I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) by Aretha Franklin and George Michael was released on January 19, 1987, with an instrumental version of the song as the B side. The single appeared on Franklin’s thirty-fourth studio album Aretha.

The song reached No. 1 on the both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. It was Franklin’s first and only No. 1 song on the UK Singles Chart.

Franklin and Michael won the Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal Grammy in 1987 for this song.