"Soul Survivor" is the third single release from British singer-songwriter

Beverley Knight Beverley Knight (born Beverley Anne Smith, 22 March 1973) is an English recording artist and musical theatre actress. She released her first album, ''The B-Funk'', in 1995. Heavily influenced by American soul music icons such as Sam Cooke and ...

's sixth studio album, '' 100%''. The song is a duet with

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 ...

singer

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan (), is an American singer. Her career has spanned more than five decades, beginning in the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus. Known as the " Qu ...

. The song received a full digital download single release on 8 March 2010.BeverleyKnight.com – New Dates....New Single
/ref> There are two versions of the song, the album version and the radio edit, which halves verse one of the song. On 10 February 2010, the radio edit of the single was added to the

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

playlist, entering on the B-list. On 24 February 2010, it was announced that "Soul Survivor" had climbed to the Radio 2 A-list, Knight's first single to be placed there since the single " After You" was released in 2007.

Background and production

"Soul Survivor" was co-written by Knight,

Guy Chambers Guy Antony Chambers (born 12 January 1963) is an English songwriter, musician and record producer, best known for his work with Robbie Williams. Education Chambers attended Quarry Bank Comprehensive School sixth form in Liverpool. From 18, h ...

and Chaka Khan with production by Kevin Bacon and Jonathan Quarmby. The song was originally written with

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...

in mind, as a testament to her longevity; the title is taken from the bridge section of the Tina Turner song "

I Might Have Been Queen "I Might Have Been Queen" is a song written for Tina Turner as the first track on her highly successful ''Private Dancer'' album, and later included as a re-mixed version, with an additional lyric added to the bridge, on her ''What's Love Got to D ...

". However, upon recording it Knight loved it so much that she decided to keep it and record it with Chaka Khan. Knight says: "We both see ourselves as soul survivors, we have rode through the ups and downs of our musical careers, and we are both still here and loving it". Knight also commented:

"When me and Guy first wrote this song I recorded it alone initially, but I knew there was another dimension to it – and Chaka was that dimension! She's incredible. Everyone knows there are ebbs and flows in a career in the music industry. That's what this song is about. People fall in and out of favour all the time. The thing that gets you through is the love of what you do.".

Critical reception

In a review of "100%", David Quantick of the

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stated:

And the stand-out moment, Soul Survivor, is built to resemble the Big Song from an 80s movie (so much that it even has big chunky synths and the presence of the great Chaka Khan) before working its way through most genres of soul (there’s even a great Fauxtown bridge).

Music video

The music video for "Soul Survivor" premiered on Knight's YouTube page on 3 February 2010. It is a live performance video taken from the

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

date of her ''100% UK Tour''. It features Knight's backing singer Mary Pearce performing

's parts of the song as Khan was touring herself, alongside

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and

Anastacia Anastacia Lyn Newkirk ( ; born September 17, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter and former dancer. Her first two albums '' Not That Kind'' (2000) and '' Freak of Nature'' (2001) were released in quick succession to major success. Spurred o ...

on the '' Here Come the Girls Tour''. Pearce was featured on the

Calvin Harris Adam Richard Wiles (born 17 January 1984), known professionally as Calvin Harris, is a Scottish DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter who has released six studio albums. His debut studio album, ''I Created Disco'', was released in June ...

single " Ready for the Weekend".

Track listings

The EP release of "Soul Survivor" will contain "Soul Survivor", album track "Turned to Stone" along with live tracks taken from Knight's 2009 live UK tour. A remix single of "Soul Survivor" will also be released, containing remixes from Bimbo Jones and Wyda ProductionsBeverleyKnight.com – Soul Survivor – The Hot New Mixes!
/ref> ;iTunes Exclusive single EP (released 8 March 2010 – iTunes, released 15 March 2010 – other digital sites) # "Soul Survivor" (with

) (Radio Edit) # "Turned to Stone" # "Gold Chain" (live from the ''"100%"'' tour) # "100%" (live from the ''"100%"'' tour) # "Bare" (live from the ''"100%'' tour) ;Remix EP (released 15 March 2010) # "Soul Survivor" (Bimbo Jones Radio Edit) # "Soul Survivor" (Bimbo Jones Extended) # "Soul Survivor" (Wyda Productions Radio Edit) # "Soul Survivor" (Wyda Productions Extended) ''Note: Initial copies of the Remix EP were sold with the songs labeled incorrectly, with the remixer being incorrect as well as the version (radio edit/extended). This error has since been resolved by iTunes.''

Chart performance

References

External links

Official website

Official Myspace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soul Survivor (Beverley Knight Song) 2009 songs 2010 singles Beverley Knight songs Chaka Khan songs Songs written by Guy Chambers Songs written by Beverley Knight Songs written by Chaka Khan Song recordings produced by Jonathan Quarmby