"Something Beautiful" is a song co-written by English musicians Guy Chambers and

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...

. Originally offered to Welsh singer

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer *Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...

, it was released as the third single from Williams' fifth studio album, '' Escapology'' (2002). The track was issued in Europe on 7 July 2003 and in the United Kingdom three weeks later, on 28 July. "Something Beautiful" reached number three 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 peaked within the top 10 in Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Romania.

Music video

The

video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) sy ...

of the song is influenced by

reality shows Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

like ''

Pop Idol ''Pop Idol'' is a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer (or "pop idol") in the UK based on viewer voting and par ...

'', and is one of the few with two different endings. An interactive version of the video was created to run on Sky Digital by weapon7 where viewers could vote through the

red button Red button may refer to: *Red Button (digital television), a button on the remote control for certain digital television set top boxes in the United Kingdom and Australia, and used to access interactive television services **BBC Red Button BBC ...

and discover the backstory of the participants. A spokesman for

told the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its Masthead (British publishing), masthead was simpl ...

'', "We wanted to find someone with the 'essence' of Robbie to perform the new track in the video – it could be a woman." At the start of the video, fans from all over Europe try to impress judges during the audition stage of fictional reality show ''Manufactured Miracles''; one of the members on the selection panel is Williams' real-life father Pete Conway. Several contestants are put through to the next round, but only three emerge finalists: actor/singer Peter Caruana from

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

, and students Rebecca Durrant and Bjorn Wenner from

Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...

and

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

respectively. They are groomed by a

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who c ...

and singing coach, and given makeovers by stylists whilst experiencing the celebrity status lifestyle, with an interview at Capital FM and a stay at a luxury hotel before competing in the live shows, each finalist representing a different stage in Williams' career. Two endings were filmed. In the first, viewers are asked to vote on Williams' website for whom they thought was the best performer. The second version of the video ends with Peter winning the competition before meeting Williams at a

bus stop A bus stop is a place where buses stop for passengers to get on and off the bus. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage, where stops at busy locations may have shelters, seating, and possibly electronic passenger ...

, the latter reading a newspaper with the headline "Robbie For a Week: Back to Reality for Final Three"—a reference to reality stars abandoned by once-loyal fans and management following brief success. As Peter was unaware he would meet Williams, his surprise was genuine. Rebecca Durrant, who later became a police officer, told the ''

Sunday Mirror The ''Sunday Mirror'' is the Sunday sister paper of the ''Daily Mirror''. It began life in 1915 as the ''Sunday Pictorial'' and was renamed the ''Sunday Mirror'' in 1963. In 2016 it had an average weekly circulation of 620,861, dropping marke ...

'' the experience put her off fame stating "After I filmed the video I realised I didn't want to face the pressure, the secrecy, the non-stop filming and constant hair and make-up touchups... the closest I get to singing now is karaoke in my local pub." Similarly, in an interview with the ''

Salford Advertiser ''The Salford Advertiser'' is a weekly newspaper serving the villages, suburbs and districts of the City of Salford in Greater Manchester, England. History Founded in 1982 as ''The Advertiser'', the newspaper merged with the ''Salford City Repo ...

'', Peter Caruana stated, "I decided it was time to give Robbie a rest – he's been good to me, but enough is enough. In a way I think it has held me back and I really want to get back to treading the boards, because that's what I trained for." He has since featured in commercials for Chicago Town Pizza as a

Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality, entrepreneur and record executive. He is the creator of '' The X Factor'' and ''Got Talent'' franchises which have been sold around the world. He has judged on ...

lookalike.

Track listings

UK and Australasian CD single # "Something Beautiful" – 4:48 # "Berliner Star" – 3:52 # "Coffee, Tea & Sympathy" – 4:35 # Photo gallery UK and Australian DVD single # "Something Beautiful" (interactive video) # "Berliner Star" (audio) – 3:52 # "Coffee, Tea & Sympathy" (audio) – 4:35 # Robbie video clip UK cassette single # "Something Beautiful" – 4:48 # "Berliner Star" – 3:52 # "Coffee, Tea & Sympathy" – 4:35 European CD single # "Something Beautiful" – 4:48 # "Berliner Star" – 3:54 Japanese CD single # "Something Beautiful (サムシング・ビューティフル)" (album version) # "Cursed (カーズド)" – 3:52 (album version) # "Feel" (video clips)

Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from the '' Escapology'' album booklet. Recording * Recorded in Los Angeles and London * Mixed at

The Record Plant The Record Plant is a recording studio established in New York City in 1968 and currently operating in Los Angeles, California. Known for innovations in the recording artists' workspace, it has produced highly influential albums, including Blon ...

(Los Angeles) * Mastered at Marcussen Mastering (Los Angeles) Personnel * Robbie Williams – writing, lead vocals * Guy Chambers – writing, piano,

Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated ...

, production, arrangement *

Katie Kissoon Mac and Katie Kissoon are a pop soul duo, consisting of brother and sister Mac Kissoon (born Gerald Farthing, November 11, 1943, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago) and Katie Kissoon (born Katherine Farthing, March 11, 1951, Port of Spain). E ...

– backing vocals * Tessa Niles – backing vocals * Gary Nuttall – backing vocals, electric guitars * Claire Worrall – backing vocals * Paul Williams – backing vocals * Neil Taylor – electric guitars *

Yolanda Charles Yolande Christina Charles is a British musician and teacher. She has played bass guitar with Paul Weller, David A. Stewart, Robbie Williams, Mick Jagger, The Waterboys, Hans Zimmer and from July 2017 through early 2020 she was a member of Sque ...

– bass guitars *

Phil Spalding Philip Spalding (born 19 November 1957, London, England) is an English bass player. He is best known as a session musician and player of Fender Precision Bass guitars. He has played and appeared with performing artists such as Mick Jagger, Se ...

– bass guitars * Andy Wallace – Hammond organ * Jeremy Stacey – drums *

Luís Jardim Luís Alberto Figueira Gonçalves Jardim (born 4 July 1950) is a Portuguese percussionist, born in the Madeira Island, best known for his work with producer Trevor Horn. Family Jardim is a cousin of Alberto João Jardim (former president of th ...

– percussion * Dave Bishop – brass * Simon Gardner – brass * Neil Sidwell – brass * Steve Sidwell – brass *

London Session Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphon ...

– orchestra *

Gavyn Wright Gavyn Wright is a British violinist and orchestra leader with the London Session Orchestra and Penguin Cafe Orchestra. He is best known for his orchestral arrangements on pop productions (including Elton John, Simply Red, Bush, Mecano, Oasis ...

–

concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (U.K.) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (or clarinet in a concert band). After the conductor, the concertmaster is the second-most signifi ...

Nick Ingman Nicholas Ingman (born 29 April 1948) is an English arranger, composer and conductor in the commercial music field. His collaborators include Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Björk, and the British X-factor. Born and educated in London, Ingman moved ...

– orchestral arrangement * Steve Price – orchestral engineering * Tom Jenkins – assistant orchestral engineering * Isobel Griffiths – orchestral contracting * Jim Brumby – programming, additional engineering *

Steve Power Steve Power (born in Liverpool) is an English record producer best known for his work with Robbie Williams. He has produced and mixed a wide variety of artists over the years, including Blur, Busted, Andrea Bocelli, Feeder, Joe Cocker,Perciv ...

– production, mixing * J.D. Andrew – assistant mixing * Richard Flack – engineering, programming * Steve Marcussen – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

External links

The Page of Sky Interactive about the project

Manufactured Miracles
{{Authority control 2002 songs 2003 singles British soul songs Chrysalis Records singles Number-one singles in Scotland Robbie Williams songs Song recordings produced by Guy Chambers Song recordings produced by Steve Power Songs written by Guy Chambers Songs written by Robbie Williams