If You're Not the One
"If You're Not the One" | ||||||||||||||||||
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Single by Daniel Bedingfield | ||||||||||||||||||
from the album Gotta Get Thru This | ||||||||||||||||||
Released | 25 November 2002 | |||||||||||||||||
Format | CD single, cassette | |||||||||||||||||
Recorded | 2002 | |||||||||||||||||
Genre | Pop, blue-eyed soul | |||||||||||||||||
Length | 4:19 | |||||||||||||||||
Label | Island, Polydor | |||||||||||||||||
Writer(s) | Daniel Bedingfield | |||||||||||||||||
Producer(s) | Mark Taylor | |||||||||||||||||
Daniel Bedingfield singles chronology | ||||||||||||||||||
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"If You're Not the One" is a song by English recording artist Daniel Bedingfield. It was released on 22 November 2002 as the third single from his debut studio album Gotta Get Thru This (2002).
The single entered the top 20 on the majority of charts that it appeared on, including being a number-one hit in the UK Singles Chart,[1] and reaching number 15 in the United States.
Contents
Background and writing
"If You're Not the One" is written as a love ballad.[2] Bedingfield claims to have been inspired by the band Westlife, when writing and recording the song.[3] Bedingfield himself believes that the song is "cheesy."[4] Bedingfield admitted he began writing the song because he realized that material he considered more "complex", was unlikely to get him a record deal.[4] "Commercialism, sappy lyrics and meek tunes are the things I hate most in the universe, but I'm not sure even Bob Dylan could get record company interest without hooks these days", Bedingfield recalled in an interview with The Daily Telegraph.[4] "It's a different age. You need to go some kind of populist route. So, about three years ago, I sat down with a Westlife song and tried to write something similar."[4]
Bedingfield also admitted that he didn't even want to put the song on his album.[5] He said, "I didn't want to put "If You're Not the One" on the album as I thought it was too cheesy. I thought it sounded like Westlife. But she (Natasha Bedingfield, his sister) loved it. Women that hear it go all soft and think it's lovely"[5]
Composition
"If You're Not the One" plays for 4 minutes and 19 seconds, in common time. It is in the key of B-flat major, and the chorus features Bedingfield singing falsetto, where he hits the note E♭5.[6]
Critical reception
"If You're Not the One" received mixed reviews from contemporary music critics. On the positive side, Peter Robinson, in the Gotta Get thru This album review for the New Musical Express (NME), wrote "If You're Not the One [recalls] every chart-mauling uber-ballad you've ever heard".[7] Nedd Raggett of AllMusic commented in his album review "When it comes to ballads, they work best in sudden moments - the soaring end to If You're Not the One".[8] About.com ranked the song at number 27 on its list of the 'Top 100 Pop Songs of 2002', two places behind the album's title track.[9] The song was again ranked at number 27 on the 2003 list, due to it being released in the United States during that year.[10] Music Week felt that the song showed Bedingfield's "sensitive side", and that the song "showcases his vocal range to stunning effect."[2] The magazine even considered it "beautifully crafted."[2]
However, the track also received some negative feedback. PopMatters' Nikki Tranter wrote "surely you would think with his obviously overwhelming ability to compose utter claptrap cleverly disguised as serious prophesizing, his lyrics might contain something a little more expressive than 'If you're not the one / Why does my heart feel glad today / If you're not the one / Then why does my hand fit yours this way.'"[11] In his review for musicOMH, Michael Hubbard was even less positive, stating, "If You're Not the One is as vomit-inducing as anything the man in the plastic mask has ever wretched (sic) forth at the world".[12]
Chart performance
When the song was released as a single, it was picked up by radio stations. It was the most added pop song on the radio for the week of 20 February 2003.[13] In the US, the song was the most added song in the Adult Contemporary market for the week of 7 April 2003.[14] In the US, the song was his highest debuting single, debuting at number 55 on the Billboard Hot 100.[14] The single proved to be a successful release for Bedingfield, providing him with several worldwide number ones and reaching the top 20 in all but one of the charts that it appeared on. It debuted at number one in the UK Singles Chart, knocking Christina Aguilera's "Dirrty" from the top spot.[15]
Music video
The music video was produced by A1 singer Mark Read. It begins with a series of images of Bedingfield singing in various positions against a black backdrop. When the chorus starts he is seen singing with clouds in the background. The initial sequence is repeated for the second verse. However, half-way through, he starts to write on a wall. The rest of the song follows the same pattern.
Track listings
- UK CD1[16]
- "If You're Not the One" (Album Version)
- "James Dean (I Wanna Know)" (Acoustic Version)
- "If You're Not the One" (Metro Mix)
- "If You're Not the One" (Music Video)
- UK CD2[17]
- "If You're Not the One" (Radio Edit)
- "If You're Not the One" (Metro Mix Radio Edit)
- "James Dean (I Wanna Know)" (ATFC's Committed Vocal Mix)
- "Gotta Get Thru This" (Music Video - U.S. Version)
- "If You're Not the One" (Music Video - Metro Mix)
- American CD single[18]
- "If You're Not the One" (Radio Edit)
- "If You're Not the One" (Metro Mix Radio Edit)
- "Album Medley"
Credits and personnel
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Charts and certifications
Peak positions
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Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
Certifications
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Chart procession and succession
Preceded by
"Dirrty" by Christina Aguilera
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UK number-one single 1 December 2002 – 7 December 2002 |
Succeeded by "Lose Yourself" by Eminem |
References
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- ↑ http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-end-of-year-charts-top-100-singles-2003.htm
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- ↑ http://www.addlong.co.uk/UK-Hits/2003top.html
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- ↑ Radio 1 Chart of the Decade, as presented by Nihal on Tuesday 29 December 2009
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Click on næste to go to page 37 if certification from official website
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Enter If You're Not the One in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
External links
- Use dmy dates from October 2013
- Use British English from October 2013
- Certification Table Entry usages for Australia
- Certification Table Entry usages for Denmark
- Certification Table Entry usages for United Kingdom
- 2002 singles
- Daniel Bedingfield songs
- Number-one singles in Denmark
- Pop ballads
- UK Singles Chart number-one singles
- Songs written by Daniel Bedingfield
- Song recordings produced by Mark Taylor (record producer)