"I Didn't Mean to Turn You On" is the debut single written by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and originally performed by American singer Cherrelle in 1984.

In the song, the singer is attempting to rebuff unwanted sexual advances following a date, including pressure to have a one-night stand.

[6] English rock singer Robert Palmer recorded a cover version one year later, and it was released as the fifth single from his eighth studio album Riptide (1985).

Palmer loved the song musically, but he found the lyrics distasteful and sexist because they were written by older men to be sung by a young woman.

[9] Palmer recorded it in part as a joke, thinking it would be an ironic role reversal to have the lyrics coming from a nearly 40-year-old man.