View source for I Want Your Sex

{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Infobox song
| name       = I Want Your Sex
| cover      = Iwantyoursexcover.jpg
| alt        =
| type       = single
| artist     = [[George Michael]]
| album      = [[Faith (George Michael album)|Faith]] {{noitalic|and}} [[Beverly Hills Cop II (soundtrack)|Beverly Hills Cop II (The Motion Picture Soundtrack Album)]]
| B-side     = "I Want Your Sex" ("Rhythm Two: Brass in Love")
| released   = {{start date|1987|05|18|df=y}}
| recorded   =
* August 1986 (part 1)
* February 1987 (parts 2 and 3)<ref name=FaithSOS>{{cite web|url=https://www.soundonsound.com/people/classic-tracks-george-michael-faith|title=Classic Tracks: George Michael 'Faith'|first=Richard|last=Buskin|date=March 2013|access-date=22 December 2020|archive-date=29 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129173005/https://www.soundonsound.com/people/classic-tracks-george-michael-faith}}</ref>
| studio     =
* [[Sarm Studios|Sarm West]], London (part 1)
* Puk, [[Gjerlev]] (parts 2 and 3)<ref name=FaithSOS/>
| venue      =
| genre      =
* [[Dance-pop]]
* [[pop music|pop]]-[[funk]]<ref name= "Breihan 2021">{{cite web|first= Tom |last= Breihan |title= The Number Ones: George Michael's "Faith|website= [[Stereogum]] |date= 2 April 2021|url= https://www.stereogum.com/2122775/the-number-ones-george-michaels-faith/columns/the-number-ones/|quote= ['I Want Your Sex' is] a frisky, silly pop-funk track with a pronounced Prince influence...|access-date= 8 November 2023}}{{cite magazine|url= https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/george-michael/the-10-best-george-michael-songs|title=The 10 Best George Michael Songs|first=Lee|last=Zimmerman|date=29 December 2016|website=[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]|access-date=26 June 2025|quote=Culled from his first solo album Faith, this insistent slice of funk naturally garnered controversy simply by virtue of its title.}}</ref>
| length     =
* 4:44 (part one)
* 4:38 (part two)
* 3:48 (part three)
* 13:13 (Monogamy mix)
| label      = [[Columbia Records|Columbia]]
| writer     = George Michael
| producer   = George Michael
| prev_title = [[I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)]]
| prev_year  = 1987
| next_title = [[Faith (George Michael song)|Faith]]
| next_year  = 1987
| misc       = {{External music video|{{YouTube|r3AP26ywQsQ|"I Want Your Sex"}}}}
}}

"'''I Want Your Sex'''" is a song by English singer and songwriter [[George Michael]]. Released as a single on 18 May 1987 in the United States and on 1 June in the United Kingdom,<ref name="BB19870530"/><ref name="MW19870530"/> it was the third hit from the [[Beverly Hills Cop II (soundtrack)|soundtrack]] to ''[[Beverly Hills Cop II]]'' and the first single from Michael's debut solo album ''[[Faith (George Michael album)|Faith]]''. 

The single was certified [[RIAA certification|platinum]] by the [[Recording Industry Association of America|RIAA]] for shipments in excess of one million copies in the United States. It was also the recipient for [[Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Original Song]]. The song's radio airplay on the [[BBC]] was restricted to post-[[Watershed (broadcasting)|watershed]] hours due to concerns that it might promote promiscuity and could be counterproductive to contemporary campaigns about [[HIV/AIDS|AIDS]] awareness.<ref>{{cite news | url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/what-to-listen-to/30-songs-banned-by-the-bbc/george-michael/ | title= 30 songs banned by the BBC |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=17 December 2015}}</ref>

==Composition==
The song has three separate parts dubbed "Rhythms". The first one, titled "Rhythm One: Lust", is the version released as a single and banned by the BBC. It appears by itself on the ''[[Beverly Hills Cop II]]'' soundtrack, and mixed with the second version, titled "Rhythm Two: Brass in Love", on ''[[Faith (George Michael album)|Faith]]''. The second Rhythm also appears by itself as the [[A-side and B-side|B-side]] of the single. A third part, "Rhythm Three: A Last Request", appears as a B-side to the "[[Hard Day]]" 7-inch and "Kissing a Fool" 12-inch singles, and on the CD version of ''Faith'' as a bonus track. All three versions were mixed together into one 13-minute song, dubbed the "Monogamy Mix", for the 12-inch and CD single releases.

==Writing and production==
Part 1 of "I Want Your Sex" was recorded in August 1986 at [[Sarm Studios|Sarm West Studio 2]], London, roughly 2 months after the [[Wham!]] split that June. It was written entirely in the studio, with Michael playing all the instruments: a [[LinnDrum]], a [[Roland Juno-106]] and a [[Yamaha DX7]].<ref name=FaithSOS/> Michael explained why he wrote the track this way in ''[[International Musician and Recording World]]'' magazine:
{{blockquote|I didn't want to write a song as such. I wanted to make a record. When it comes to making [[dance music|dance]] records I'm much more able to do them as I go along in the studio, because it's much more about sound and rhythm. I deliberately wanted to make a record where if you stripped it down to what was left of the song, there wasn't much of a song there.<ref name=GMQuestionOfFaith>{{cite magazine |last=Horkins |first=Tony |date=December 1987 |title=George Michael: A Question of Faith |magazine=[[International Musician and Recording World]] |location=UK |pages=33–35}}</ref>}}

Michael admitted that the track was "really easy to do", but it was difficult in the sense that he intended it to be a dance record, so he "had to do something new with it every 16 bars" for the song's arrangement to "hold up interest-wise".<ref name=GMQuestionOfFaith/> "I Want Your Sex" was originally produced for [[David Austin (singer)|David Austin]], but Michael decided to keep the song for himself.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/21/arts/music/george-michael-freedom-uncut.html|first=Rob|last=Tannenbaum|title=George Michael Preferred Music to Fame. The Doc He Made Does, Too.|website=[[The New York Times]] |date=June 21, 2022|access-date=June 24, 2025}}</ref>

The "squelching" bass sound heard in the song's introduction was caused entirely by accident, as engineer Chris Porter described: 
{{blockquote|
We were working on a song, again we just had a Juno, LinnDrum and DX7, and we connected them all up so that we could run them off [[MIDI]]. After doing some programming, we returned to the studio the next afternoon, I pressed "play" on the tape machine, the MIDI obviously wasn't right and everything started making these weird noises. The drums were triggering random sounds on the Juno and DX7, starting to make what you now hear as the intro on "I Want Your Sex": a strange squelching, pulsing bass sound.<br />I went, "Oh, damn, I'll reset it," and George said, "Hang on a second, hang on a second! That sounds really good, doesn't it?" I said, "It's a bit weird," and he said, "Yeah, but if we just take a bit out here and a bit out of there we might be able to use it..." We recorded a few bars of that odd squelching noise, and then it morphs into the song, at which point the bass become the bass part and just the Juno, LinnDrum and DX7 provide the overall landscape.<ref name=FaithSOS/>}}

Michael himself had a similar recollection:
{{blockquote|So what happened was, we were writing a much faster [[Pop music|Pop]] song that I did have in my head, called "Johnny Sex". We needed to trigger a sound off the [[Roland Juno-106|Juno 106]], and in order to do it we had to take the drum pattern down to half speed. It didn't quite work, but it accidentally set the Juno off to a random pattern, which became the pumping noise at the bottom of "I Want Your Sex". I thought it sounded really good, really tribal, and it gave me a totally different idea which I worked around, I just played the other stuff and had it sequenced.<ref name=GMQuestionOfFaith/>}}

Parts 2 and 3 were recorded the following year during sessions at Puk Studios in [[Gjerlev]], Denmark, as extensions to part 1 (which had been selected for the first single), with part 2 being the one with a "more New York club sound" (having been recorded with a seven-piece brass section), while part 3 was the "romantic" and "altogether smoother" counterpart. For the crossover points, the 56-channel SSL console (with 28 channels on either side) at the Puk facility would be used to bounce from the original multitrack on one side of the SSL onto the new multitrack slave on the other, and George would rehearse the musicians on a particular part before dropping them in on the new track.<ref name=FaithSOS/>

==Music video==
The [[music video]], directed by [[Andy Morahan]],<ref name="mvdbase">{{cite web|url=https://www.mvdbase.com/video.php?id=18747|title=mvdbase.com - George Michael - "I want your sex"|work=Music Video DataBase|last=Garcia|first=Alex S|access-date=31 October 2015}}</ref> featured Michael and his then-girlfriend Kathy Jeung to emphasize that he was in a monogamous relationship; at one point, he is shown using lipstick to write the words ''"explore"'' on her thigh, and ''"monogamy"'' on her back, which is photographed and retouched at the end of the video to reveal the phrase "explore monogamy". Spanish model Gloria Rodríguez Veiga was also used for naked scenes in a way that allowed the audience to assume they were the same woman; these shots are interspersed with intentionally blurred footage of George Michael dancing and singing the song.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lne.es/vida-y-estilo/gente/2016/12/27/asturiana-gloria-rodriguez-protagonizo-videoclip-19421572.html |title=The Asturian Gloria Rodríguez starred in the musician's most controversial video clip |website=[[La Nueva España]] |date=27 December 2016 |access-date=May 6, 2024}}</ref> 

In a 2004 interview with [[Adam Mattera]] for UK magazine ''[[Attitude (magazine)|Attitude]]'', Michael reflected: "It was totally real. Kathy was in love with me but she knew that I was in love with a guy at that point in time. I was still saying I was bisexual... She was the only female that I ever brought into my professional life. I put her in a video. Of course she looked like a beard. It was all such a mess, really. My own confusion and then on top of that what I was prepared to let the public think."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://attitude.co.uk/article/george-michael-discusses-open-relationships-in-frank-2004-attitude-interview-part-3-1/13320/|title=George Michael's candid 2004 interview with Attitude|publisher=Attitude|access-date=26 June 2012|archive-date=6 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200206111520/https://attitude.co.uk/article/george-michael-discusses-open-relationships-in-frank-2004-attitude-interview-part-3-1/13320/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The video generated controversy over its sexual themes. In 2002, [[MTV2]]'s countdown of ''MTV's Most Controversial Videos Ever to Air on MTV'' included the video for "I Want Your Sex" at number three. The original video cut appears on the ''[[Twenty Five (album)|Twenty Five]]'' compilation 2-DVD set.

==Release==
In the US, the song was first featured on the ''Beverly Hills Cop II'' soundtrack album, which was released to radio stations in early May 1987. The commercial release of the soundtrack followed on 18 May. An immediate surge in airplay of "I Want Your Sex" as an album cut prompted CBS to release the single the same day.<ref name="BB19870530">{{Cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1987/Billboard-1987-05-30.pdf|title=Michael's 'Sex' Forces lyrics Issue: AIDS Epidemic Renews Debate|page=10|magazine=Billboard|access-date=2021-04-08|date=1987-05-30|author=Kim Freeman}}</ref> The UK single debuted the first week of June.<ref name="MW19870530">{{cite news|work=Music Week|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1987/Music-Week-1987-05-30.pdf|page=31|title=New Singles (Mon 1–Friday 5 June 1987)|date=1987-05-30|access-date=2021-04-08}}</ref>

"I Want Your Sex" was the second single Michael released in 1987, following "[[I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)]]", his duet with [[Aretha Franklin]]. On the song's daytime radio ban, Michael commented during an interview with [[Jonathan Ross]]:

{{blockquote|I wasn't expecting the blanket ban. I think it's unfair because it's the first ban of its kind in a long time and I think that if I were not George Michael then I would have no problem being played on those stations. And it's incredibly irritating having a record out for a couple of weeks and knowing that people haven't heard it.<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/3558859/George-Michael-a-few-words-from-George-before-he-go-gos.html|title= George Michael: a few words from George before he go-gos|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=21 August 2008}}</ref>}}

Despite censorship and airplay issues, an edited version of the song's music video received ample airplay on North American music channels, fueling its popularity there. The single eventually reached number two on both the US [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] chart and the US [[Cash Box|''Cash Box Top 100'']].<ref>{{cite book|title=Top Pop Singles 1955-2010|year=2011|last=Whitburn|first=Joel|author-link=Joel Whitburn|publisher=Record Research}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Cash Box Pop Hits: 1952-1996|last=Whitburn|first=Joel|author-link=Joel Whitburn|year=2014|publisher=Record Research}}</ref> It also hit number two in Canada, where it ended up becoming the 13th most popular single of the year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.0920&volume=47&issue=12&issue_dt=December%2026%201987&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=2brc3e5p2efs1u9u1nro47cs44|title=RPM Top 100 Singles of 1987|access-date=9 July 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305162514/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.0920&volume=47&issue=12&issue_dt=December%2026%201987&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=2brc3e5p2efs1u9u1nro47cs44|archive-date=5 March 2016}}</ref>

The song reached number three on the [[UK Singles Chart]], where the song's reprise maintained an audience for many years thanks to [[BBC Radio 1]] breakfast show host [[Simon Mayo]] using a looped version as backing music for his daily feature ''On This Day in History''. It also sold 327,160 copies there.<ref name="UK sales">{{cite web|url=http://www.musicweek.com/analysis/read/george-michael-on-the-charts/067107|title=George Michael on the charts|date=11 January 2017|work=[[Music Week]]|publisher=Intent Media|access-date=12 January 2017}}</ref>

==Legacy==
Although it was one of Michael's biggest hits, the singer ignored the song following its release; he never performed it after [[the Faith Tour]] and although the Rhythm Two version appears on ''[[Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael]]'', it does not appear on the 2006 retrospective ''[[Twenty Five (album)|Twenty Five]]''; furthermore, the "Monogamy" mix does not appear on the 2011 remastered release of ''Faith''. In an interview with [[Mark Goodier]], included in the large-format book released with the 2011 remaster, Michael said that he still likes the second "Rhythm" but not the first, and that he distanced himself from the song because its production sounded too much like [[Prince (musician)|Prince]]; indeed, "Rhythm 1", as well as a few other tracks on the ''Faith'' album (such as "Hard Day"), features Michael simulating female vocals by artificially [[Pitch control|pitching up]] and altering his own voice, much the same way as Prince was doing at the time with his pseudo-female alter ego [[Camille (album)|Camille]]. In the interview, Michael admits that he was "deeply enamoured" with Prince, and adds that he thought it was very bad for him to be infatuated with a colleague of his.<ref>[[Mark Goodier]], "In Conversation with George Michael", ''Faith: Remastered'' Special Edition book.</ref> ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' editor [[David Fricke]] described this song as "a new bump-and-grind original that sounds more like Prince's stark, sexy '[[Kiss (Prince song)|Kiss]]' than anything in the Wham! catalog".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/the-second-coming-of-george-michael-103627/|title=The Second Coming Of George Michael|first=David|last=Fricke|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=20 November 1986|access-date=28 December 2020}}</ref> In 2016, after Michael's death, Andrew Unterberger of ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' ranked the song number eight on his list of Michael's 15 greatest songs.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/greatest-george-michael-songs-tribute-rip-7633307/|title=The 15 Greatest George Michael Songs: Critic's Take|first=Andrew|last=Unterberger|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=26 December 2016|access-date=14 February 2022}}</ref>

== Track listings ==
{{Track listing
| headline        = 7″: Epic / LUST 1 (UK)<ref>{{cite AV media notes |title=I Want Your Sex |type=UK 7-inch single |others=[[George Michael]] |publisher=[[Epic Records]] |year=1987 |id=LUST 1}}</ref>
| all_writing     = George Michael
| title1          = I Want Your Sex
| note1           = "Rhythm One: Lust"
| length1         = 4:44
| title2          = I Want Your Sex
| note2           = "Rhythm Two: Brass in Love"
| length2         = 4:43
}}
{{Track listing
| headline        = 12″: Epic / LUST T1 (UK and Europe)<ref>{{cite AV media notes |title=I Want Your Sex |type=UK and European 12-inch single |others=[[George Michael]] |publisher=[[Epic Records]] |year=1987 |id=LUST T1}}</ref>
| title1          = I Want Your Sex
| note1           = Monogamy mix
| length1         = 13:12
| title2          = [[Hard Day]]
| length2         = 4:51
}}

==Charts==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}

===Weekly charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+Weekly chart performance for "I Want Your Sex"
! scope="col"| Chart (1987)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
! scope="row"| Australia ([[Kent Music Report|Australian Music Report]])<ref>{{cite web|url=https://imgur.com/n2W6d1D|title=Australian ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart – Week Ending 9th August, 1987|publisher=[[Australian Recording Industry Association|ARIA]], via Imgur.com|access-date=12 December 2019}} N.B. ARIA licensed the Australian Music Report chart between mid-1983 and 12 June 1988.</ref>
| 2
|-
{{single chart|Austria|2|artist=George Michael|song=I Want Your Sex|rowheader=true|access-date=23 November 2017}}
|-
{{single chart|Flanders|1|artist=George Michael|song=I Want Your Sex|rowheader=true|access-date=23 November 2017}}
|-
! scope="row"| Canada Retail Singles (''[[The Record (magazine)|The Record]]'')<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/80s/1987/Billboard-1987-09-05.pdf|title=Hits of the World|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|page=62|date=5 September 1987|access-date=23 November 2017}}</ref><ref>[[Nanda Lwin|Lwin, Nanda]]. ''Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide'' (2000). Mississauga, Ont.: Music Data Canada</ref>
| 2
|-
{{single chart|Canadatopsingles|2|chartid=0875|rowheader=true|access-date=23 November 2017}}
|-
! scope="row"| Denmark ([[IFPI Denmark|IFPI]])<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Top 3 in Europe|magazine=[[Music & Media]]|page=16|date=July 11, 1987|volume=4|issue=27|oclc=29800226}}</ref>
| 3
|-
! scope="row"| Europe ([[European Hot 100 Singles]])<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/80s/1987/Billboard-1987-07-18.pdf|title=Hits of the World|magazine=Billboard|page=72|date=18 July 1987|access-date=23 November 2017}}</ref>
| 3
|-
! scope="row"| Finland ([[The Official Finnish Charts|Suomen virallinen lista]])<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wiki.pomus.net/wiki/Singlet_1987-06_kes%C3%A4kuu|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407191632/http://wiki.pomus.net/wiki/Singlet_1987-06_kes%C3%A4kuu|url-status=usurped|archive-date=7 April 2016|title=Singlet 1987-06 kesäkuuA4kuu|language=fi|publisher=[[Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland]]|access-date=23 November 2017}}</ref>
| 2
|-
{{single chart|France|11|artist=George Michael|song=I Want Your Sex|rowheader=true|access-date=23 November 2017}}
|-
! scope="row"| Iceland ([[RÚV]])<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ruv.is/persona/george-michael|publisher=[[RÚV]]|title= George Michael Chart History|work=RÚV |date=22 March 2016| access-date=7 November 2018}}</ref>
| 7
|-
{{single chart|Ireland2|1|song=I Want Your Sex|rowheader=true|access-date=23 November 2017}}
|-
!scope="row"|Italy Airplay (''[[Music & Media]]'')<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/80s/1987/M&M-1987-06-20.pdf|title=European Playlist Reports: RAI - Italy|magazine=[[Music & Media]]|volume=4|issue=24|page=14|date=20 June 1987}}</ref>
| 2
|-
{{single chart|Dutch40|1|year=1987|week=28|rowheader=true|access-date=23 November 2017}}
|-
{{single chart|Dutch100|1|artist=George Michael|song=I Want Your Sex|rowheader=true|access-date=23 November 2017}}
|-
{{single chart|New Zealand|2|artist=George Michael|song=I Want Your Sex|rowheader=true|access-date=23 November 2017}}
|-
{{single chart|Norway|3|artist=George Michael|song=I Want Your Sex|rowheader=true|access-date=23 November 2017}}
|-
! scope="row"| Spain ([[Productores de Música de España|AFYVE]])<ref>{{cite book|author=Fernando Salaverri|title=Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002|edition=1st|date=September 2005|publisher=Fundación Autor-SGAE|location=Spain|isbn=84-8048-639-2}}</ref>
| 4
|-
{{single chart|Sweden|8|artist=George Michael|song=I Want Your Sex|rowheader=true|access-date=23 November 2017}}
|-
{{single chart|Switzerland|4|artist=George Michael|song=I Want Your Sex|rowheader=true|access-date=23 November 2017}}
|-
{{single chart|UK|3|date=19870614|rowheader=true|access-date=23 November 2017}}
|-
{{single chart|Billboardhot100|2|artist=George Michael|rowheader=true|access-date=23 November 2017}}
|-
{{single chart|Billboarddanceclubplay|2|artist=George Michael|rowheader=true|access-date=23 November 2017|note=with "[[Hard Day]]"}}
|-
{{single chart|Billboarddancesales|1|artist=George Michael|rowheader=true|access-date=22 April 2025|note=with "Hard Day"}}
|-
{{single chart|Billboardrandbhiphop|43|artist=George Michael|rowheader=true|access-date=23 November 2017}}
|-
!scope="row"| US ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]]'' Top 100<ref>{{cite book|title=Cash Box Pop Hits: 1952-1996|last=Whitburn|first=Joel|author-link=Joel Whitburn|year=2014|publisher=Record Research}}</ref>
|2
|-
{{single chart|West Germany|3|artist=George Michael|song=I Want Your Sex|songid=1635|rowheader=true|access-date=23 November 2017}}
|}
{{col-2}}

===Year-end charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+Year-end chart performance for "I Want Your Sex"
! scope="col"| Chart (1987)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| Australia (Australian Music Report)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://i.imgur.com/sPdqqRt.jpg|title=Australian Music Report No 701 – 28 December 1987 > National Top 100 Singles for 1987|publisher=[[Kent Music Report|Australian Music Report]], via Imgur.com|access-date=12 December 2019}}</ref>
| 32
|-
! scope="row"| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://austriancharts.at/1987_single.asp|title=Jahreshitparade 1987|language=de|website=Austrian Charts Portal|access-date=8 April 2022}}</ref>
| 24
|-
! scope="row"| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)<ref>{{cite web|title= Jaaroverzichten 1987 |publisher= Ultratop |access-date=8 April 2022 |url= http://www.ultratop.be/nl/annual.asp?year=1987 |language= nl}}</ref>
| 15
|-
! scope="row"| Canada Top Singles (''RPM'')<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.0920&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.0920.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.0920|title=Top 100 Singles of '87|magazine=[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]]|via=[[Library and Archives Canada]]|access-date=22 April 2025}}</ref>
| 13
|-
! scope="row"| European Top 100 Singles (''Music & Media'')<ref>{{cite web|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/80s/1987/M&M-1987-12-26.pdf|title=European Charts of the Year 1987: Singles|page=34|work=Music & Media|date=26 December 1987|access-date=8 April 2022|volume=5|issue=11}}</ref>
| 9
|-
! scope="row"| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)<ref>{{cite web|title= Top 100–Jaaroverzicht van 1987 |publisher= [[Dutch Top 40]] |access-date=8 April 2022 |url= http://www.top40.nl/bijzondere-lijsten/top-100-jaaroverzichten/1987 |language= nl}}</ref>
| 17
|-
! scope="row"| Netherlands (Single Top 100)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dutchcharts.nl/jaaroverzichten.asp?year=1987&cat=s|title=Jaaroverzichten – Single 1987|language=nl|website=Dutch Charts Portal|access-date=8 April 2022}}</ref>
| 7
|-
! scope="row"| New Zealand (RIANZ)<ref>{{cite web|url= https://aotearoamusiccharts.co.nz/archive/annual-singles/1987-12-31 |title= END OF YEAR CHARTS 1987|publisher=[[Official New Zealand Music Chart]]|access-date=22 April 2021}}</ref>
| 16
|-
! scope="row"| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.swisscharts.com/charts/jahreshitparade/1987|title=Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1987: Singles|language=de|website=Swiss Chart Portal|access-date=8 April 2022}}</ref>
| 23
|-
! scope="row"| UK Singles (OCC)<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Mirror/80s/88/Record-Mirror-1988-01-23-OCR.pdf|title=Gallup Year End Charts 1987: Singles|magazine=[[Record Mirror]]|page=36|date=23 January 1988|access-date=7 April 2022}}</ref>
| 64
|-
! scope="row"| US ''Billboard Hot 100''<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JCgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=RA1-PA25 |title=No. 1 Awards: Top Pop Singles |magazine=Billboard |volume=99 |issue=52 |page=Y-22 |date=26 December 1987}}</ref>
| 24
|-
! scope="row"| US 12-inch Singles Sales (''Billboard'')<ref name="usdye">{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JCgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=RA1-PA17 |title=No. 1 Awards |magazine=Billboard |volume=99 |issue=52 |page=Y-30 |date=26 December 1987}}</ref>
| 14
|-
! scope="row"| US Dance Club Play (''Billboard'')<ref name="usdye"/>
| 26
|-
! scope="row"| US Hot Crossover Singles (''Billboard'')<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JCgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=RA1-PA20 |title=No. 1 Awards: Top Hot Crossover Singles |magazine=Billboard |volume=99 |issue=52 |page=Y-27 |date=26 December 1987 |access-date=8 April 2022}}</ref>
| 9
|-
! scope="row"| US ''Cash Box'' Top 100<ref>{{cite magazine |date=26 December 1987 |title=Top 50 Pop Singles |magazine=Cash Box|volume=LI |number=27}}</ref>
| 4
|-
! scope="row"| West Germany (Media Control)<ref>{{cite web|title= Top 100 Single–Jahrescharts: 1987 |website= Offiziellecharts.de |publisher= GfK Entertainment charts |url= https://www.offiziellecharts.de/charts/single-jahr/for-date-1987 |archive-date=9 May 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150509001159/https://www.offiziellecharts.de/charts/single-jahr/for-date-1987 |language= de|access-date=8 April 2022}}</ref>
| 18
|}
{{col-end}}

==Certifications==
{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications and sales for "I Want Your Sex"}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|title=I Want Your Sex|artist=George Michael|type=single|award=Gold|relyear=1987|certyear=1987|access-date=15 August 2016}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Netherlands|title=I Want Your Sex|artist=George Michael|type=single|award=Gold|relyear=1987|certyear=1987|access-date=15 August 2016}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|title=I Want Your Sex|artist=George Michael|type=single|nocert=true|relyear=1987|salesamount=327,160|salesref=<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.musicweek.com/analysis/read/george-michael-on-the-charts/067107|title=George Michael on the charts|date=11 January 2017|work=[[Music Week]]|publisher=Intent Media|accessdate=16 August 2024}}</ref>}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|title=I Want Your Sex|artist=George Michael|type=single|award=Platinum|relyear=1987|certyear=1989|access-date=15 August 2016}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{George Michael singles}}
{{Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Original Song}}
{{Beverly Hills Cop}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:1987 songs]]
[[Category:1987 singles]]
[[Category:Columbia Records singles]]
[[Category:Dutch Top 40 number-one singles]]
[[Category:George Michael songs]]
[[Category:Music video controversies]]
[[Category:Music videos directed by Andy Morahan]]
[[Category:Obscenity controversies in music]]
[[Category:Song recordings produced by George Michael]]
[[Category:Songs written by George Michael]]
[[Category:Songs banned by the BBC]]
[[Category:British dance-pop songs]]
[[Category:British funk songs]]
[[Category:Irish Singles Chart number-one singles]]