"Suddenly I See" is a song by Scottish singer-songwriter

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 ...

from her debut studio album, ''

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 ...

'' (2004). It was inspired by New York singer and poet Patti Smith, whose album cover for ''

Horses The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...

'' (1975) also inspired Tunstall's album cover for ''Eye to the Telescope''. The song was released on 29 August 2005 as the third single from the album in the United Kingdom. In the United States, it was released as the album's second single on 27 February 2006. "Suddenly I See" peaked at number 12 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 ...

to become Tunstall's highest-charting single in the UK. It also reached number 21 in the United States and is Tunstall's only top-50 hit in Australia, where it charted at number six on the

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

. The song won Tunstall an Ivor Novello Award in 2006 in the category of Best Song Musically and Lyrically.

Music and lyrics

The song itself is a

tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conqu ...

to "female power", inspired by and about American singer and songwriter Patti Smith. As described in the lyrics,

was inspired to a career in music through looking at a black and white picture of a woman. Admiring her strength and accomplishments, she suddenly realised what she wanted to do with her life. Tunstall stated in an interview that the song was "about

Robert Mapplethorpe Robert Michael Mapplethorpe (; November 4, 1946 – March 9, 1989) was an American photographer, best known for his black-and-white photographs. His work featured an array of subjects, including celebrity portraits, male and female nudes, self-p ...

's photograph of Patti Smith on the cover of ''

''". Commenting on the song's later use in '' The Devil Wears Prada'' (2006), Tunstall said: "I didn't realize the lyrics could perfectly fit a

chick flick Chick flick is a slang term, sometimes used pejoratively, for the film genre catered specifically to women's interests, and is marketed toward women demographics. They generally tend to appeal more to a younger female audience and deal mainly ...

, and it could sound like I was singing about wanting to be a f****** model!" The music has been described as featuring a "chugging rhythm" with a "guitar-bass focused beat", as "compelling", and with "urgency", and having a "shiny production". Although the real focus might be on her "clear vocals", "it's in the growls...that Tunstall truly commands attention". Stylistically, it has been described as a "

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

hybrid".

Music video

There are three different

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 ...

s, one for Britain, one for the US, and one animated. The British version, directed by Big TV!, is a simple performance video in which Tunstall and her band play across from another set of Tunstall and her band. The US version, directed by

Patrick Daughters Patrick Daughters (born 1976 in Berkeley, California) is an American music videomaker and commercial director currently signed to Anonymous Content. Daughters is a graduate of Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, Maryland. While still in colleg ...

features Tunstall in different situations involving a circus in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. Filmed in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

, the video was produced by Black Dog Films and serviced by local production company Domino Productions with producer Catalin Neagu. This version aired for a short time in the US and has seemingly been replaced in rotations by the animated version. The animated version, directed by Honey (i.e., the husband-and-wife directorial team of Laura Kelly and Nicholas Brooks), features Tunstall walking around an animated pop-up fantasy world, and engages in activities such as walking up giant guitars, riding miniature trains, and drifting off into space.

Track listings

* UK CD single # "Suddenly I See" (single version) – 3:17 # "Girl and the Ghost" – 3:47 * 7-inch single :A. "Suddenly I See" (single version) – 3:17 :B. "Moment of Madness" (live) – 4:38 * UK DVD single # "Suddenly I See" (video) – 3:17 # "Miniature Disasters" (live at

Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury ...

) – 5:54 # "

Get Ur Freak On "Get Ur Freak On" is a song by American rapper Missy Elliott. It was written and produced by Elliott and Timbaland for her third studio album '' Miss E... So Addictive'' (2001). Based on heavy bhangra elements, a popular music and dance form f ...

" (BBC Radio 1

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 ...

) – 3:18 * European CD single # "Suddenly I See" (single version) – 3:17 # "Girl and the Ghost" – 3:47 # "Moment of Madness" – 4:38 # "Get Ur Freak On" (BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge) – 3:18 * Australasian CD single # "Suddenly I See" (radio version) # "

Other Side of the World "Other Side of the World" is a song by Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall, included as the opening track on her debut album, ''Eye to the Telescope'' (2004). The song is about the problems of long-distance relationships and how they seldom ...

" (radio version) # "

Black Horse and the Cherry Tree "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" is a song by Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall from her 2004 debut album, ''Eye to the Telescope''. It is one of many songs that reuses the famous Bo Diddley beat from the influential 1955 song of his own ...

" (radio version) # "Get Ur Freak On" (BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge) * Digital download # "Suddenly I See" (single version) – 3:20 # "Suddenly I See" (live from the Mercury Lounge) – 5:25

Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the ''

'' album booklet. Studios * Produced at Nam Studios (

Bath, Somerset Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 101,557. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, ...

, England) * Mixed at Metrophonic (London, England) * Mastered at 360 Mastering (London, England) Personnel * KT Tunstall – writing, vocals, guitar * Arnulf Lindner –

baritone guitar The baritone guitar is a guitar with a longer scale length, typically a larger body, and heavier internal bracing, so it can be tuned to a lower pitch. Gretsch, Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, ESP Guitars, PRS Guitars, Music Man, Danelectro, Schec ...

, bass *

Luke Bullen Luke Bullen (born 9 February 1973 in Norwich, England) is an English drummer and percussionist. Bullen studied at London drum school Drumtech and joined the band Addict in 1995; the band was signed to V2 Records in 1996. Bullen left Addict in 200 ...

– drums, percussion, cajón * Steve Osborne – production * Ren Swan – mixing * Bruno Ellingham – engineering * Graham Deas – engineering assistance * Dick Beetham – mastering

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

*
Video
at Virgin Media {{Ivor Novello Best Song 2004 songs 2005 singles KT Tunstall songs Music videos directed by Big T.V. Patti Smith Relentless Records singles Songs written by KT Tunstall Virgin Records singles