"What If" is a song performed by English actress

Kate Winslet Kate Elizabeth Winslet (; born 5 October 1975) is an English actress. Known for her work in independent films, particularly period dramas, and for her portrayals of headstrong and complicated women, she has received numerous accolades, incl ...

, recorded for the animated film '' Christmas Carol: The Movie'' (2001). Winslet provided the voice of Belle in the feature, which is based on the

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

classic 1843 novel and also stars

Nicolas Cage Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964), known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor and film producer. Born into the Coppola family, he is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Gu ...

Jane Horrocks Barbara Jane Horrocks (born 18 January 1964) is a British actress. She portrayed the roles of Bubble and Katy Grin in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulous''. She was nominated for the 1993 Olivier Award for Best Actress for the title role in th ...

and

Simon Callow Simon Phillip Hugh Callow (born 15 June 1949) is an English film, television and voice actor, director, narrator and writer. He was twice nominated for BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his roles in ''A Room with a View (1985 ...

. "What If" was written by

Wayne Hector Wayne Anthony Hector is a British songwriter who is best known for his work with pop artists such as Nicki Minaj, One Direction, the Wanted, Toše Proeski and Olly Murs. He co-wrote seven of Westlife's number one singles, including "World of O ...

and

Steve Mac Steve McCutcheon (born 15 January 1972), known professionally as Steve Mac, is a British record producer, songwriter and musician. A multi-award-winning producer, he is one of the most prolific songwriters and record producers in modern British ...

, while production was helmed by the latter. The song is a

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

that follows the film's theme, as Belle laments the end of her and Scrooge's relationship and wonders what could have been. It was the only song to be released from the official movie soundtrack. News that Winslet was secretly recording the one-off single to vie for the 2001 UK

Christmas number one In the United Kingdom, Christmas number ones are singles that top the UK Singles Chart in the week in which Christmas Day falls. The singles have often been novelty songs, charity songs or songs with a Christmas theme. Historically, the volume ...

spot was reported in the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily 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 was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...

''. In the event, the song entered 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 ...

at number six, its peak. Elsewhere, "What If" was released to even bigger success; it became a number-one hit in Austria,

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

, and Ireland whilst also reaching the top ten in Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. Critically acclaimed, the song won the 2002

OGAE Song Contest The (OGAE) () is a Non-governmental organization, non-governmental and Nonprofit organization, non-profit international organisation, consisting of 42 Eurovision Song Contest fan clubs from across Europe and beyond. It was founded in 1984 in Sav ...

. At Winslet's request, the proceeds from the single were given to the

National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) is a British child protection charity. History Victorian era On a trip to New York in 1881, Liverpudlian businessman Thomas Agnew was inspired by a visit to the New York ...

and

Sargent Cancer Care for Children Young Lives vs Cancer, the operating name for "CLIC Sargent", is a charity in the United Kingdom formed in 2005. Young Lives vs Cancer is the UK's leading cancer charity for children, young people and their families. Its care teams provide speci ...

Critical reception

Can't Stop the Pop described "What If" as a "

of epic proportions", and a "huge, soaring

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

-esque ballad". Barbara Ellen from ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'' said it is "a sweet, trilling, sub- Celine little ditty." British trade paper ''

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 ...

'' wrote that Winslet could sing the track well but noted that her divorce from

Jim Threapleton James Edward Threapleton (born November 8, 1973, Wharfedale, West Riding of Yorkshire, England) is an English film director. Threapleton has worked as an assistant director on many films, including ''Hideous Kinky''. Career His first work as a ...

would make the lyrics less "poignant".

Music video

An accompanying

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 ...

, which was directed by Paul Donnellon and produced by Chris Horton, shows Winslet walking around an old Victorian house, along with clips from the film.

Track listings

UK CD single # "What If" # "

The Coventry Carol The "Coventry Carol" is an English Christmas carol dating from the 16th century. The carol was traditionally performed in Coventry in England as part of a mystery play called '' The Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors''. The play depicts the Ch ...

" # "What If" (film version) # "What If" (enhanced video) UK cassette single # "What If" # "The Coventry Carol" # "What If" (film version) European CD single # "What If" (full version) # "What If" (film version)

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the UK CD single liner notes. Studios * Recorded at

Air Lyndhurst Associated Independent Recording (AIR) is an independent recording company founded in London in 1965 by record producer Sir George Martin and his business partner John Burgess, after their departure from Parlophone. The studio complex was founded ...

and Rokstone Studios (London, England) Personnel * Kate Winslet – vocals *

– writing, production *

– writing * Chris Laws – engineering * Matt Howe – engineering * Daniel Pursey – engineering assistant * Jason Bell – cover photography * The Red Room – cover design * Graeme Perkins – music supervisor for '' Christmas Carol: The Movie'' soundtrack

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Cover versions

*In 2004, a dance remake of the song was released by Dutch producer Ronald Vos (under the moniker of Ronny V), with Nanda Philipse (from the Dutch gothic metal band Infinite Dawn) providing the vocals. *In 2008, the 2007 ''

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 ...

'' finalist

Rhydian Roberts Rhydian James Roberts (born 14 February 1983), also known mononymously as Rhydian, is a Welsh baritone singer, television presenter and musical theatre actor. He made his name by finishing second in series 4 of ''The X Factor'', and has since ...

included a duet of the song with American singer and Broadway actress

Idina Menzel Idina Kim Menzel ( ; ; born May 30, 1971) is an American actress and singer. Particularly known for her work in musicals on the Broadway stage and having achieved mainstream success across stage, film and music, Menzel has garnered the honorif ...

on his debut album '' Rhydian''. *''

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquially ...

'' 2010 semi-finalist

Olivia Archbold Olivia may refer to: People * Olivia (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Olivia (singer) (Olivia Longott, born 1981), American singer * Olívia (basketball) (Carlos Henrique Rodrigues do Nascimento, born 19 ...

performed this song. She came in third place in the semi-finals and lost the judges' votes to

Tobias Mead The fourth series of British talent competition programme ''Britain's Got Talent'' was broadcast on ITV, from 17 April to 5 June 2010; due to live coverage of the 2010 UEFA Champions League Final on 22 May, the sixth audition episode of the seri ...

. Due to the performance, "What If" re-entered the UK Singles Charts at number 76 on 6 June 2010.

References

External links

"Winslet Records a Single"
(

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

news article)
"Winslet Launches Festive Chart Bid"
(

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

story) {{DEFAULTSORT:What If 2000s ballads 2001 debut singles 2001 songs EMI Records singles Kate Winslet songs Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in Austria Pop ballads Song recordings produced by Steve Mac Songs about divorce Songs about heartache Songs written by Steve Mac Songs written by Wayne Hector Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles