Romantic – Karyn White | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning

Chart Performance: Pop (#1), R&B (#1), and Dance (#6); 1991

Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne

Los Angeles native Karyn White began her climb to stardom at age five when she entered the Little Miss Ebony pageant. Her first break came in 1985 when Automatic Passion, a song co-written by Karyn, was recorded by Stephanie Mills. Her dream also took a hit that year when she auditioned, and failed, to replace Jody Watley in Shalamar. In 1986 Karyn rode into the R&B Top 20 as the featured vocalist with jazz fusion keyboardist Jeff Lorber on Facts Of Love. After a second single by the two stiffed, Karyn blasted onto the R&B chart with three consecutive #1’s, of which two reached the pop Top 10. Her next album outing was produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, who co-wrote Romantic and The Way I Feel About You (#5 R&B, #12 pop; 1992) with Karyn. The two songs also held a special personal meaning for husband-and-wife Terry and Karyn.

This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.

Produced by:

  • Jimmy Jam
  • Terry Lewis

Lyrics Written by:

  • Jimmy Jam
  • Terry Lewis
  • Karyn White

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Ed Osborne

Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).