"(If There Was) Any Other Way" is a song by Canadian singer

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had ...

. It was included on her first English-language album, ''

Unison Unison (stylised as UNISON) is a Great Britain, British trade union. Along with Unite the Union, Unite, Unison is one of the two largest trade unions in the United Kingdom, with over 1.2 million members who work predominantly in public servic ...

'' (1990). "(If There Was) Any Other Way" was released by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

as the album's

lead single A lead single (or first 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. A similar term, "debut ...

in Canada on 26 March 1990. The next year, it was issued as the second single in other countries. The song was written by Paul Bliss, while production was handled by

Christopher Neil Christopher Neil (born 1948) is a British record producer, songwriter, singer, and actor. Neil has produced records for A-ha, Amazulu, Bonnie Tyler, Celine Dion, Cher, Dollar, Edyta Górniak, Gerry Rafferty, Jennifer Rush, José Carreras, Le ...

. After its release, "(If There Was) Any Other Way" received positive reviews from music critics. The song peaked at number 23 in Canada and number 35 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Additionally, it became a success on the

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

charts, reaching number eight in the United States and number 12 in Canada. Two accompanying music videos for the song were filmed. Dion performed "(If There Was) Any Other Way" during her Unison Tour (1990–91).

Background and release

In 1990, Dion was preparing to issue her first English-language album, ''

''. After releasing various French-language albums in Canada and France in the '80s, she recorded new English songs in

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Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. At first, ''Unison'' was released in Canada, and "(If There Was) Any Other Way" was chosen as its lead single. Written by British musician, Paul Bliss, and produced by British record producer,

, it was issued on 26 March 1990. One year later on 18 March 1991, "(If There Was) Any Other Way" was released as the second single in the United States after "

Where Does My Heart Beat Now "Where Does My Heart Beat Now" is a song performed by Canadian recording artist Celine Dion for her ninth studio album and debut English-language album, ''Unison'' (1990). It was released by Columbia Records as the third single from ''Unison'' i ...

". For the US market the single was remixed by Walter Afanasieff. This US version features a different audio mix from the Canadian single version and the album version: reverb has been applied throughout (most noticeably to Dion's vocal track), the guitars have been rebalanced so that they are less audible in some places in the song and more prominent in others, the drum track features "rimshot" effects during the chorus, additional synthesizer lines have been overdubbed onto the existing keyboard track (most noticeably in the bar before the instrumental break), and the fadeout has been slightly extended in length. It was also used in the American music video of the song that year. Additionally "(If There Was) Any Other Way" was remixed by Daniel Abraham, a French record producer living in New York. His dance remixes appeared on a promotional US single. "(If There Was) Any Other Way" was also released as a single in selected European countries, Australia, and Japan in June 1991.

Critical reception

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's senior editor

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...

picked the song as an album standout along with "

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 musi ...

from ''

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'' noted that Dion "continues to soar" with a "spirited, up-tempo" song. He complimented the "crystalline production and shimmering backup vocal support combined with a passionate lead performance". Dave Sholin from the ''

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'' wrote about the song: "Nothing like witnessing the growth and development of a genuine artist. Celine definitely falls into that category, capturing the hearts of Americans the way she's been doing in her native Canada for the past several years. Switching from torch song to snappy rhythm affords listeners an opportunity to hear another side of this wonderful talent". ''

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'' noted that "talented Canadian chanteuse enters the

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...

racket" and described it as "satisfying AC pop." Christopher Smith from TalkAboutPopMusic described it as a "pop-soft rock mid tempo number".

Commercial performance

In Canada "(If There Was) Any Other Way" entered the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' Top Singles chart on 31 March 1990 and peaked at number twenty-three on 9 June 1990. The song also entered the ''RPM'' Adult Contemporary chart on 24 March 1990 and reached number twelve there. In the United States "(If There Was) Any Other Way" debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, dated 6 April 1991, and peaked at number thirty-five on 1 June 1991. The track also entered ''

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

chart dated 30 March 1991, reaching number eight.

Music video

There were two music videos made for the song. The first one was directed by Derek Case and released in March 1990 for the Canadian market. The second one was filmed for the US market in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, and

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, Canada. It was directed by Dominic Orlando and premiered in March 1991. The two videos were included separately on Dion's 1991 home video ''

'', depending on the Canadian or US release.

Live performances

Dion performed "(If There Was) Any Other Way" on a few Canadian television shows in 1990. She also sang it on the Canadian/US variety show, '' Super Dave'' and performed it in Norway in 1991. It was included in her Unison Tour as well.

Track listings and formats

* Australian 7-inch, cassette, CD and Canadian 7-inch single # "(If There Was) Any Other Way" – 3:59 # "(If There Was) Any Other Way" (instrumental) – 3:59 * Canadian cassette, European 7-inch, mini CD and Japanese mini CD single # "(If There Was) Any Other Way" – 3:59 # "I'm Loving Every Moment With You" – 4:08 * European 12-inch and CD single # "(If There Was) Any Other Way" – 3:59 # "I'm Loving Every Moment With You" – 4:08 # "If We Could Start Over" – 4:23 * US 7-inch single # "(If There Was) Any Other Way" – 3:59 # "

" – 4:33 * US cassette single # "(If There Was) Any Other Way" ( Walter Afanasieff remix) – 4:13 # "Where Does My Heart Beat Now" – 4:33 * US promotional CD single # "(If There Was) Any Other Way" (Daniel Abraham's 7" remix) – 3:54 # "(If There Was) Any Other Way" (Daniel Abraham's 12" remix) – 5:39

Credits and personnel

;Recording * Recorded at West Side Studios,

;Personnel *

– lead and backing vocals *

– producer, backing vocals *

Phil Palmer Philip John Palmer (born 9 September 1952) is a British rock sideman and session guitarist who has toured, recorded, and worked with numerous artists. He is best known for his work with Eric Clapton and Dire Straits. Biography Palmer grew up ...

– guitars * Paul Bliss – songwriter, drums, keyboard programming, backing vocals * Simon Hurrell – engineer * Walter Afanasieff – additional producer, keyboards, percussion (remix only) * Daniel Abraham – additional producer (dance remixes only)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Any Other Way, (If There Was) 1990 singles 1990 songs Celine Dion songs Columbia Records singles Canadian dance-pop songs Epic Records singles Song recordings produced by Christopher Neil Songs written by Paul Bliss