What You Want

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General Information

Written by: A. Lee, T. McCord and T. Balsamo

"What You Want" is the first track and the first single released from Evanescence's self-titled third album. It features heavy riffs, strong vocals, and has a theme of freedom. It is the only Evanescence song that got officially remixed. The remixed version was done by Elder Jepson and it was officially released along with the studio version in the Digital 2-Track and German Commercial Single.

This is what Amy Lee said about the song in an interview with MTV:

Tim and Terry and I wrote that song at my house in New York. We were just jamming, like, recording demos, and obviously the song has grown a lot since then, with everyone else. For me, it was — and I need to remember this, so I can apply it in the future — it wasn't trying so hard to be some epic, massive chorus. I was just doodling around on the piano and the guys were like, "Do that. Whatever you just did, that's an awesome melody." And I was like, "Really?" Sometimes you just need your friends to be like, "Do that!"

In the same interview, Amy Lee also said:

It's about freedom — that's definitely a constant theme on the record — but, it's like Evanescence, and me, and my relationship with the music and the fans, and coming to that [realization] of "This is what I'm supposed to do ... I want to do this," and when it says, "Remember who you really are," that's exactly everything you could assume it means.

A sample of "What You Want" was released on MTV's website on Monday 11th July. The single was released in August 9, 2011.

Evanescence premiered What You Want live on MTV, Monday 8th August at 7:54pm. ET/PT.

In a track-by-track interview with NME.com, Amy also said:

Okay, What you Want, what can I say about this one, this was a cool writing experience. We were, it was Tim and Terry and I came down at my place in New-York for about a month. And we were just hanging out in my living room, like I was at the piano, they were working on the riff in the verse. I just started playing along and it kinda came together really fast. Like we all knew we were onto something really cool, we were getting really excited about it. It's funny, we had two studios going, one on the living room and one up on the top level.So i could be working on lyrics and stuff when they were kinda working on the music and we would come visit each other and play around. And I remember being a little embarrassed when I wrote the verse, lyrics and melody, just the melody even. That "Dohoo watchu watchu want" part I was like Oh man, they're gonna make fun of me and think that I'm Janet Jackson or something. But screw it, I'm gonna show it to them anyway and they were like 'No, that's really cool, the hook is what's cool about it.' I'm so glad they feel that way because it's really fun to sing.

Versions

Studio versions:

What You Want

• Recording date: February 2011 - July 2011
• Status: Released
• Released on:

Evanescence (track #1) – the first single off the album

All What You Want single editions (track #1)

• Length: 3:40

What You Want [Elder Jepson Remix]

• Processing date: 2011
• Status: Released
• Released on:

What You Want Digital 2-Track Single and German Cardsleeve Single (Track #02)

Evanescence (iTunes Deluxe Edition) (track #17)

• Length: 3:18

Live versions:

What You Want [Live]

• Performing period: August 8 2011 - November 9 2012
• Example: Live @ War Memorial Auditorium in Nashville 2011

What You Want [Electro Intro]

• Performing period: 19 October 2011 - November 9 2012
• Example: Live @ Palladium Ballroom, Dallas

Lyrics

Album Version

Do what you what you want
If you have a dream for better
Do what you what you want
'Til you don’t want it anymore
(remember who you really are)

Do what you what you want
Your world’s closing in on you now (it isn’t over)
Stand and face the unknown
(got to remember who you really are)

Every heart in my hands like a pale reflection

Hello, hello, remember me?
I’m everything you can’t control
Somewhere beyond the pain
There must be a way to believe
We can break through

Do what you what you want
You don’t have to lay your life down (it isn’t over)
Do what you what you want
'Til you find what you’re looking for
(got to remember who you really are)

But every hour slipping by screams that I have failed you

Hello, Hello, remember me?
I’m everything you can’t control
Somewhere beyond the pain
There must be a way to believe

Hello, hello, remember me?
I’m everything you can’t control
Somewhere beyond the pain
There must be a way to believe

There’s still time
Close your eyes
Only love will guide you home
Tear down the walls and free your soul
Till we crash we’re forever spiraling
Down, down, down, down

Hello, hello, its only me
Infecting everything you love
Somewhere beyond the pain
There must be a way to believe

Hello, Hello, remember me?
I’m everything you can’t control
Somewhere beyond the pain
There must be a way to learn forgiveness

Hello, Hello, remember me?
I’m everything you can’t control
Somewhere beyond the pain
There must be a way to believe
We can break through

Remember who you really are
Do what you what you want

Elder Jepson Remix

(Do what you what you want)
Hello, hello remember me?
I'm everything you can't control
(Do what you what you want)
Somewhere beyond the pain there must be a way
to believe we can break through

(Do what you what you want)
Hello, hello remember me?
I'm everything you can't control
(Do what you what you want)
Somewhere beyond the pain there must be a way
to believe we can break through

Hello, hello remember me?
I'm everything you can't control
Somewhere beyond the pain there must be a way
to believe we can break through

Do what you what you want, you don't have to lay your life down
(it isn't over)
Do what you what you want till you find what you're looking for
(got to remember who you really are)
Every heart in my hands like a pale reflection

Hello, hello remember me?
I'm everything you can't control
Somewhere beyond the pain there must be a way to believe
Hello, hello remember me?
I'm everything you can't control
Somewhere beyond the pain there must be a way to believe

Do what you what you want, your world's closing in on you now
(it isn't over)
Stand and face the unknown
(got to remember who you really are)

There's still time
close your eyes
only love will guide you home
Tear down the walls and free your soul
(spiraling, spiraling...)

Hello, hello remember me?
I'm everything you can't control
Somewhere beyond the pain there must be a way to learn forgiveness
Hello, hello remember me?
I'm everything you can't control
Somewhere beyond the pain there must be a way
to believe we can break through

Do what you what you want
Do what you what you want

Video

What You Want Video

On Wednesday July 27th, Amy sent out a tweet saying:

Calling all fans in the NY area- We want you to be in our new video!! Go to http://t.co/hdPaDv9 for details.

On Saturday, July 30th, 200 fans were chosen to participate in the first day of the video shoot on a volunteer basis and will appear as the audience of the band’s performance in the video. This video shoot took place in Brooklyn, New York. Directed by Meiert Avis. The video editing was concluded on August 23.

In an interview with MTV, Amy described the inspiration behind the club in the video:

'This video is sort of, like, the history of the band,' she told MTV News. 'This club [set] is emulating old shows we used to play in the beginning — we used to play this club called Vino's in Little Rock [Arkansas] — it's sort of like back then, the gritty, dirty club, sweaty. And basically, it's also [about] New York, where I've been, [and] where [bassist] Tim [McCord] lived in the past few years since we've been gone. And it's sort of about escaping New York and ... coming back out into the world.'

Amy said in another MTV interview that her sister, Carrie has the credit for the basic concept of the video:

Lee actually invited her sister, Carrie, to the recording studio for a few fresh ideas. "She's a writer, so I was like, 'Would you just sit here with me and listen to the song a couple times and just tell me what you see?' " Lee recalled. "She just started saying things that were right on. She was like, 'This should be in New York. You guys need to do something different, this song feels different.' And she started talking about running across the Brooklyn Bridge, and it being where I live, and I was like, 'Oh my God, this is great.' "

The meaning of the final scene in the video, according to Amy in the same interview:

'That was my real part, I kind of came up with the ending; I feel like it's a representation of us coming back to the world,' she said. 'We have a pretty large international fanbase, so I always think about us going on tour, and so much of touring for us is going overseas. But it's a little more than that; it's us heading into the unknown, coming into a new world, coming back after a long time; you've seen the past in the rest of the video, and that's the unknown future.'

A teaser for the video was released on Evanescence's YouTube channel on September 8th.

The Music Video was released Tuesday, September 13, 2011.

What You Want Lyric Video

Lyric Video

The official lyric video of What You Want was uploaded on Evanescence's VEVO Channel on August 18, 2011, about a month before the official music video came out.