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"If You're Not the One" is a song by New Zealand-British singer
Daniel Bedingfield Daniel John Bedingfield (born 3 December 1979) is a New Zealand-British singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. His debut studio album, '' Gotta Get thru This'' (2002), spawned three UK number ones, " Gotta Get thru This", " If You're ...
. It was released on 25 November 2002 as the third single from his debut studio album, '' Gotta Get Thru This'' (2002). The single entered the top 20 on the majority of charts that it appeared on, including becoming a number-one hit on the UK Singles Chart and reaching number 15 on the US ''
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''
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.


Background and writing

"If You're Not the One" is written as a love
ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...
. Daniel Bedingfield claims to have been inspired by the band
Westlife Westlife are an Irish pop group formed in Dublin in 1998. The group consists of members Nicky Byrne, Shane Filan, Kian Egan and Mark Feehily. Brian McFadden was a member before leaving in March 2004. The group disbanded in 2012 and later reun ...
, when writing and recording the song. Bedingfield himself believes that the song is "cheesy." Bedingfield admitted he began writing the song because he realized that material he considered more "complex" was unlikely to get him a record deal. "Commercialism, sappy lyrics and meek tunes are the things I hate most in the universe, but I'm not sure even
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
could get record company interest without hooks these days", Bedingfield recalled in an interview with ''
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''. "It's a different age. You need to go some kind of populist route. So, about three years ago, I sat down with a Westlife song and tried to write something similar." Bedingfield also admitted that he did not even want to put the song on his album '' Gotta Get Thru This''. He said, "I didn't want to put "If You're Not the One" on the album as I thought it was too cheesy. I thought it sounded like
Westlife Westlife are an Irish pop group formed in Dublin in 1998. The group consists of members Nicky Byrne, Shane Filan, Kian Egan and Mark Feehily. Brian McFadden was a member before leaving in March 2004. The group disbanded in 2012 and later reun ...
. But she (
Natasha Bedingfield Natasha Anne Bedingfield (born 26 November 1981) is a British and New Zealand singer, songwriter and record producer. She released her debut album, '' Unwritten'', in 2004, which contained primarily up-tempo pop songs and was influenced by R& ...
, his sister) loved it. Women that hear it go all soft and think it's lovely".


Composition

"If You're Not the One" plays for 4 minutes and 19 seconds, in
common time A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates the ...
. It is in the key of
B-flat major B-flat major is a major scale based on B, with pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two flats. Its relative minor is G minor and its parallel minor is B-flat minor. The B-flat major scale is: Changes needed for ...
, and the chorus features Bedingfield singing
falsetto Falsetto ( , ; Italian language, Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ...
, where he hits the note E♭5.


Critical reception

"If You're Not the One" received mixed reviews from contemporary music critics. On the positive side, Peter Robinson, in the ''Gotta Get Thru This'' album review for the ''
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'', wrote "'If You're Not the One' ecallsevery chart-mauling uber-ballad you've ever heard". Nedd Raggett of
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
commented in his album review "When it comes to ballads, they work best in sudden moments – the soaring end to 'If You're Not the One'".
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ranked the song at number 27 on its list of the 'Top 100
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Songs of 2002', two places behind the album's title track. The song was again ranked at number 27 on the 2003 list, due to it being released in the United States during that year. ''
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'' felt that the song showed Bedingfield's "sensitive side", and that the song "showcases his vocal range to stunning effect." The magazine even considered it "beautifully crafted." However, the track also received some negative feedback. ''
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'' Nikki Tranter wrote "surely you would think with his obviously overwhelming ability to compose utter claptrap cleverly disguised as serious prophesizing, his lyrics might contain something a little more expressive than 'If you're not the one / Why does my heart feel glad today / If you're not the one / Then why does my hand fit yours this way.'" In his review for
musicOMH ''MusicOMH'' (stylized as ''musicOMH'') is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History ''MusicOMH'' was founded an ...
, Michael Hubbard was even less positive, stating, "'If You're Not the One' is as vomit-inducing as anything the man in the plastic mask has ever wretched ''(
sic The Latin adverb ''sic'' (; ''thus'', ''so'', and ''in this manner'') inserted after a quotation indicates that the quoted matter has been transcribed or translated as found in the source text, including erroneous, archaic, or unusual spelling ...
)'' forth at the world".


Chart performance

When the song was released as a single, it was picked up by radio stations. It was the most added pop song on the radio for the week of 20 February 2003. In the US, the song was the most added song in 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 ...
market for the week of 7 April 2003. In the US, the song was his highest debuting single, debuting at number 55 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The single proved to be a successful release for Bedingfield, providing him with several worldwide number ones and reaching the top 20 in all but one of the charts that it appeared on. It debuted at number one in the UK Singles Chart, knocking
Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera ( , ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and television personality. Recognized as Cultural impact of Christina Aguilera, an influential figure in music and having received Public imag ...
and Redman's "
Dirrty "Dirrty" is a song by American singer Christina Aguilera featuring American rapper Redman, released as the lead single from her fourth studio album '' Stripped''. Despite Aguilera's first three years of commercial success, she was displeased w ...
" from the top spot.


Music video

The music video was produced by A1 singer Mark Read. It begins with a series of images of Bedingfield singing in various positions against a black backdrop. When the chorus starts he is seen singing with clouds in the background. The initial sequence is repeated for the second verse. However, half-way through, he starts to write on a wall. The rest of the song follows the same pattern. For the US market, a separate video was made. This version features Bedingfield singing the song while drunk one night after a house party, trying to remember who "the one" is. Several of his and the woman's scenes are shown in split-screen format, and exactly match one another. In the end, it is morning, and she returns to him.


Track listings

UK CD single and Australian CD1 # "If You're Not the One" – 4:16 # " James Dean (I Wanna Know)" (acoustic version) – 2:56 # "If You're Not the One" (Metro Mix) – 6:37 # "If You're Not the One" (video) – 4:16 UK cassette single and European CD single # "If You're Not the One" – 4:16 # "If You're Not the One" (Metro Mix) – 6:37 US CD single # "If You're Not the One" (radio edit) # "If You're Not the One" (Metro edit) # "Album Snippets Medley" US 12-inch single :A1. "If You're Not the One" (The Passengerz Girlfriend club mix) – 7:09 :A2. "If You're Not the One" (Metro Remix) – 6:35 :B1. "If You're Not the One" (The Passengerz Girlfriend dub) – 5:55 :B2. "If You're Not the One" (Seth Lawrence Future dub) – 6:26 Australian CD2 # "If You're Not the One" (radio edit) # "If You're Not the One" (Metro Mix edit) # "James Dean (I Wanna Know)" (ATFC's Committed vocal) – 2:56 # " Gotta Get Thru This" (video) # "If You're Not the One" (Metro Mix video)


Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the '' Gotta Get Thru This'' album booklet. Studios * Recorded and mixed at Metrophonic Studios (London, England) * Strings recorded at Angel Recording Studios (London, England) * Mastered at Sony Music Studios (London, England) Personnel *
Daniel Bedingfield Daniel John Bedingfield (born 3 December 1979) is a New Zealand-British singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. His debut studio album, '' Gotta Get thru This'' (2002), spawned three UK number ones, " Gotta Get thru This", " If You're ...
– writing, additional production * Adam Philips – guitar * Danny Cummings – drums *
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, ...
concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German language, German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (UK) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (clarinet or oboe in a concert band). After the Conducting, conductor, the concertma ...
* Robin Smith – string arrangement, conducting * Mark Taylor – string arrangement, production, recording, mixing * Isobel Griffiths – orchestral contracting * Christian Saint Val – recording and mixing assistant * Jong Uk Yoon – recording and mixing assistant * Steve Pryce – engineering * Mat Bartram – engineering assistant * John Davis – mastering


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Decade-end charts


Certifications


Release history


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:If You're Not The One 2002 songs 2002 singles 2000s ballads Daniel Bedingfield songs Island Records singles Number-one singles in Denmark Polydor Records singles Song recordings produced by Mark Taylor (record producer) Songs about loneliness Songs written by Daniel Bedingfield Pop ballads Torch songs UK singles chart number-one singles