"If I Never Knew You" is a song by American singers

Jon Secada Juan Francisco Secada Ramírez (born October 4, 1961), better known as Jon Secada, is a Cuban-born American singer. He has won two Grammy Awards and sold 15 million records, making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists. His music fu ...

and

Shanice Shanice Lorraine Wilson-Knox (née Wilson; born May 14, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and dancer. Shanice had the ''Billboard'' hit singles " I Love Your Smile" and " Silent Prayer" in 1991 and " Saving Forever for You" in 19 ...

, from Disney's 1995 animated feature film, ''

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, known as Matoaka, 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman, belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of ...

''. The song was written by composer Alan Menken and lyricist

Stephen Schwartz Stephen Lawrence Schwartz (born March 6, 1948) is an American musical theatre lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over five decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as ''Godspell'' (1971), ''Pippin'' (1972), and ''Wicked'' (20 ...

, and originally recorded by American singer

Judy Kuhn Judy Kuhn (born May 20, 1958) is an American actress and singer, known for her work in musical theatre. A four-time Tony Award nominee, she has released four studio albums and sang the title role in the 1995 film '' Pocahontas'', including her r ...

in her film role as the singing voice of

, and American actor

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apoca ...

in his role as

Captain John Smith John Smith (baptized 6 January 1580 – 21 June 1631) was an English soldier, explorer, colonial governor, Admiral of New England, and author. He played an important role in the establishment of the colony at Jamestown, Virginia, the first pe ...

. Shanice and Secada's version is heard during film's end credits, and was released on September 12, 1995, as the second single from the film's soundtrack by

Walt Disney Records Walt Disney Records is an American record label of the Disney Music Group. The label releases soundtrack albums from The Walt Disney Company's motion picture studios, television series, theme parks, and traditional studio albums produced by its ...

, after

Vanessa Williams Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, and fashion designer. She gained recognition as the first African-American woman to receive the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She resign ...

' pop and R&B rendition of the Academy Award-winning "

Colors of the Wind "Colors of the Wind" is a song written by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz for Walt Disney Pictures' 33rd animated feature film, ''Pocahontas'' (1995). The film's theme song, "Colors of the Wind" was originally recorded by Am ...

". The song was originally developed for the prison scene where

visits

before he is sentenced to death for the alleged murder of Kocoum,

Chief Powhatan Powhatan ( c. 1547 – c. 1618), whose proper name was Wahunsenacawh (alternately spelled Wahunsenacah, Wahunsunacock or Wahunsonacock), was the leader of the Powhatan, an alliance of Algonquian-speaking Native Americans living in Tsenacommaca ...

's warrior whom Pocahontas was supposed to marry. The musical number, which was about 90% animated, was supposed to be a duet performed by the pair as they acknowledge their love for each other. During test screenings with child audiences their attention "seemed to wander from the film." Therefore, Alan Menken, the composer of the songs for Disney's ''Pocahontas'', decided it had to be cut because he felt that it slowed the pace of the movie. Additionally, another song, " Savages", occurred not more than five minutes after. Although it was cut from the movie itself, "If I Never Knew You" was still performed by Jon Secada and Shanice at the end credits and released as a single. It had a few different lyrics than the film's original lyrics. In 2005, Disney released the tenth anniversary edition of ''

'', which had the song fully animated and integrated into the film, but was an optional feature that the viewer could choose or watch the original theatrical version instead, due to seamless branching. It was performed by

(Captain Smith) and

(singing voice of

) within the film's narrative. It was recorded for the original film in 1995. The audio version became available in 2015 for the '' Walt Disney Records: The Legacy Collection'' edition of the film's soundtrack.

Charts

Release history

The Cheetah Girls version

"If I Never Knew You" was covered by the Cheetah Girls for the album, ''

DisneyMania 4 ''Disneymania 4'' is the fourth in the ''Disneymania'' series. This is the second ''Disneymania'' album with the Disney Channel Circle of Stars (though the album just calls them "Disney Channel Stars"), with a few additions, such as Dylan and Cole ...

''. It was released as a single and premiered on Radio Disney in April 2006.

Music video

The music video was released on Disney Channel in 2006. It features the girls pulling up at a club in a limo wearing white, sparkly dresses and then entering the club to perform the song on stage surrounded by a crowd. Scenes of the girls out on the dance floor dancing with some gentlemen are inter-cut throughout the video.

Other cover versions

In 2001, it was covered by

Michael Crawford Michael Patrick Smith, (born 19 January 1942), known professionally as Michael Crawford, is an English tenor, actor and comedian. Crawford is best known for playing both the hapless Frank Spencer in the sitcom '' Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'' a ...

and

Sherie Rene Scott Sherie Rene Scott (born February 8, 1967)Some sources give 1969, but Scott herself, at thOfficial Sherie Rene Scott Myspace Pageand at Lovece, Frank"Sherie Rene Scott is caught up in the 'Rapture'", ''Newsday'', May 6, 2010, gives 1967 is an Ame ...

for ''The Disney Album''. That same year, Angela Decicco and Bill Whitefield covered the song on the 2001 Christian/

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

compilation album ''Our Heart Sings''.

Hal Ketchum Hal Michael Ketchum (April 9, 1953November 23, 2020) was an American country music singer and songwriter. He released eleven studio albums from 1986 to 2014, including nine for divisions of Curb Records. Ketchum's 1991 album ''Past the Point of ...

and

Shelby Lynne Shelby Lynne (born Shelby Lynn Moorer, October 22, 1968) is an American singer and songwriter and the older sister of singer-songwriter Allison Moorer. The success of her pop rock album '' I Am Shelby Lynne'' (1999) led to her winning the Grammy ...

recorded a version as part of '' The Best of Country Sing the Best of Disney''. The song was also released as a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

single ("Si No Te Conociera," also performed by Jon Secada and Shanice). A Portuguese version was sung by Jon Secada and

Daniela Mercury Daniela Mercury (born Daniela Mercuri de Almeida on July 28, 1965) is a Brazilian singer, songwriter, dancer, producer, actress and television host. In her solo career, Mercury has sold over 20 million records worldwide and had 24 Top 10 single ...

. The song was recently covered by

Tiffany Thornton Tiffany Dawn Thornton (born February 14, 1986) is an American former actress, radio personality and singer best known for her co-starring role as Tawni Hart on the Disney Channel Original Series, ''Sonny with a Chance'' and the spinoff, ''So Ran ...

as part of ''

DisneyMania 7 ''Disneymania 7'' is the seventh and final installment in the '' Disneymania'' series. It features a variety of contemporary performers performing Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational ...

''. In Japan, a

music box A music box (American English) or musical box (British English) is an automatic musical instrument in a box that produces musical notes by using a set of pins placed on a revolving cylinder or disc to pluck the tuned teeth (or ''lamellae'' ...

version was released on the 2008 album ''Disney in Orgel''.Amazon.co.jp
Disney in Orgel Item Page. Retrieved August 15, 2011

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Disney Renaissance songs 1995 songs 1995 singles Jon Secada songs Shanice songs The Cheetah Girls songs Songs written for films Songs with music by Alan Menken Songs from Pocahontas (1995 film) Love themes Songs written by Stephen Schwartz (composer) Song recordings produced by Emilio Estefan Male–female vocal duets Hollywood Records singles Walt Disney Records singles Song recordings produced by Alan Menken Song recordings produced by Robbie Buchanan