"If Only" is an

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

song performed 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 ...

. The song was written by Tunstall and

Jimmy Hogarth Jimmy Hogarth (born 1974, Orkney Islands, Scotland) is a London-based producer and songwriter, whose production and writing credits include, Amy Winehouse, Sia, Tom Grennan, Paolo Nutini, Duffy, Corinne Bailey Rae, Ren Harvieu, Estelle, Tina ...

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). It was released as the album's third

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 ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

on 3 March 2008. "If Only" reached No. 45 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 ...

History

"If Only" first appeared as a track on Tunstall's second unreleased

demo album Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

, ''Toons March '03''. The demo version of "If Only" is markedly different from the version found on ''Drastic Fantastic'', with a mellower sound and slightly slower tempo and Tunstall having a slightly higher tone to her voice. For a period of time, prior to the release of ''

Eye to the Telescope ''Eye to the Telescope'' is the debut studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall, originally released on 13 December 2004 and re-released 10 January 2005 by Relentless Records. On 19 July 2005, it was nominated for the 2005 Mercury ...

'', the demo versions of "If Only" and " Other Side of the World" were available for download free of charge on Tunstall's website. In 2018 it was used in the Hallmark Channel movie "Winter's Dream" starring

Dean Cain Dean George Cain ( Tanaka; born July 31, 1966) is an American actor. From 1993 to 1997, he played Clark Kent / Superman in the TV series '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman''. Cain was the host of ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' and ...

. "If Only" is reportedly one of KT Tunstall's favourite songs on ''Drastic Fantastic''.

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 ...

for "If Only" was directed by James Caddick and filmed at the Olympic Ski Jumping Hill (

Lysgårdsbakken Lysgårdsbakken, officially known as Lysgårdsbakkene Ski Jumping Arena ( no, Lysgårdsbakkene hoppanlegg), is a ski jumping hill in Lillehammer, Norway. It consists of a large hill, with a K-point of 123 and a hill size of 138, and a small hill ...

) in

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the municip ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. The video features Tunstall as a

ski jumper Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the fina ...

who fails to complete an important jump. The video concludes with an injured Tunstall bleeding from the nose being helped up, smiling to the camera.

Critical reception

"If Only" has received mixed reviews from music critics. Reviewers for

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

praised the song for its "chirpy chorus and beaming harmonies" and gave it eight stars out of ten. Christopher Hammer of AllGigs.co.uk gave it three stars out of five, calling it an " lmostperfect song for a lazy Sunday afternoon drive". Sarah Walters of the ''

Manchester Evening News The ''Manchester Evening News'' (''MEN'') is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in North West England, founded in 1868. It is published Monday–Saturday; a Sunday edition, the ''MEN on Sunday'', was launched in February 201 ...

'' was less impressed, viewing the song's "chart-ready pop" sound and "bah-bah-bah backing vocals" as a step backwards from her earlier hits such as " Black Horse and the Cherry Tree", and gave it two stars out of five. It was chosen as an album highlight by

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

editor

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of single releases of "If Only". UK CD single
(Released ) #"If Only" #"

Walk Like an Egyptian "Walk Like an Egyptian" is a song recorded by the American band the Bangles. It was released in 1986 as the third single from the album ''Different Light''. It was the band's first number one single, being certified gold by the RIAA, and became ...

" (Live in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

) 7" vinyl single
(Released 3 March 2008) #"If Only" #" The Prayer" (

Radio 1 Radio 1 or Radio One most commonly refers to: *BBC Radio 1, a music radio station from the BBC ** BBC Radio 1Xtra, a digital radio station broadcasting black music *CBC Radio One, a talk radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporatio ...

Live Lounge The Live Lounge is a segment on the British radio stations BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra. It was originally hosted by Simon Mayo, and later by Jo Whiley on her weekday mid-morning, and later weekend lunchtime radio shows, then by Fearne Cotton ...

) Digital download
(Released ) #"If Only" #"Walk Like an Egyptian" (Live in Liverpool) Promo CD #"If Only" (Radio Edit) 3:30 #"If Only" 3:46 #"If Only" (Instrumental) 3:46

Charts

Notes

{{authority control 2008 singles KT Tunstall songs Songs written by KT Tunstall Songs written by Jimmy Hogarth 2007 songs Virgin Records singles