You Gotta Be
| "You Gotta Be" | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Original CD single cover | |||||||||||||
| Single by Des'ree | |||||||||||||
| from the album I Ain't Movin' and Supernatural | |||||||||||||
| Released |
29 July 1994 13 May 1995 (re-release) 22 March 1999 (1999 Mix) | ||||||||||||
| Format | CD single, CD maxi, 12" maxi | ||||||||||||
| Recorded | 1993 | ||||||||||||
| Genre | Pop, soul | ||||||||||||
| Length | 4:04 | ||||||||||||
| Label | Sony Soho Square | ||||||||||||
| Writer(s) |
Des'ree Ashley Ingram | ||||||||||||
| Producer(s) | Ashley Ingram | ||||||||||||
| Des'ree singles chronology | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
"You Gotta Be" is a song recorded by British pop and soul singer Des'ree. Written by the singer with the track's producer, Ashley Ingram, "You Gotta Be" was the first single release from Des'ree's second album, I Ain't Movin' (1994).
Background
Described by Stuart Elliott in The New York Times as "an infectiously sunny tune about the affirmative powers of self-confidence,"[1] "You Gotta Be" according to Des'ree is, like all the songs on its parent album, "about having the inner strength to figure out who you are" with "You Gotta Be" specifically being "born out of me stopping myself and thinking everyday how you gotta be something. You have to be cool and calm in [one] situation, and then you have to be bold and strong in another situation."[2] Des'ree drew inspiration for "You Gotta Be" from the Shakti Gawain book Creative Visualization which had abetted the singer's recovery from a painful romantic break-up; "I've always been blindly optimistic, and that [book] helped me rise from my melancholia," explains Des'ree who it is said "swears by daily affirmations."[3]
"You Gotta Be" was released several times in the United Kingdom: first in April 1994, then in 1995, and in 1999 in a remixed version because of its use in the 1999 Ford Focus advertising campaign and following the success of Des'ree's previous singles "Life" and "Kissing You". The latter release of "You Gotta Be" charted in its highest position out of all three releases in the United Kingdom, peaking at No. 10. This version, entitled the "1999 Mix" was added to a re-issue of her third studio album Supernatural. The 1995 release peaked at No. 5 in the United States and is the most popular version of the song. The remixed version of the song was released in 1998 in Spain, and went to No. 1 there.
Media appearances
In April 1994, it was used by Sky Movies, for their summer preview commercial. Also, in March 1995, ABC-TV began airing an ad campaign for Good Morning America, aimed at attracting a younger demographic and also boosting male viewership, in which Des'ree's "You Gotta Be" played under scenes of "Americans immersed in morning rituals: commuters rushing, a young man shaving, school-bound children" intercut with shots of the Good Morning America hosts.[1]
In Italy, the song became popular after it was chosen as the soundtrack of some TV adverts, including those of Breil in 1996 and Ford Focus of 2000.[4][5] In Australia, circa early 2000s, this song was used in a Westpac bank advert.
The year it was released, this song was used for the ending credits of The Next Karate Kid.
The song was used as a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day promotion for PBS Kids from 1999 to 2004.
A reworked version of this song was used in the Big Sing 2008. The Big Sing is to raise money for Childline by hundreds of schools singing this song at the same time across Ireland, England and Wales. If the number of children participating is big enough, the Big Sing will make it into the Guinness Book of World Records 2010.[6]
The song was used in the movie The Object of My Affection.
Music video
The music video is filmed in black and white. In 1995, it was nominated in the category of "Best Female Video" at that year's MTV Video Music Awards, but lost to Madonna's "Take a Bow".
Other versions
"You Gotta Be" has been covered by Ethel Ennis on her 1998 album If Women Ruled the World, by Natalie Cole on her 2006 album Leavin', by British/Japanese singer MiChi on her 2008 album MiChi Madness, by Japanese emo band Nature Living on their album 2008 album After All. Patti Austin recorded "You Gotta Be" as her contribution to the 2003 album Church – Songs of Soul and Inspiration, with the track being included on Austin's 2011 album release Sound Advice. Ronan Parke covered this song on his 2011 debut album Ronan Parke.
Track listings
|
|
|
Charts
Peak positions
1 Remixed version |
Year-end charts
|
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Elliott, Stuart (6 March 1995). "Pop music takes center stage in a 'Good Morning America' campaign to attract younger viewers". New York Times. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
- ↑ Billboard vol 107 No. 4 (28 January 1995) p.12
- ↑ Romero, Michele (17 February 1995). "In Goddess, a Diva: Daily Affirmations with Des'ree". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
- ↑ Habib, Elia (2002). Muz hit.tubes (in French). Alinéa Bis. p. 431. ISBN 2-9518832-0-X.
- ↑ King, Alex P. (2004). Hit-parade – 20 ans de tubes (in French). Paris: Pascal. p. 347. ISBN 2-35019-009-9.
- ↑ Big Sing 2008
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 "You Gotta Be", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved 24 February 2008)
- ↑ German Singles Chart Charts-surfer.de (Retrieved 6 August 2008)
- ↑ German Singles Chart (Retrieved 9 January 2012)
- ↑ UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved 6 August 2008)
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 Billboard Allmusic.com (Retrieved 6 August 2008)
- ↑ UK Singles Chart (1995 release) Chartstats.com (Retrieved 6 August 2008)
- ↑ UK Singles Chart (1999 release) Chartstats.com (Retrieved 6 August 2008)
- ↑ German Singles Chart Charts-surfer.de (Retrieved 6 August 2008)
- ↑ 1995 French Singles Chart Disqueenfrance.com (Retrieved 30 January 2009)
- ↑ "Billboard Top 100 – 1995". Retrieved 27 August 2010.
External links
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||