What You Don't Know (Exposé song)

"What You Don't Know"
Single by Exposé
from the album What You Don't Know
B-side"Walk Along with Me"
ReleasedMay 20, 1989
Recorded1988
StudioCountdown Recording Studios
(Miami, Florida)
Genre
Length3:58 (single version)
4:46 (album version)
LabelArista
Songwriter(s)Lewis A. Martineé
Producer(s)Lewis A. Martineé
Exposé singles chronology
"Seasons Change"
(1987)
"What You Don't Know"
(1989)
"When I Looked at Him"
(1989)

"What You Don't Know" is a song recorded by American Latin freestyle vocal group Exposé for their 1989 second studio album of the same name. Written and produced by the group's founder Lewis A. Martineé, the lead vocals on "What You Don't Know" were performed by Gioia Bruno.

"What You Don't Know" was released as the lead single from the album on May 20, 1989, by Arista Records, and peaked at number eight on the US Billboard Hot 100 in July 1989, extending the group's streak of consecutive top-ten US pop hits to five.[1] On the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart, it reached number two[2] and number eight on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Singles Sales chart. It was the first single by the group to be certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[1] In the United Kingdom, the single peaked for two weeks at number 99 on the UK Singles Chart in September 1989.[3]

Background and composition

"What You Don't Know" features a prominent horn section accompanying the singers, and there is a guitar solo between the second and third verses. Although the group continued to have success on the dance charts, this was one of the final Exposé pop hits featuring a beat, with which they had become associated from most of the singles off their previous album, Exposure (1987). Many of the singles released by the group from this point on were mid-tempo or ballads.

Music video

The accompanying music video for "What You Don't Know" features the singers rehearsing with a band on stage, then near the end of the music video the girls rush back to be with their respective boyfriends.

Track listing

US 7" vinyl single (Arista Records AS1-9836)

A "What You Don't Know" – 3:58
B "Walk Along with Me" – 3:49

US 12" vinyl single (Arista Records AD1-9837)

A1 "What You Don't Know (Atomic Mix)" – 6:35
A2 "What You Don't Know (Might Hurt You Beats)" – 2:36
A3 "What You Don't Know (Radio Mix)" – 4:10
B1 "What You Don't Know (Bass Mix)" – 7:09
B2 "What You Don't Know (Crossover Mix)" – 6:36

Credits and personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1989) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[4] 69
Canada Top Singles (RPM) 17
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) 55
UK Singles (OCC)[5] 99
US Billboard Hot 100[6] 8
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[7] 2
Venezuela (UPI)[8] 9

Year-end charts

Chart (1989) Position
US Billboard Hot 100[9][10] 97

References

  1. ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 215.
  2. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco 1974-2003, (Record Research Inc.), page 94.
  3. ^ Official Charts Company info OfficialCharts.com. Retrieved 18 May 2009.
  4. ^ "Janet Jackson – Miss You Much – swisscharts.com". swisscharts.com. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
  5. ^ "Exposé: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  6. ^ "Exposé Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  7. ^ "Exposé Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  8. ^ "Discos más populares de Latinoamérica". El Siglo de Torreón. July 17, 1989. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  9. ^ "1989 The Year in Music: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. 101 (51): Y-22. December 23, 1989.
  10. ^ "Billboard Top 100 – 1989".