"In All the Right Places" is a song by British singer-songwriter and actress

Lisa Stansfield Lisa Jane Stansfield (born 11 April 1966) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. Her career began in 1980 when she won the singing competition ''Search for a Star''. After appearances in various television shows and releasing her first ...

for the 1993 drama film ''

Indecent Proposal ''Indecent Proposal'' is a 1993 American erotic drama film directed by Adrian Lyne and written by Amy Holden Jones. It is based on the 1988 novel by Jack Engelhard, in which a couple's marriage is disrupted by a stranger's offer of a million d ...

'', starring

Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the List of awards and nominations received by Robert Redford, recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Awards, Academy Award from four nomi ...

and

Demi Moore Demi Gene Moore ( ; née Guynes; born November 11, 1962) is an American actress. After making her film debut in 1981, Moore appeared on the soap opera ''General Hospital'' (1982–1984) and subsequently gained recognition as a member of the Bra ...

. It was released as a lead single in the United Kingdom on 24 May 1993 and in other European countries in July 1993. The lyrics were written by

, Ian Devaney and Andy Morris, and the music was composed by John Barry, who created the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

for the film. Devaney and Morris also produced the song which received positive reviews from music critics. It reached number eight in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The Soul Mix of "In All the Right Places" was included on Stansfield's next studio album, '' So Natural'', which was released in November 1993. Ten years later, "In All the Right Places" was also featured on '' Biography: The Greatest Hits'' (2003). In 2014, the soundtrack version of "In All the Right Places" was included on the deluxe 2CD + DVD re-release of ''So Natural'' (also on ''

The Collection 1989–2003 ''The Collection 1989–2003'' is a thirteen- CD and five DVD box set by British recording artist Lisa Stansfield. It was released by Edsel Records in the United Kingdom on 10 November 2014 and in Europe on 21 November 2014. It includes five ...

''). The song was nominated for

Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Original Song The Razzie Award for Worst Original Song was an award presented at the annual Golden Raspberry Awards for the worst song written for a film in the previous year. The following is a list of recipients and nominees of that award, along with the film ...

Chart performance

"In All the Right Places" enjoyed moderate success on the charts, entering the top 10 in Ireland (8), Portugal (4) and the UK. In the latter, the song peaked at number eight in its fourth week 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 ...

on 20 June 1993. Having debuted at number 13, it then climbed to number nine and back to number ten, before peaking at number eight. It also peaked at number ten on the

UK Dance Singles Chart The UK Dance Singles Chart and the UK Dance Albums Chart are music charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company from sales of songs in the dance music genre (e.g. house, trance, drum and bass, garage, synthpop) in record s ...

. Additionally, the song was a top 20 hit in the Netherlands and a top 30 hit on the

Eurochart Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...

, where it peaked at number 24 in July 1993. It also entered the top 70 in Germany (63). Outside Europe, "In All the Right Places" peaked at number 26 on the Canadian ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' Adult Contemporary chart and number 132 in Australia.

Critical reception

In an retrospective review, Quentin Harrison from Albumism highlighted "In All the Right Places" as one of the

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 ...

's "most significant compositions", noting that Stansfield "vocally burns the house" on the song.

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 ...

'' complimented it as a "shimmering

pop ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. M. Cur ...

fueled by Stansfield's positively flawless vocal and an arrangement reminiscent of vintage compositions." He remarked that it "builds from a quiet place to a climax that will leave you with goosebumps." Ken Capobianco from ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' declared it as a "solid new track" that "continues her successful streak of sultry

pop soul 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 ...

." Ben Thompson from ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' felt "In All the Right Places" "has a nice Bond-theme sweep about it". 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 ...

stated, "If ever a record was born to be No.1 this has to be it." 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 and named it Pick of the Week, writing that "this typically soulful and sophisticated performance lacks the power of some of her previous singles". R.S. Murthi from ''

New Straits Times The ''New Straits Times'' is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print (though not the first), having been founded as ''The Straits Times'' on 15 July 1845. It was relaunched as the ' ...

'' stated that Stansfield "acquits herself with style and grace" on tunes like "In All the Right Places". James Hamilton from the '' RM'' Dance Update described it as an "attractive" and "swaying" ballad.

Damon Albarn Damon Albarn (; born 23 March 1968) is an English-Icelandic musician, singer-songwriter and composer, best known as the frontman and primary lyricist of the rock band Blur and as the co-creator and primary musical contributor of the virtual ...

and Alex James of Blur reviewed the song for ''

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 ...

'', giving it five out of five. James said, "I think this is really good. She's really British. She's our

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...

. It's so tasteful, understated and undramatic."

Music video

A black-and-white

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 ...

was produced to promote the single, directed by English photographer

Nick Brandt Nick Brandt (born 1964) is an English photographer. Brandt's work generally focuses on the rapidly disappearing natural world, as a result of environmental destruction, climate change and humans' actions. Background and early career Born in 19 ...

. It depicts Stansfield lying on a

divan A divan or diwan ( fa, دیوان, ''dīvān''; from Sumerian ''dub'', clay tablet) was a high government ministry in various Islamic states, or its chief official (see ''dewan''). Etymology The word, recorded in English since 1586, meanin ...

while she performs the song. In between, there are clips from the ''

'' movie (also they are in black-and-white). In other scenes, the singer stands in the room and/or leans towards the wall. Later she is seen hovering in the air over the divan, while she sings. As the video ends, Stansfields again lies on the divan. It was later published on Stansfield'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 in November 2009. The video has amassed more than 840,000 views as of December 2022.

Track listings

* UK CD single # "In All the Right Places" (Edit) – 5:17 # "In All the Right Places" (Soul Mix) – 6:03 # "

Someday (I'm Coming Back) "Someday (I'm Coming Back)" is a song recorded by British singer, songwriter and actress Lisa Stansfield for the 1992 American romantic thriller film '' The Bodyguard'', starring Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston. It was released as a single in t ...

" (

Classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or highest quality, class, or rank – something that exemplifies its class. The word can be an adjective (a ''c ...

12" Club Mix) – 7:43 # "Someday (I'm Coming Back)" (Classic Reprise Mix) – 5:48 * UK 7-inch single # "In All the Right Places" (Edit) – 5:17 # "In All the Right Places" (Soul Mix) – 6:03 * UK 12-inch single # "In All the Right Places" (Soul Mix) – 6:03 # "Someday (I'm Coming Back)" (Classic 12" Club Mix) – 7:43 # "Someday (I'm Coming Back)" (Classic Reprise Mix) – 5:48 * European CD single # "In All the Right Places" (Edit) – 5:17 # "In All the Right Places" (Soul Mix) – 6:03 # "In All the Right Places" (Instrumental) – 3:10

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control Lisa Stansfield songs 1993 singles Songs written by Lisa Stansfield Songs written for films Songs with music by John Barry (composer) 1993 songs Arista Records singles Pop ballads Songs written by Ian Devaney Songs written by Andy Morris (musician) Soul ballads Black-and-white music videos Music videos directed by Nick Brandt