I Want You to Want Me

The song first appeared on In Color in September 1977 as the first single and did not chart in the United States. Producer Tom Werman called it a dance hall type of song, meant to be a little campy, like a burlesque number from the 30s, and put on a piano played by Jai Winding. Nielsen and Petersson later criticized that lightweight production, and Petersson said the studio version sounded like something from a pizza parlor.

The faster live version from At Budokan, released 19 months later, reached number seven on the Hot 100, number two in Canada and number one in Japan, and number 29 in Britain, their highest UK single. It was certified gold. The live arrangement has two guitar solos, and the crowd chants the word cryin' where the studio version has an echo. The Guardian's Paul Lester ranked it among the ten best power pop songs and called it Cheap Trick's pop zenith, and Ultimate Classic Rock's Annie Zaleski ranked it their best song. The band played it at their 2016 Rock Hall induction, and recorded it again in 1997 with Steve Albini. Letters to Cleo covered it in 1999.