"Hold On" is a song by Scottish singer
KT Tunstall
Kate Victoria "KT" Tunstall (born 23 June 1975) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician. She first gained attention with a 2004 live solo performance of her song " Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on '' Later... with Jools Holland''.
Th ...
, written by Tunstall and produced by
Steve Osborne
Stephen John "Steve" Osborne (born 1963) is a British record producer, living in Bath, England. He has worked with a wide variety of musicians, including Suede, the B-52s, A-ha, New Order, Elbow, U2, Happy Mondays, Placebo, Gregory Porter, Do ...
for Tunstall's second album, ''
Drastic Fantastic
''Drastic Fantastic'' is the second studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall. It features some unreleased tracks she wrote before '' Eye to the Telescope'' such as new tracks she wrote in 2003. The record was released by Relentless ...
'' (2007). The song was released as the album's first
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
on 16 July 2007 in the United States. It was then released in the United Kingdom as a
download single
A music download (commonly referred to as a digital download) is the digital transfer of music via the Internet into a device capable of decoding and playing it, such as a personal computer, portable media player, MP3 player or smartphone. Thi ...
on 13 August 2007 and as a
CD and
7-inch single
In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separate ...
on 27 August 2007. "Hold On" peaked at number 21 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 ...
, number 19 in Norway, and number 26 in Italy and Switzerland. In North America, the song reached number 46 in Canada and number four on the US ''
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 ...
''
Bubbling Under Hot 100
Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...
, topping the ''Billboard''
Adult Alternative Songs
Adult Alternative Airplay (also known as Triple A or Triple A Airplay, and formerly Adult Alternative Songs and Triple A Songs) is a record chart currently published by ''Billboard'' that ranks the most popular songs on adult album alternative radi ...
chart for 11 weeks.
Critical reception
"Hold On" received mixed reviews from music critics. ''
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 ...
'' magazine's Susan Visakowitz called the song an "exhilarating three-minute ride" and "infectious and convincing". Internet publication
Stereogum
''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine.
''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...
said that the song was "not bad" but questioned its commercial potential. Michael Slezak, in a review for ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'', was less impressed with the song, writing that "the melody lacks the immediate snap, crackle, pop of her previous hits". This song appeared at number 55 on ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
''s list of the "100 Best Songs of 2007".
Chart performance
In the United Kingdom, "Hold On" debuted at number 34 on 19 August 2007 on download sales only.
Two weeks later, after the song was released physically, the song jumped eighteen places to a new peak of 21.
In Canada, the song was released on 13 August 2007. Two weeks later, it debuted at number 46 on the
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record chart in Canada; a n ...
and at number 20 on the Digital Singles chart. "Hold On" peaked on the United States' ''
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 ...
''
Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles
Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...
chart at number four, a position roughly equal to number 104 on the
Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...
. In its eight week on the ''Billboard''
Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks
The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems ...
chart the song reached number 27.
It also reached number one on the
Adult Alternative Songs
Adult Alternative Airplay (also known as Triple A or Triple A Airplay, and formerly Adult Alternative Songs and Triple A Songs) is a record chart currently published by ''Billboard'' that ranks the most popular songs on adult album alternative radi ...
chart (also known as the Triple A chart) for 11 weeks.
Music video
The
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 ...
premiered in July 2007 on
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
's ''
Total Request Live
''Total Request Live'' (known commonly as ''TRL'') was an American television program broadcast on MTV that premiered on September 14, 1998. TRL featured popular music videos played during its countdown, and was also used as a promotion tool by ...
''. On
BET
Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...
's ''
106 & Park
''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rated ...
'', it premiered in August 2007. On
Yahoo! Music
Yahoo! Music was a brand under which Yahoo! provided a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming. Previously, users with Yahoo! accounts could gain access to hundreds of ...
, it premiered on 30 July 2007. In it, Tunstall is transported back-and-forth between different worlds of dance after plugging in her guitar, which she throws away to join in on the action with other dancers.
Track listings
UK CD single
# "Hold On"
# "Journey"
UK 7-inch single
:A. "Hold On"
:B. "
Suddenly I See
"Suddenly I See" is a song by Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall from her debut studio album, ''Eye to the Telescope'' (2004). It was inspired by New York singer and poet Patti Smith, whose album cover for ''Horses (album), Horses'' (1975) a ...
" (live)
UK DVD single
# "Hold On" (music video)
# "Hold On" (behind the scenes video)
# "Hopeless" (live acoustic + photo gallery)
European enhanced maxi-single
# "Hold On"
# "Journey"
# "Hold On" (video)
US promo CD
# "Hold On" – 2:58
# "Hold On" (instrumental) – 2:58
Personnel
Personnel are lifted from the UK 7-inch single liner notes.
* KT Tunstall – writing, vocals,
semi-acoustic guitar
A semi-acoustic guitar, hollow-body electric, or thinline is a type of electric guitar that was first created in the 1930s. It has a sound box and at least one electric pickup. The semi-acoustic guitar is different to an acoustic-electric guit ...
, cello intro
*
Luke Bullen
Luke Bullen (born 9 February 1973 in Norwich, England) is an English drummer and percussionist. Bullen studied at London drum school Drumtech and joined the band Addict in 1995; the band was signed to V2 Records in 1996. Bullen left Addict in 200 ...
– drums, percussion
*
Steve Osborne
Stephen John "Steve" Osborne (born 1963) is a British record producer, living in Bath, England. He has worked with a wide variety of musicians, including Suede, the B-52s, A-ha, New Order, Elbow, U2, Happy Mondays, Placebo, Gregory Porter, Do ...
– producing, keyboards
* Arnulf Linder – cello, double bass
* Kenny Dickenson – keyboard arrangement
* Ed Case – writing
* Richard Morris – engineering
*
Michael H. Brauer Michael Brauer is a New York-based mix engineer. He received a Grammy for "Best Pop Vocal Album" for his work on John Mayer's ''Continuum (John Mayer album), Continuum'', "Best Alternative Album" for Coldplay's ''Parachutes (Coldplay album), Parachu ...
– mixing
* Will Hensley –
Pro Tools
Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture (sound design, audio post-productio ...
engineering and mixing assistant
Charts
Release history
References
{{Authority control
2007 singles
2007 songs
KT Tunstall songs
Relentless Records singles
Songs written by KT Tunstall
Virgin Records singles