Baby Can I Hold You

"Baby Can I Hold You" is the third single released by the American contemporary folk artist Tracy Chapman, released in October 1988. The song reached the top 50 in the United States, unlike its predecessor, "Talkin' 'bout a Revolution", but it failed to become Chapman's second top 40 hit, peaking at number 48. It did, however, give her a second chart entry on the US Adult Contemporary charts, peaking at number 19 in early 1989. Given the commercial decline Chapman suffered following the release of her second album "Crossroads", "Baby Can I Hold You" also became her last top 50 hit until 1996's "Give Me One Reason". In July 1990, the song reached number one in Portugal. Chapman re-released the song in 2001, in support of her first greatest hits album "Collection".
Boyzone version.
In 1997, the Irish boy band Boyzone released a cover of "Baby Can I Hold You" as a double A-side with the non-album track "Shooting Star". "Baby Can I Hold You" thus became their second single from their third studio album, "Where We Belong". The single, like "Picture of You" before it, peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart and stayed in the top 75 for fourteen weeks. The song was the 26th-best-selling single of 1997 in the United Kingdom and has received a Platinum sales certification from the British Phonographic Industry for sales of over 600,000 copies. The song reappeared on lead singer Ronan Keating's greatest-hits compilation "10 Years of Hits".
Track listings.
CD1
CD2 (in limited-edition digipak)
Ronan Keating version.
In 2005, Boyzone frontman Ronan Keating released his own cover of "Baby Can I Hold You" as the third and final single from his greatest hits compilation, "10 Years of Hits". It became the second song that he originally recorded with Boyzone to be re-released for his own solo career. In the United Kingdom, the single was only released via digital download and thus it failed to chart. In Germany, the single received a full-scale release and peaked at number 42 on the German Singles Chart.
Track listings.
Digital download
German CD single
Nicki Minaj copyright infringement lawsuit.
The song created buzz in popular media in 2018, when Nicki Minaj used an interpolation of "Baby Can I Hold You" in her song "Sorry" featuring Nas. Minaj had used the sample believing it was from the song "Sorry" by Shelly Thunder, unaware that song was actually a cover of "Baby Can I Hold You". Minaj left the song off her fourth studio album due to clearance issues, but the song was leaked to Funkmaster Flex shortly after the album's release in August. In October that year, Chapman sued Minaj for copyright infringement, claiming that Minaj leaked the song to Flex after Chapman denied her team's request for clearance of the song multiple times beginning in June. In September 2020, District Court judge Virginia A. Phillips ruled in favor of Minaj stating that Minaj's experimentation with Chapman's song constitutes fair use rather than copyright infringement. In January 2021, the dispute was settled when Minaj paid Chapman $450,000 to avoid a pending trial.
Cover versions.
In 2000, Chapman re-recorded the song as a duet with Luciano Pavarotti for the CD "Pavarotti and Friends for Cambodia and Tibet".