The Top 250 Pop Hits of the Last 50 Years - #236 Waiting For A Girl Like You - Foreigner

"Waiting for a Girl like You" is a 1981 power ballad by the British-American rock band Foreigner. The distinctive synthesizer theme was performed by the then little-known Thomas Dolby.

Chart performance

It was the second single released from the album 4 (1981) and was co-written by Lou Gramm and Mick Jones. It has become one of the band's most famous songs worldwide, peaking at No. 2 on the Hot 100 and #1 on Billboard's Rock Tracks chart. On the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, the song reached the Top Five. In the UK, the song peaked at No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Waiting for a Girl Like You" achieved an odd chart distinction by spending its record-setting 10 weeks in the No. 2 position of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, without ever reaching the top. First appearing on the Hot 100 in October 1981, it reached No. 2 the week of November 28 where it was held off the No. 1 spot by Olivia Newton-John's single "Physical" for nine consecutive weeks, then by Hall & Oates' "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" for a 10th week on January 30, 1982.
Nevertheless it made it to No. 6 amongst the Top 100 singles of 1982.


Prior to the release of this song as a single, Foreigner was considered a hard rock band getting airplay mostly on rock stations and some Top 40 ones. This song gave the group more exposure on top 40 radio stations. Also because the song was soft, most adult contemporary radio stations played it as well, giving the group exposure to an audience they were not really aiming at in general. This song was pivotal in exposing harder rock acts to a broader audience.

In other media

• This song is featured in Karaoke Revolution Party and as downloadable content for the Rock Band franchise.
• The song was covered by Mark Salling (who plays Noah 'Puck' Puckerman) in the fourth episode of the third season of the smash TV-show Glee, Pot o' Gold.
• The song was also covered by Glee's sister show The Glee Project in its second season.
• The song was used in Nickelodeon movie Snow Day and was featured on the soundtrack.
• Rick Springfield also recorded a cover version of this song on his 2005 covers album, The Day After Yesterday.
• Cliff Richard covered the song on his 2007 album, Love... The Album, which reached No. 13 on the UK Album Chart.
• Also in 2007, Paul Anka released a cover version on his album Classic Songs, My Way.
• The song is included in the rock/jukebox musical Rock of Ages, and included on the 2009 original Broadway cast recording.