"Delicate" is a song by American singer-songwriter

Terence Trent D'Arby Sananda Francesco Maitreya (born Terence Trent Howard; March 15, 1962), who started his career with the stage name Terence Trent D'Arby, is an American singer and songwriter who came to fame with his debut studio album, ''Introducing the Hardlin ...

featuring English singer

Des'ree Desirée Annette Weekes (born 30 November 1968), known by her stage name Des'ree (), is an English pop recording artist who rose to popularity during the 1990s. She is best known for her hits "Feel So High", "You Gotta Be", "Life", and " Kissi ...

, released on June 7, 1993 as the third single from his third studio album, '' Symphony or Damn'' (1993). It was written, arranged and produced by D'Arby, and peaked at number 14 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

Critical reception

In an 2018 retrospective review, Patrick Corcoran from Albumism stated that "Delicate" "demonstrated that the delightful

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

voice was still ready and primed for action in a song that lived up to its dainty title". Upon the release of the single,

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

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 ...

'' wrote, "With sweet vocal assistance by

, D'Arby is poised for his first top 40 hit in years. A tinkly

jazz-pop Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describes a ...

shuffle beat and richly expressive vocals are the basis for an expansive retro-soul tune. Pretty and soothing track should also be of note to adult-geared

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

and AC radio formats." In his weekly UK chart commentary,

James Masterton James Masterton (born 2 September 1973) is a music writer and columnist, his work focusing on the UK Singles Chart having been an online fixture on various sites since the 1990s. Masterton is also a producer for talkSPORT, and has worked on air ...

said that this is "by far the best track on his new

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

and destined surely for Top 10 success next week". Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' commented, "Dueting with last year's soul revelation Des'Ree, YID hits radioland completely K.O.. Count to 10, and try to recover after this exquisite ballad." Alan Jones from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' gave it four out of five, writing, "An appropriate title for a sweet and soulful duet, this shuffling and summery song is destined for the Top 10." A reviewer from ''

People Magazine ''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC (company), IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''People ...

'' noted "the

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lounge-jazz filigree" of the song, and added that "his sexy, edgy

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

is a voice that grabs you in all its guises." Sian Pattenden from ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...

'' also gave it four out of five. She felt that D'Arby "has come up with a truly corking pop single. "Delicate" is a soft, ambling tune, as the tender sheen on the pedal of a pansy. It is very smooth and a bit girlie, making sensible people want to snog you."

Charles Aaron Charles Aaron is an American music journalist and editor, formerly for '' Spin'' magazine, where he worked for 23 years. Personal Charles Aaron was born in Rockingham, North Carolina, and raised in Asheboro, North Carolina and Rome, Georgia. He ...

from ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'' viewed it as a "exquisitely gooey single" and "a time-lapse synth-photo of a flower blooming".

Music video

The official

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for the song was directed by British commercial, film and music video director

Andy Morahan Andrew Douglas Morahan (born 11 August 1958) is a British commercial, film and music video director. He is the son of director Christopher Morahan and the half-brother of actress Hattie Morahan. Married to Joanna Lewis, he has two children. Vi ...

. It was released on June 7, 1993, and features D'Arby and Des'ree performing the song in a completely white setting. The video was published on Terence Trent D'Arby's official

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel, as Sananda Maitreya, in March 2012. As of December 2022, it had generated more than 4,5 million views.

Track listings

* 7"/Cassette #"Delicate" - 4:16 #"She's My Baby" - 4:13 #"Dance Little Sister" - 3:54 * CD single #"Delicate" – 4:16 #"Dance Little Sister" – 3:54

Personnel

*Written, arranged and produced by

*Mixed by

Mark "Spike" Stent Mark "Spike" Stent (born 3 August 1965) is an English record producer and mixing engineer who has worked with many international artists including Madonna, Marshmello, U2, Beyoncé, Björk, Depeche Mode, Echo & The Bunnymen, Grimes, Ed She ...

*Recorded by Craig Porteils

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 1993 singles 1993 songs Columbia Records singles Terence Trent D'Arby songs Des'ree songs Music videos directed by Andy Morahan Male–female vocal duets Song recordings produced by Terence Trent D'Arby Songs written by Terence Trent D'Arby