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These Words

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"These Words"
Song

"These Words" (also known as "These Words (I Love You, I Love You)") is a pop song written by Natasha Bedingfield, Steve Kipner, Andrew Frampton and Wayne Wilkins for Bedingfield's 2004 debut album Unwritten. The song is the album's opening track, and was released as its second single. "These Words" details Bedingfield's lack of inspiration and her reaction to pressure from her record label to produce a hit song.[1]

"These Words" was released as the album's second international single and as the lead single in North America. The single sold well, reached the top forty worldwide, and topped the charts in both Ireland and the United Kingdom. It was certified platinum in the United States and Australia, and was nominated for "Best British Single" at the 2005 BRIT Awards. The song was very well received by music critics, and was frequently cited as a highlight of the album.

Background and writing

Bedingfield began recording her debut album in mid-2003, following the signing of a recording contract with Sony BMG earlier that year.[2] She was determined not to be shaped into "some music biz pigeonhole" and wanted to write songs that were "organic, different and real".[1] Bedingfield began collaborating with Steve Kipner, Andrew Frampton and Wayne Wilkins in London and Los Angeles, but their sessions were largely unproductive due to Bedingfield's writer's block and the pressure that she felt to produce a hit song.[1] Frustrated, she began to sing "I love you, I love you, I love you" over and over. She was at "wit's end and just wanted to say what I meant in a simple way, without using all those flowery words." The line that Bedingfield sang out of frustration became the song's hook and its subject matter inspired by her real life difficulty writing a love song.[3]

Critical reception

"These Words" was generally very well-received by contemporary pop music critics. PlayLouder's Daniel Robson described the song as a "compelling chunk of popply joy",[4] while Allmusic wrote that the track was "near-perfect" and merged "the rhythms and flavors of hip-hop and R&B with unique melodies and Bedingfield's vocal confidence".[5] The BBC called it a "classic love song" with a "really catchy tune", and commented that it was worthy of reaching number one on the UK singles chart.[6] Josh Timmermann of Stylus Magazine called it "best single so far this year",[7] and David Welsh of musicOMH.com wrote that the song had a "virally-infectious chorus and (relatively) clever wordplay."[8]

Stylus Magazine's Colin Cooper ranked "These Words" at number thirteen on his list of the Top 20 Singles of 2004[9] and About.com ranked the song at number five on its list of the Top 10 Most Memorable Pop Song Lyrics 2005. The website wrote that Bedingfield's naming of the famous poets George Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and John Keats in the song enables the listener to "almost hear the classic poetry over a drum machine" as Bedingfield sings.[10]

The song appears on the game Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore.

Music videos

File:TheseWordsEuropeanVideo.jpg
Bedingfield in the international version of the music video, scribbling in her notebook.

Two music videos were produced for the international and North American markets. The song's international music video was directed by Scott Lyon and Sophie Muller and premiered in August 2004.[11] The video features several sequences. It opens with Bedingfield sitting at a table in her Spanish villa, frustrated by her inability to find inspiration to write a song. She is then seen walking through the villa in colorful outfits, surrounded by dancing chairs and multiple versions of herself. The video concludes with Bedingfield scribbling in her notebook on the roof of her villa. Her scribblings lead her boyfriend to the front of her home where she admits that she loves him, asking him if her feelings are "okay".

File:TheseWordsCap.JPG
Bedingfield with dancing boomboxes in the North America version of the music video.

The North American music video was directed by Chris Milk and filmed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in March 2005. The music video, however, was discarded by the record label. But this version won four Annual MVPA Awards[12] The video begins with Bedingfield waking up next to a boombox, dressing, and leaving her home with the boombox. While performing on a beach, she kicks her boombox, which comes alive and begins to dance. The video concludes with Bedingfield arriving back home to a house full of dancing boomboxes.

An alternate version of the North American video was directed by Jim Gable using much of the footage from the original.[13] The boomboxes featured in the video are animated to look like drawings and a performance by Bedingfield in a room with flowing white drapery has been added. The video debuted in June 2005 and proved successful on U.S. video-chart programs. It debuted on MTV's Total Request Live on June 28, 2005 at number ten and remained on the program for a total of six days.[14] VH1 ranked the video at number twenty-two on its Top 40 Videos of 2005 countdown.[15]

Chart performance

"These Words" entered the UK Singles Chart on August 28, 2004 at number one, remaining on the chart for thirteen weeks.[16] It maintained the number one position for two weeks.[17] In the UK, Bedingfield and her brother, pop-singer Daniel Bedingfield, became the first sister and brother to achieve separate number one singles.[18] The track also charted at number one in Ireland, remaining on the singles chart for seventeen weeks.[19]

Across Europe, "These Words" was largely successful, reaching number two in Austria, Germany and Norway, and the top ten in the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland.[19] Elsewhere, the song peaked within the top ten on the majority of the charts it entered. In Australia, "These Words" debuted at number six and reached a peak position of number five three weeks later.[20] On the 2004 ARIA end of the year chart, the song charted at number forty-nine[21] and was certified gold.[22] In New Zealand the single performed stronger, reaching number two on the singles chart.[19] The song also reached number two on the United World Chart.

"These Words" performed moderately well in North America. The single debuted at number one hundred on the Billboard Hot 100 on July 2, 2005 and reached a peak position at number seventeen, remaining on the chart for twenty weeks.[19] The song did well on pop-oriented charts, reaching number nine on the Pop 100 and number ten on the Top 40 Mainstream.[23] "These Words" was helped on the Hot 100 by its strong digital downloads, peaking at number seven on the Hot Digital Songs chart.[24] The single had crossover success in the dance charts, reaching number one on the Hot Dance Airplay chart and number thirty-five on the Hot Dance Club Play chart.[24] In September 2005, the song was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.[25]

Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "These Words".

Personnel

The following people contributed to "These Words ":[26]

Charts

Notes

  1. ^ a b c "Biography". Artist Direct. Retrieved May 3 2007.
  2. ^ "Artist Biography". VH1. Retrieved May 3, 2007.
  3. ^ ""These Words" Song Facts". Song Facts. Retrieved May 3 2007.
  4. ^ Robson, Daniel. "Unwritten Album Review". PlayLouder. September 9 2004. Retrieved April 3 2007.
  5. ^ Loftus, Johnny. "Unwritten > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved April 3 2007.
  6. ^ ""These Words" Single Review". BBC. Retrieved August 26 2004. April 3 2007.
  7. ^ Timmermann, Josh. "Singles Going Steady". Stylus Magazine. July 15 2005. Retrieved April 3 2007.
  8. ^ Welsh, David. "Unwritten Album Review". musicOMH.com. September 6 2004. Retrieved April 3 2007.
  9. ^ Colin Cooper. "The Top 40 of 2004". Stylus Magazine. December 16, 2004. Retrieved April 3, 2007.
  10. ^ Lamb, Bill. "Top 10 Most Memorable Pop Song Lyrics 2005". About.com. Retrieved April 3 2007.
  11. ^ ""These Words" International Version Information". MVDBase.com. Retrieved May 2 2007.
  12. ^ ""These Words" Version #3". MVDBase.com. Retrieved July 19 2007.
  13. ^ "Jim Gable Directorial Credits". gandb.tv. Retrieved July 19 2007.
  14. ^ "The TRL Debut Archive". Popfusion. Retrieved May 2 2007.
  15. ^ "Top 40 Videos of 2005". VH1. Retrieved May 2 2007.
  16. ^ "UK Singles Top 75 (August 30, 2004)". Music Square. Retrieved April 30 2007.
  17. ^ "UK Singles Top 75 (September 6, 2004)". Music Square. Retrieved April 30 2007.
  18. ^ "All the No. 1's". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved April 30 2007.
  19. ^ a b c d e f "World Chart Positions". Music Square. Retrieved April 30, 2007.
  20. ^ "Australia Singles Top 50 (November 8, 2004)". Music Square. Retrieved May 2 2007.
  21. ^ "End Of Year Charts: Top 100 Singles 2004". ARIA Charts. Retrieved May 2 2007.
  22. ^ "ARIA Accreditations: 2004 Singles". ARIA Charts. Retrieved May 2 2007.
  23. ^ a b "U.S. Billboard Chart Positions". Allmusic. Retrieved April 30 2007.
  24. ^ a b "US Billboard Chart History". Billboard.com. Retrieved May 1 2007.
  25. ^ "US Certified Awards Searchable Database". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved May 1 2007.
  26. ^ Unwritten (CD liner notes). Sony BMG. September 2004.
Preceded by UK Singles Chart number one single
August 28 2004 - September 10 2004 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
"Don't Cha" by Pussycat Dolls (Second run)
 Billboard Hot Dance Airplay number-one single
September 21, 2005-September 28, 2005 		Succeeded by


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