jaffe, Lloyd (November 17, 2014). "K. Michelle - How Do You Know?". HotNewHipHop. Archived from the original on February 2, 2020. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
- Vixen (November 17, 2014). "K. Michelle Mends A Broken Heart On 'How Do You Know?'". Vibe.com. Archived from the original on February 2, 2020.
- Stern, Bradley (November 17, 2014). "K. Michelle Premieres 'Anybody Wanna Buy A Heart?' Ballad, "How Do You Know?": Listen". Idolator. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
- Olivier, Bobby (January 5, 2015). "K. Michelle: Anybody Wanna Buy a Heart (Review)". PopMatters. Archived from the original on January 14, 2018. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
- "ARIA Digital Tracks Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. May 25, 2018. Archived from the original on December 15, 2019. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
- "Spanish Song Sales: Week of January 11, 2015". spanishcharts.com. Archived from the original on February 3, 2015. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
- "K. Michelle Chart History (Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved January 22, 2015.