Looking For A New Love - Radio Edit

Contrary to popular belief, the catchphrase "Hasta la vista, baby" did not originate from Arnold Schwarzenegger in the movie Terminator 2: Judgment Day - it originated as a lyric from this song, released four years prior to T2. Watley says the phrase just came to her. "I wanted to say 'go away, see ya,' and I do have Latino friends, so it was maybe something that stuck with me, that attitude of 'hasta la vista,'" she said in a Songfacts interview. "Arnold Schwarzenegger obviously liked the line, because he then made it even more famous. But it has just the right amount of attitude and sassiness to go with what the song is about, and that's a send-off, like, 'Hasta la vista, baby... bye.'"

Jody Watley was indeed looking for a new love when she wrote this song, having recently gone through a breakup. "It was one of the easiest songs I wrote because the lyrics were straight off the top of my head," she told Songfacts. "I sat down with my recorder and sang: Gave you love, you did me wrong Didn't know what to do But baby, I'm strong... It was a breakup song, but I definitely wanted to, as a woman and a writer, not be weak about it. I wanted it to be very empowering for girls and women. I love the line, 'Baby I'm strong, I'm gonna get over you. A new love I'm gonna choose.' That's the strength that I love."

This was Jody Watley's first single, launching a solo career that earned her the Grammy for Best New Artist. She started out as a Soul Train dancer, and in 1977 joined Shalamar, a group signed to Soul Train Records. Shalamar did very well, landing hit after hit on the R&B chart and several songs that made the pop charts as well, including "The Second Time Around" and "A Night To Remember." But Watley used mostly as a dancer and backup singer, when she wanted to write songs and sing leads. Frustrated, she left in 1983 while the group was still red hot. She moved to London and ended up singing on "Do They Know It's Christmas?" - she and members of Kool & the Gang were the only Americans on the song. She released two singles with Mercury Records, but they didn't pan out and she ended up at MCA, where label executive Jheryl Busby gave her lots of support and creative freedom. "Looking For A New Love" went to #1 on the R&B chart and spent four weeks at #2 on the Hot 100, first behind "(I Just) Died in Your Arms" by Cutting Crew and then "With Or Without You" by U2. Four more singles from the album followed, all chart hits: "Still a Thrill," "Don't You Want Me," "Some Kind of Lover," and "Most of All."