"I Wanna Hold on to You" is a song by British singer-songwriter Mica Paris, released in May 1993 by 4th & B'way as the second single from her third studio album, Whisper a Prayer (1993). Co-written by Paris with Narada Michael Walden and Sally Jo Dakota, it peaked at number 27 on the UK Singles Chart and number five on Music Weeks Dance Singles chart. A music video was produced to promote the single, directed by American artist, photographer, director and creative director Matthew Rolston. It was later made available by VEVO on YouTube in 2018.
In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton described the song as a "fairly standard piece of Brit soul". Alan Jones from Music Week felt that after the massive "I Never Felt Like This Before", "Mica Paris tackles a less flowing, looser and altogether jazzier song. Vocally superb, but lacking the commercial appeal of the aforementioned single, "I Wanna Hold On to You" is likely to peter out a good 10 or so places lower." Ian McCann from NME wrote, "Standard understated and impossibly unimaginative soul groove." James Hamilton from the Record Mirror Dance Update described it as "EnVogue-ish" and "slinky". Damon Albarn and Alex James of Blur reviewed the song for Smash Hits, giving it five out of five. Albarn said that "she definitely sounds more and more like Anita Baker the more records she puts out." He added, "Mica is a really sexy woman, it's sexy music. It gives me the horn. It's energetic and sexy."
European CD
UK 12-inch
US
Netherlands 7-inch
Personnel are obtained from the Whisper a Prayer liner notes.
Performance credits
Instruments
Technical and production