"Bitterblue" is a song recorded by Welsh singer

Bonnie Tyler Gaynor Sullivan (née Hopkins; born 8 June 1951), known professionally as Bonnie Tyler, is a Welsh singer who is known for her distinctive husky voice. Tyler came to prominence with the release of her 1977 album '' The World Starts Tonight'' a ...

for her eighth studio album of the same name (1991). It was released on 7 October 1991 by

Hansa Records Hansa Records (also known as Hansa, Hansa Musik Produktion or Hansa International) was a record label founded in the 1960s based in Berlin, Germany. Profile The label's most successful act commercially was the German-based band Boney M. with mil ...

. The song was a European hit, missing the number one spot in Norway to

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

's song "

Black or White "Black or White" is a single by the American singer Michael Jackson. It was released by Epic Records on November 11, 1991, as the first single from Jackson's eighth studio album, '' Dangerous'' (1991). Jackson wrote, composed, and produced it w ...

". The song was written and produced by

Dieter Bohlen Dieter Bohlen (; born Dieter Günter Bohlen, 7 February 1954) is a German songwriter, producer, singer and television personality. He first achieved fame as a member of pop duo Modern Talking in the 1980s, and has since produced numerous German a ...

. "Bitterblue" has appeared on several of Tyler's compilation albums including '' The Very Best of Bonnie Tyler: Volume 1'', '' Comeback: Single Collection '90–'94'', ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

'', '' Total Eclipse Anthology'' and ''Ravishing - The Best Of''.

Composition

"Bitterblue" was written and produced by

, who drew upon

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

's 1991 single "

Rhythm of My Heart "Rhythm of My Heart" is a song written by Marc Jordan and John Capek that Dutch rock and roll artist René Shuman included on his 1986 debut album, ''René Shuman''. In 1991, British singer Rod Stewart recorded the song for his album ''Vagabond ...

" for inspiration. The song features elements of

Scottish folk music Scottish folk music (also Scottish traditional music) is a genre of folk music that uses forms that are identified as part of the Scottish musical tradition. There is evidence that there was a flourishing culture of popular music in Scotland duri ...

, including instruments such as

bagpipes Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, No ...

and

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

.Bohlen, ''Bonnie. Oder: Keiner singt geiler als die Tyler'', p. 204.

Chart performance

"Bitterblue" was reasonably successful in Europe. In Norway, the song debuted at number 7, and remained in the Top 10 for sixteen weeks. It reached its peak of number 2 on its fourth charting week, maintaining this position for a second week behind

's "

". "Bitterblue" spent a further six weeks at number 3. The song also spent twenty weeks in the Top 30 Singles in Austria, where it peaked at number five. "Bitterblue" also spent 17 weeks in the German charts, where it reached number seventeen. The single was number 15 in Cash Box Pop Singles Looking Ahead, this chart was equivalent to Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100.

Critical reception

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' gave the song a mixed review, stating, "bombastic production, with a rush of bagpipes and a choir of chirping children at the forefront, overpower Tyler's distinctive raspy voice."

Track listings

*;Maxi CD #"Bitterblue" (Radio Mix) — 3:48 #"Bitterblue" (True Blue Mix) — 5:47 #"Too Hot" — 3:26 #"Whenever You Need Me" — 3:35 *;European 7" single #"Bitterblue" (Radio Mix) — 3:48 #"Too Hot" — 3:26 *;German 12" single #"Bitterblue" (True Blue Mix) — 5:47 #"Too Hot" — 3:26 #"Bitterblue" (Radio Mix) — 3:48

Charts

Weekly charts

Year–end charts

Awards

RSH-GOLD Awards

References

Bibliography

* * {{authority control Bonnie Tyler songs 1991 singles Hansa Records singles Songs written by Dieter Bohlen Song recordings produced by Dieter Bohlen 1991 songs