"You're the One I Love" is a song by English singer

Shola Ama Shola Ama (born 8 March 1979) is a British singer from London, who scored her biggest hits with "You Might Need Somebody" (1997), a cover of Randy Crawford's 1981 hit, " You're the One I Love" and "Still Believe" (1999) which was one of the fi ...

, released as the first single from her debut album, ''

Much Love ''Much Love'' is the debut album by British singer Shola Ama. It was released by Freakstreet and WEA on 1 September 1997 in the United Kingdom. Ama worked with songwriting collective D'Influence on the majority of the album, with Shaun LaBell ...

'' (1997), in 1996. On the first single release, it reached number 81 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 ...

, but after her successful cover version of "

You Might Need Somebody "You Might Need Somebody" is a song written by Tom Snow and Nan O'Byrne, and first recorded in 1980 by American singer and guitarist Turley Richards. The following year, American jazz and R&B singer Randy Crawford released her version which char ...

" in 1997, it was re-released in August of that year and peaked at number three, becoming her highest-charting hit in the UK. Elsewhere, the single charted in France, the Netherlands and New Zealand.

Critical reception

British magazine ''

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'' rated the song four out of five, adding, "Seventeen-year-old Ama shows maturity beyond her years with a classy, soulful performance on this debut single." Paul Elliott wrote, "You're The One I Love is a precocious big-league debut. Written and produced by Shaun Labelle, one of America's fastest-rising new producer's, the track is smooth and streetwise and Ama's performance is super-confident." A reviewer from ''

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 ...

'' said after the re-release of the single, following "

", "She could have been a

one-hit wonder A one-hit wonder or viral hit is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music p ...

but on this showing young Shola has got legs. Good to see a Brit teaching the Yanks a thing or two about funky

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 ...

Bobbito Garcia Robert "Bobbito" Garcia (born September 25, 1966), also known as DJ Cucumber Slice and Kool Bob Love, is an American DJ, author, streetball player, streetball coach, and member of the Rock Steady Crew. He is known as a former co-host of hip hop ...

for ''

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'' concluded, "It's a slammin' song. I couldn't understand why it didn't do well in the States."

Music video

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 ...

was produced to promote the single, directed by Randee St. Nicholas. It takes place in a restaurant. In the beginning, Ama arrives at the place, meeting her friends. Occasionally she is also seen singing as she peeks out through one of the windows. She notices a man in the street. He also enters the restaurant and sits down with his friends. These two start looking at each other. Halfway through the video, the man leaves for unknown reason. Apparently sad by this, Ama lights up again when he suddenly reappears on the other side of the window, looking at her. As the video draws to a close, the singer is left alone after her friends leave. The man who until now has been sitting at the other end of the room walks towards her and sits down with her. As the video ends, they sit and talk in the restaurant.

Track listings

* 12-inch, Germany (1997) #"You're the One I Love" ( C&J Album Version) — 4:07 #"You're the One I Love" (Brooklyn Funk Acapella) — 4:05 #"You're the One I Love" (London Dub) — 5:16 #"You're the One I Love" (Dark Dub) — 5:54 * CD single, UK and Europe (1996) #"You're the One I Love" (C & J Radio Edit) — 3:53 #"You're the One I Love" (DI Paradise Edit) — 3:54 #"You're the One I Love" (Album Version) — 3:55 #"You're the One I Love" (Dodge's Mix) — 4:15 #"You're the One I Love" (C & J Street Mix) — 4:15 #"You're the One I Love" (DI Paradise Mix) — 5:35 #"You're the One I Love" (Freshly Squeezed Mix) — 7:06 #"You're the One I Love" (Lukas' Do Anything Mix) — 5:36 * CD single, Germany (1997) #"You're the One I Love" (C&J Original Edit) — 3:53 #"

" (Acoustic Version) — 3:23 * CD single CD1, UK (1997) #"You're the One I Love" (C&J Original Edit) — 3:53 #"You're the One I Love" (D + A '97 Feelin It Mix) — 3:58 #"You're the One I Love" (Brooklyn Funk R&B Mix) — 4:09 #"You're the One I Love" (D-I Paradise '97 Mix (12")) — 5:31 #"You're the One I Love" (C&J Mix) — 4:07 * CD single CD2, UK (1997) #"You're the One I Love" (C&J Original Edit) — 3:53 #"You're the One I Love" (Brooklyn Funk Alt Mix) — 4:15 #"You're the One I Love" (Brooklyn Funk Club Mix) — 4:08 #"You Might Need Somebody" (Acoustic Version) — 3:23

Charts

Release history

References

{{Reflist 1996 songs 1996 singles 1997 singles Music videos directed by Randee St. Nicholas Shola Ama songs Warner Music Group singles