She's_the_One_(Robbie_Williams_song)

She's the One (World Party song)

She's the One (World Party song)

1997 promotional single by World Party


"She's the One" is a song by British rock band World Party. It was written and produced by Karl Wallinger for World Party's fourth studio album, Egyptology (1997). The song won an Ivor Novello Award in 1997.[2] It was featured in the 1997 movie The Matchmaker and the 1998 movie The Big Hit. World Party performed the song live on British TV show, Later... with Jools Holland in 1998. Robbie Williams released a cover of the song in 1999, which reached number one in the UK Singles Chart.

Quick Facts Promotional single by World Party, from the album Egyptology ...

Robbie Williams version

Quick Facts Single by Robbie Williams, from the album I've Been Expecting You ...

English singer Robbie Williams covered "She's the One" and released it as a single on 8 November 1999. In most countries, the song was released alone, but in the United Kingdom and New Zealand, it was released as a double A-side single with "It's Only Us". It was the fourth single from his second studio album, I've Been Expecting You (1998), and was also included on his first compilation album, The Ego Has Landed (1999). The song became Williams' second number-one single in the United Kingdom.

The song went on to win a number of awards around the world, including a 2000 Brit Awards for British Single of the Year and British Video of the Year in 2000, and it also won a Capital Radio Award for Best Single.

Wallinger's response

The song's producers, Guy Chambers and Steve Power, used the drummer and bassist of World Party's touring band (neither of whom played on the World Party version) to perform the backing track for Williams, resulting in a very similar-sounding cover. World Party's frontman and songwriter Karl Wallinger was not made aware that a cover was going to be released using his own band. When the song became a hit, and after having experienced a near-fatal brain aneurysm around the time of the song's release, Wallinger stated that he experienced "ongoing bitterness", going on to say that "the song had a much better time than me, popping off to the Brits while I was at home eating crackers dipped in water".[4]

When introducing the song in live performances, Williams often claims that it is one of the best songs he's ever written, despite not actually having written the song.[5] This culminated in a telephone outburst from the song's actual writer, Wallinger, to Chambers, stating "Your fucking friend Robbie Williams. Tell him from me that he's a cunt".[6] Williams has never publicly acknowledged that "She's the One" is a cover of the World Party's track[citation needed], although in a 2019 commercial for his album The Christmas Present featuring Amazon Alexa,[7] when Williams claimed he had written the song, the device states that he did not write She's the One, to which Williams admits "no, I didn't".

Music video

In the video Williams is a coach to an ice skating couple—portrayed by Pamela O'Connor and Jonathon O'Dougherty—but when the male skater gets injured during practice, Williams takes his place for the final and gets the highest scores. The video ends with Williams and the female skater celebrating with the male skater, who had been watching from the sidelines. Philip Woods, a 10-year-old figure skater from Chelmsford, played the young Williams in a flashback.[citation needed] The UK version of the video features commentary by Barry Davies.[8]

Track listings

UK CD1[9]

  1. "It's Only Us" – 2:50
  2. "She's the One" – 4:18
  3. "Coke & Tears" – 4:24
  4. "It's Only Us" (video)

UK CD2[10]

  1. "She's the One" – 4:18
  2. "It's Only Us" – 2:50
  3. "Millennium" (live at Slane Castle) – 4:40
  4. "She's the One" (video)

UK cassette single[11]

  1. "She's the One" – 4:18
  2. "It's Only Us" – 2:50
  3. "Millennium" (live at Slane Castle) – 4:40

Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the I've Been Expecting You album booklet.[12]

Studio

Personnel

  • Karl Wallinger – writing
  • Robbie Williams – vocals
  • Gary Nuttall – background vocals
  • Steve McEwan – background vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar
  • David Catlin-Birch – bass guitar
  • Guy Chambers – piano, production, arrangement
  • Chris Sharrock – drums
  • London Session Orchestra – orchestra
  • Gavyn Wright – orchestra leader
  • Nick Ingman – orchestral arrangement
  • Steve Power – production, recording, mixing, programming
  • Steve McNichol – programming
  • Steve Price – orchestral engineering
  • Tony Cousins – mastering

Charts

More information Chart (1999–2000), Peak position ...

Certifications

More information Region, Certification ...

References

  1. "New Releases: Albums". Music Week. 14 June 1997. p. 43.
  2. Cassidy, Andy (7 October 2012). "World Party: Interview with Karl Wallinger". pennymusic.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  3. "New Releases – For Week Starting 8 November, 1999: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 6 November 1999. p. 31. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  4. Heath, Chris "Reveal: Robbie Williams", Reveal: Robbie Williams, 2017
  5. Stevenson, Andy (29 January 2015). "Vox in the Box: Barry Davies". The Set Pieces. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  6. It's Only Us / She's the One (UK CD1 liner notes). Robbie Williams. Chrysalis Records. 1999. CDCHSS5112, 7243 8 87913 0 4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. She's the One / It's Only Us (UK CD2 liner notes). Robbie Williams. Chrysalis Records. 1999. CDCHS 5112, 7243 8 87914 0 3.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. She's the One / It's Only Us (UK cassette single sleeve). Robbie Williams. Chrysalis Records. 1999. TCCHS 5112, 7243 887913 4 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. I've Been Expecting You (UK CD album booklet). Robbie Williams. Chrysalis Records. 1998. 497 8372.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. "Hitparada radia – 8/2000" (in Czech). IFPI CR. Archived from the original on 3 March 2000. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  11. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 16, no. 48. 27 November 1999. p. 11. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  12. "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 16, no. 52. 25 December 1999. p. 9. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  13. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 20 (4.11 – 11.11 1999)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 5 November 1999. p. 10. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  14. "Los Discos Más Vendicos En Iberoamérica y Estados Unidos". El Siglo de Torreón (in Spanish). 2000. Archived from the original on 17 March 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  15. "Jaarlijsten 1999" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  16. "Best Sellers of 1999: Singles Top 100". Music Week. London, England. 22 January 2000. p. 27.
  17. "Most Broadcast of 1999: Airplay Top 50" (PDF). Music Week. 22 January 2000. p. 31. Retrieved 24 April 2022.

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