"Reach" is a song by American singer and actress

Judy Cheeks Judy Cheeks (born February 13, 1954) is an American singer and actress. In the 1970s and 1980s, she recorded as a soul and R&B singer, before releasing more dance-oriented music in the 1990s. Cheeks performed with Ike & Tina Turner as an Ikette ...

, released in 1994 by

Positiva Records Positiva Records is a subsidiary of Universal Music Group and concentrates on releasing dance music in the United Kingdom, UK. The record label was set up in 1993 in music, 1993, by Nick Halkes, who previously ran XL Recordings. Its headquar ...

as the second single from the singer's fifth album, ''Respect'' (1996). The track was written by Jim Dyke and Nina Ossoff, and produced by

Brothers In Rhythm Brothers in Rhythm are a British electronic music group comprising Dave Seaman, Steve Anderson and Alan Bremner. The group was originally a duo comprising Seaman and Anderson, with Bremner joining later in 1999. They have remixed and/or produc ...

, peaking at number 17 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 ...

and number 24 on the ''

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 ...

Hot Dance Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

chart in the US. In 1996, it was re-released in a new remix which charted at number 22 in the UK. Both versions were successful in clubs, and they both reached number-one on the UK Club Chart.

Critical reception

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 ''

'' wrote, "To active clubgoers, this UK-brewed slice of

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

/ NRG melodrama has practically earned "classic" status. Finally available domestically, this anthem is ready to knock down a few

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

and

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...

radio doors. Cheeks has a presence that is, by turns, charming and commanding, holding up well against the track's busy arrangement of piano rolls and swirling strings. Dig into the half-dozen remixes and find the one that works for you." 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 ...

'' stated, "

Dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

and

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

make a fine couple. Supported by backing vocals steadily growing to church choir proportions, Judy fills her cheeks to be heard on top of everything." Angela Lewis from ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' remarked, "When Judy Cheeks howls strong and high, she takes you right up there with her." She concluded, "There is nothing to do but bask in the sunshine of that effortlessly gorgeous gospel voice" and "bop to that synth-pop glory of a tune". Leesa Daniels 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 ...

'' gave it two out of five, adding, "Not very original, but a hit all the same."

Chart performance

"Reach" became a massive club hit in Europe after its first release in 1994. It debuted at its highest position as number 17 on the

on May 1, 1994. The following weeks the song dropped to number 23, 45, 70 and 97, with a total of 5 weeks in the chart. In the Netherlands, it reached number 13 on the Dutch Top 40 Tipparade and number seven on the

Dutch Single Tip Dutch Charts, GfK Dutch Charts, MegaCharts is a chart company responsible for producing a number of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Single Top 100 and the Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Dutch Charts are also part of GfK ...

. On the ''

chart in the US, it reached its best position as number 21 on June 25, 1994. It stayed within the chart for 8 weeks. In Canada, "Reach" peaked at number nine on the ''

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 ...

'' Dance/Urban chart. In 1996, the song was remixed by Dancing Divaz (an alias of UK music producer Ian Bland) and peaked at number 22 in the UK on January 7. Then it dropped to number 34 and 53, before leaving the chart. But on ''

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 ...

s ''RM'' Club Chart, it peaked at number-one on December 23, 1995.

Track listing

* 7", UK (1994) #"Reach" (

Radio Edit) — 3:48 #"Can't Get Enough" — 4:28 * 12", UK (1994) #"Reach" (Brothers In Rhythm Club Mix) — 9:11 #"Reach" (Mount Rushmore Attack That Track Vocal) — 6:32 #"Reach" (Big Brother Mix) — 7:08 #"Reach" (Mount Rushmore Attack That Track Dub) — 6:01 * 12" single, UK (1995) #"Reach" (Dancing Divaz Club Mix) — 7:13 #"Reach" (Tommy's Club Mix) — 8:53 #"Reach" (Quivver Vocal Mix) — 7:57 #"Reach" ( Pizzaman Dub) — 5:47 * CD single, Europe (1994) #"Reach" (Brothers In Rhythm Radio Edit) — 3:48 #"Reach" (Big Brothers Mix) — 7:08 #"Reach" (Mount Rushmore Attack That Track Vocal) — 6:32 #"Can't Get Enough" — 4:28 * CD maxi, US (1996) #"Reach" (Brothers In Rhythm Original Radio Edit) — 3:46 #"Reach" (Dancing Divaz Radio Edit) — 3:53 #"Reach" (Brothers In Rhythm Club Mix) — 9:32 #"Reach" (Dancing Divaz Club Mix) — 7:13 #"Reach" (Tommy's Club Mix) — 5:47 #"Reach" (Quivver Vocal Mix) — 7:57

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{reflist 1994 songs 1994 singles 1996 singles House music songs Positiva Records singles