"When You Tell Me That You Love Me" is a song by American singer

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

, released on August 20, 1991 as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from her nineteenth studio album, ''

The Force Behind the Power ''The Force Behind the Power'' is the nineteenth studio album by American singer Diana Ross, released on September 10, 1991 by Motown Records. The album reached No. 11 on the UK Albums chart. Singles The album spun off five hit singles in ...

'' (1991). The song was released on the

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

label in the United States and by

EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company of the same name in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succ ...

in the United Kingdom. It was written by

Albert Hammond Albert Louis Hammond OBE (born 18 May 1944) is a British-Gibraltarian singer, songwriter, and record producer. A prolific songwriter, he also collaborated with other songwriters such as Mike Hazlewood, John Bettis, Diane Warren, Holly Knight ...

and

John Bettis John Gregory Bettis (born October 24, 1946) is an American lyricist. He was originally part of the band Spectrum, which also featured Richard and Karen Carpenter. He wrote the lyrics for " Top of the World", a hit for both Lynn Anderson and Th ...

, and produced by Peter Asher. A sentimental ballad, it became the album's biggest hit, peaking at number 37 on the US ''

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 ...

'' R&B singles chart and number two 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 ...

. Ross considers it one of her

signature song A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...

s and it was subsequently covered by various artists. The UK release of "When You Tell Me That You Love Me" included her 1985 hit "

Chain Reaction A chain reaction is a sequence of reactions where a reactive product or by-product causes additional reactions to take place. In a chain reaction, positive feedback leads to a self-amplifying chain of events. Chain reactions are one way that syst ...

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 ''

'' described the song as "a dramatically produced

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. M. C ...

. Gratefully, track is less trend-conscious than Ross's more recent efforts, though this is far from her strongest work. Regardless, diehard fans will love it—as will AC radio programmers." Henderson and DeVaney from '' Cashbox'' called it a "highly commercial pop ballad" and a "slick single". In the review of the album, the magazine declared it as a "potential hit" and a "dramatic ballad". A reviewer from ''

Liverpool Echo The ''Liverpool Echo'' is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror North West & North Wales – a subsidiary company of Reach plc and is based in St Paul's Square, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Sunday, and is Liverp ...

'' wrote, "And while Diana Ross's voice couldn't be more different, this track does have some of that radio-friendly style. It starts like a sophisticated ballad, with quiet piano and voice. and builds into an emotional climax, complete with a bit of rock guitar. It's perfectly produced and perfectly predictable." Connie Johnson from ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' viewed it as "a gorgeously gushy ballad that’s perfect for Ross’ theatrical delivery.

Peter Asher Peter Asher, (born 22 June 1944) is an English guitarist, singer, manager and record producer. He came to prominence in the 1960s as a member of the pop music vocal duo Peter and Gordon before going on to a successful career as a manager and r ...

had a hand in producing this track, on which Ross manages to appear unpretentious and guilelessly sweet." ''

Newcastle Evening Chronicle The ''Evening Chronicle'', now referred to as ''The Comical'', is a daily newspaper produced in Newcastle upon Tyne covering North regional news, but primarily focused on Newcastle upon Tyne and surrounding area. The ''Comical'' is published by ...

'' remarked the singer's "romantic mood" on the song.

Music video

The single's 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 ...

featured scenes of Ross in an evening gown singing on stage intercut with home video footage of Ross with her two sons Ross &

Evan Evan is both an English and Welsh male given name derived from "Iefan", a Welsh form for the name John. In other languages it could be compared to " Ivan", " Ian", and " Juan"; the name John itself is derived from the ancient Hebrew name Yəhô� ...

Track listings

* US 7-inch and cassette single :A. "When You Tell Me That You Love Me" (LP version) – 4:10 :B. "You and I" – 4:05 * UK 7-inch and cassette single # "When You Tell Me That You Love Me" (LP version) – 4:10 # "Chain Reaction" (single version) – 3:47 * UK 12-inch single :A1. "When You Tell Me That You Love Me" (LP version) :B1. "Chain Reaction" (12-inch version) :B2. "You and I" * UK CD single # "When You Tell Me That You Love Me" (LP version) # "Chain Reaction" (single version) # "You and I" * Japanese mini-CD single # "When You Tell Me That You Love Me" (LP version) # "Supremes Medley" Note: "Supreme Medley" consists of five songs by

the Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful ...

: "

Baby Love "Baby Love" is a song by American music group the Supremes from their second studio album, '' Where Did Our Love Go''. It was written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland and was released on September 17, 1964 ...

", "

Stop! In the Name of Love "Stop! In the Name of Love" is a 1965 song recorded by the Supremes for the Motown label. Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, "Stop! In the Name of Love" held the #1 position on the ''Billboard'' ...

", "

You Can't Hurry Love "You Can't Hurry Love" is a 1966 song originally recorded by the Supremes on the Motown label. It was released on July 25 of 1966 as the second single from their studio album '' The Supremes A' Go-Go'' (1966). Written and produced by Motown p ...

", "

You Keep Me Hangin' On "You Keep Me Hangin' On" is a song written and composed by Holland–Dozier–Holland. It was first recorded in 1966 by American Motown girl group the Supremes, reaching number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. American rock band Vanilla Fudge ...

", and " Love Is Like an Itchin' in My Heart"

Personnel

* Diana Ross: lead vocals * Robbie Buchanan: keyboards *

Michael Landau Michael Christopher Landau (born June 1, 1958) is an American musician, audio engineer, and record producer. He is a session musician and guitarist who has played on many albums since the early 1980s with Boz Scaggs, Minoru Niihara, Joni Mitch ...

: guitar * Freddie Washington: bass * Carlos Vega: drums * Michael Fisher: percussion * David Campbell: BV arrangements, orchestra arrangements and conductor *

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, ...

: orchestra leader * Isobel Griffiths: orchestra contractor *

: backing vocals *

Valerie Carter Valerie Gail Zakian Carter (February 5, 1953 – March 4, 2017) was an American singer. Biography Carter began her career singing in coffeehouses as a teenager, and eventually became one-third of the country-folk band Howdy Moon. Though they de ...

: backing vocals * Kate Markowitz: backing vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Julio Iglesias versions

With Dolly Parton

The song was recorded in a duet form by American singer

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

and Spanish singer

Julio Iglesias Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva (; born 23 September 1943) is a Spanish singer, songwriter and former professional footballer. Iglesias is recognized as the most commercially successful Spanish singer in the world and one of the top record ...

for the latter's 1994 album ''

Crazy Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors performed by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can be manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or t ...

.'' A single was released in 1994 which managed to chart in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

for three weeks: entering at position 48, peaking at 45, and in its final week charting at number 49. Parton included this song on her 4-disc compilation

box set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...

, ''The Tour Collection.''

Critical reception

Fell and Rufer from the ''

Gavin Report The ''Gavin Report'' was a San Francisco-based radio industry trade publication. The publication was founded by radio performer Bill Gavin in 1958. Its Top 40 listings were used for many years by programmers to decide content of programs. The pu ...

'' wrote, "It's hard to beat the box office combo of a ladies' man and a man's woman. Julio and Dolly get the

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...

treatment with an expensive sounding arrangement worthy of such stars."

Music video

The accompanying

was directed by John Hopgood, and was filmed for the single at

Oheka Castle Oheka Castle, also known as the Otto Kahn Estate, is a hotel located on the North Shore of Long Island, in West Hills, New York, also known as the "Gold Coast," a hamlet in the town of Huntington. It was the country home of investment finan ...

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

's north shore. The sepia-toned clip features Iglesias and Parton singing in separate rooms and a love scene involving a younger couple. At the end of the video Parton and Iglesias are shown leaving the castle. Parton having changed from a white

nightgown A nightgown, nightie or nightdress is a loosely hanging item of nightwear, and is commonly worn by women and girls. A nightgown is made from cotton, silk, satin, or nylon and may be decorated with lace appliqués or embroidery at the bust and hem ...

into a black

cocktail dress A cocktail dress is a dress suitable at semi-formal occasions, sometimes called cocktail parties, usually in the late afternoon, and usually with accessories. After World War I, the idea of the "working woman" became popular. After 1929, it was ...

Charts

With CoCo Lee

In 1998, Iglesias re-recorded the duet with

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

singer

Coco Lee Coco Lee (; born Ferren Lee, 17 January 1975) is a Hong Kong-American singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer, and actress. Lee's career began in Hong Kong and then expanded to Taiwan. Her single, "Do You Want My Love" also entered the US m ...

(李玟) and released it as a single to promote his compilation '' My Life: The Greatest Hits.'' Despite this, CoCo Lee's version was not included on the actual album, but rather Parton's. A music video was released featuring Iglesias and Lee singing together in a

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enoug ...

intercut with scenes of Lee walking around in a

trench coat A trench coat or trenchcoat is a variety of coat made of waterproof heavy-duty fabric, originally developed for British Army officers before the First World War, and becoming popular while used in the trenches. Originally made from gabardine, ...

. At the end of the video Iglesias and Lee sit down to a candlelit dinner.

Westlife version

"When You Tell Me That You Love Me" is the second single released from

Westlife Westlife is an Irish pop vocal group formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1998. The group currently consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member, until he left in 2004. The group temporarily di ...

's sixth studio album, '' Face to Face'' (2005). It features vocals from original artist

. The single peaked at No. 2 on the

, just losing out on the top spot by a mere 171 copies. The song was the 39th best selling single of 2005 in the UK. It debuted with 40,708 combined physical and download sales in the UK alone. The single reached 120 000 copies sold in UK so far. This single marked its fourteenth year since the original Diana Ross version was released and peaked at No. 2, the same chart position in the UK Singles Chart in 1991. It missed becoming the Christmas Single for 2005 by just 170 units, as had happened to the original. It also peaked at No. 2 in Ireland and Scotland. It is the band's nineteenth best selling single in paid-for sales category and in best selling single combined sales category in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

as of January 2019.

Music video

The video features Westlife and Ross singing on a stage together. The members of Westlife are wearing dark suits whilst Ross wears a long white dress and later in the video, a gold dress. New excerpts from the music video with Ross, that didn't make the cut on the official video, was used on television performances by the band of the song for the premiere promotional release week of it as a single.

Track listing

* UK CD1 # "When You Tell Me That You Love Me" (Single Mix) – 4:01 # "White Christmas" – 3:34 # "The Way You Look Tonight" (Westlife Only Version) – 4:07 * UK CD2 # "When You Tell Me That You Love Me" (Single Mix) – 4:00 # "If I Let You Go" (Acoustic Version) – 3:40

Charts

''American Idol'' finalists - Season 4 version

The 12 ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'' finalists - Season 4 Finalists got together perform this song. It was selected as the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Single in 2005 for the ''American Idol'' TV show. It also appears on the '' American Idol Season 4: The Showstoppers'' compilation album.

References

External links

*
Official Westlife website
{{Authority control 1991 singles 1991 songs 1994 singles 2005 singles Diana Ross songs Westlife songs Julio Iglesias songs Dolly Parton songs Sissel Kyrkjebø songs Songs written by Albert Hammond Songs with lyrics by John Bettis Pop ballads Song recordings produced by David Foster Song recordings produced by Peter Asher Motown singles Soul ballads 2000s ballads Sony Music singles RCA Records singles Sony BMG singles EMI Records singles