"Nothing's Real but Love" is the debut

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 ...

by English singer-songwriter

Rebecca Ferguson Rebecca Louisa Ferguson Sundström (born 19 October 1983) is a Swedish actress. She began her acting career with the Swedish soap opera ''Nya tider'' (1999–2000) and went on to star in the slasher film ''Drowning Ghost'' (2004). She came to in ...

. The song serves as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from the debut studio album, ''

Heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...

'', and was released 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 20 November 2011, having originally been scheduled for release the following week. The release was brought forward to coincide with the first official performance of the song on the eighth series of ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

''. The song was written by Ferguson with

Eg White Francis Anthony "Eg" White (born 22 November 1966) is a British musician, songwriter and producer. He started his career in the cowpunk band Yip Yip Coyote in the 1980s and then formed Brother Beyond with his brother, David White, in the late ...

, who also produced it. "Nothing's Real but Love" is a mid-tempo

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 ...

and pop song. The song also features on Ferguson's debut EP, iTunes Festival: London 2012. "Nothing's Real but Love" received positive reviews from critics, praising the gentle acoustics and the lyrics. On 26 November the song debuted at number ten 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 ...

, The song made the top ten in

Scottish Singles Chart The Scottish Albums Chart is a chart compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) which is based on how physical and digital sales towards the UK Albums Chart fare in Scotland. The official singles chart for Scotland, the Scottish Singles Chart, ...

as well, and charted at 23 in the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...

. The song also received international success, with the song charting in the top twenty in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n singles chart. "Nothing's Real but Love" was

certified Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

Gold in Australia for shifting 35,000 copies. The song was used in a television advertisement campaign for

Nescafé Nescafé is a brand of coffee made by Nestlé. It comes in many different forms. The name is a portmanteau of the words "Nestlé" and "café". Nestlé first introduced their flagship coffee brand in Switzerland on 1 April 1938. History Nestl� ...

Gold Blend coffee, and was covered by Karise Eden of ''

The Voice Australia ''The Voice'' is an Australian singing competition television series. It premiered on the Nine Network on 14 April 2012, before moving to the Seven Network in 2021. Based on the original ''The Voice of Holland'', and part of ''The Voice '' ...

''. Ferguson has performed the track live a few times, including on ''

The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was ...

'', where she made her U.S. television debut.

Background

The single was scheduled to be released on 27 November 2011, but the release date was brought forward to 20 November 2011 to coincide with her return to ''

'', where she performed the track live on television for the first time alongside a performance of an album track on '' The Xtra Factor''. In terms of the actual meaning behind the song, Ferguson told

Blues & Soul ''Blues & Soul'' is a British music magazine, established in 1967 by John Abbey. ''The Independent'' has noted ''Blues & Soul'' as being the equal of magazines such as ''NME'' and '' Q''. ''Billboard'' magazine has called ''Blues & Soul'' "a r ...

: "It's basically talking about how we get so concerned about stuff like money and cars that it overtakes our lives and we forget what's really important is FAMILY. I mean, I actually remember the day I wrote it with Eg White. Something had upset me, and I was like 'You know, people just forget what's important'... And then I literally just said 'It's not your money, it's not your car - it's LOVE!' - and straightaway we were both like 'Oh, we've got a SONG here!'!... And, while I know it sounds cheesy, I genuinely do think those sentiments are TRUE! Plus, I was standing in line and wondering why it don't move"

Composition

According to the sheet music published by

EMI Music Publishing EMI Music Publishing Ltd. is a British multinational music publishing company headquartered in London, owned by parent company Sony Corporation of America. In May 2018, Sony Music Publishing agreed to increase its stake in EMI to 90%, pending ...

, "Nothing's Real but Love" is a

and pop song set in

common time The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

with 72

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

. The song is written in the

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

A Major A major (or the key of A) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The key of A major is the only k ...

, with the vocal range from the note of A3 to F#5. ''Nothing's Real but Love'' contains the instruments of

guitars The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

and a

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

Critical reception

"Nothing's Real But Love" received positive reviews from critics. Robert Copsey of

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...

gave the song four stars out of five and a positive review, stating:

"No money, no house, no car/ Is like love," she calmly ponders over gentle acoustics, allowing nothing but her voice to do the talking - one that is just as raw and shaky as it was this time last year but now with an added hint of diva ambition ..the result is smooth, premium and leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy inside immediately after.

Music videos

A music video to accompany the release of "Nothing's Real but Love" was first released onto YouTube on 2 November 2011 at a total length of two minutes and fifty-one seconds, which showed Ferguson performing live with her band. The official video premiered on Ferguson's official website on 23 November and then went to all UK music channels. The video is in black and white and sees Ferguson singing along with intercut scenes of various people around the streets of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Chart performance

The lead single from ''Heaven'', "Nothing's Real But Love" was released on 20 November 2011. The single debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number 10. In February 2012 the single re-entered the official UK chart at number 34 and climbed two places to 32. The single spent eleven weeks in the top 100. The single peaked at number 23 in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. The song debuted at number thirty-four in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, becoming her first record to chart outside the UK. The song also charted inside the top 20 of the Italian iTunes chart and has charted at number 16 on the Italian official chart. It peaked on the ARIA Charts at #41. Due to contestant Karise Eden singing it on

The Voice (Australia) ''The Voice'' is an Australian singing competition television series. It premiered on the Nine Network on 14 April 2012, before moving to the Seven Network in 2021. Based on the original ''The Voice of Holland'', and part of ''The Voice '' ...

it re-entered the charts at a new peak of #14 and was certified gold. Karise's version placed at #11. The single also charted at number 24 in

Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Hitparade (german: link=no, Schweizer Hitparade) is Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland. The Swiss charts include: * Singles Top 7 ...

Live performances

Rebecca performed the song for the first time during the live shows of the eighth series of ''

'' on 20 November 2011 followed by a performance on '' This Morning'' on 25 November. Ferguson performed it a few weeks later and after the release of ''Heaven'' on ''

The Graham Norton Show ''The Graham Norton Show'' is a British comedy chat show presented by Graham Norton. It was initially broadcast on BBC Two, from 22 February 2007, before moving to BBC One in October 2009. It currently airs on Friday evenings, with Norton s ...

'' on 17 December.

Track listing

;Digital EP # "Nothing's Real but Love" - 2:54 # "Nothing's Real but Love" (Logistics Remix) - 5:04 # "Nothing's Real but Love" (T2 Mix) - 5:29 # "Nothing's Real but Love" (Acoustic Studio Version) - 2:57

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2011 debut singles Rebecca Ferguson (singer) songs 2010s ballads Soul ballads Songs written by Eg White Songs written by Rebecca Ferguson (singer) 2011 songs Syco Music singles Black-and-white music videos Music videos directed by Adam Powell