Soulmate (song)
Encyclopedia
"Soulmate" is a pop
song written and produced by Natasha Bedingfield
, Mads Hauge and David Tench for Bedingfield's second album, N.B.
(2007). The song is written in the key of E-flat minor and set in 4/4 time. Bedingfield's vocals range from F#3 to B4. The lyrics
discuss if there is a soulmate
for everyone and if Bedingfield will ever find the right partner. The song was released as the album's second single
in July 2007. It was a commercial success, and the most successful single from N.B, reaching number seven in the United Kingdom
and the top forty in the majority of the chart
s it entered. "Soulmate" is the fourth single released for the US
version of N.B., Pocketful of Sunshine.
The song gained much popularity in the U.S after it was played in an episode of the highly rated MTV program The Hills
. Promotion for the single started months after its release, in April 2009. She performed it on The Ellen DeGeneres Show
, 15 April and Dancing With The Stars
on 21 April. The song was also used throughout the final episode of season 5 of the TV series "Medium" and the finale of The Bachelorette (season 4)
following Jesse Csincsak's
proposal to DeAnna Pappas
.
called the song "impassioned", but IndieLondon.co.uk called the track "far too sentimental" and rated it two out of five stars. In a review for the BBC
, Lizzie Ennever named the song one of the "obviously 'not-so-great' tracks" from N.B., comparing it to Australia
n singer Tina Arena
.
was directed by Mark Pellington
and was filmed in Los Angeles
, California
on 10 May and 11 May 2007. The video begins with a close-up
of Bedingfield in a dark room. As the video proceeds, the camera slowly zooms out, revealing the room which contains a sofa and a mirror. Shots of Bedingfield in a Gray dress in front of a light background, people kissing and skyscrapers are intercut throughout the video. It premiered 6 June 2007 on Yahoo! UK
.
at number seventy on 17 June 2007, three weeks later the song climbed to the peak position of number seven. In Ireland
, "Soulmate" debuted at number thirty-nine on 5 July 2007. It peaked at number twenty-eight a week later.
The single had moderate success in Europe
. In Switzerland
, "Soulmate" reached number seven and remained on the singles chart for a total of eighteen weeks. Elsewhere, it reached the top ten in Norway
and the top twenty in Austria
, Finland
, Germany
, Poland
and Spain
.
In the US, before even being released, it charted at #70 on Hot Digital Songs and #74 on the Pop 100, as well as Bubbling Under the Hot 100 at #3 (equivalent to #103). Airplay has increased and the single has reached #14 on the Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks. "Soulmate" also debuted on the US Hot 100 at #96.
In Germany, the single was certified Gold in year 2009, two years after the release. It is her first certificate in that country.
UK CD single
(88697111992; Released 2 July 2007)
Australian CD single
(88697125472; Released 6 August 2007)
Digital download
(Released 5 June 2007)
iTunes
digital download
(Released 2 July 2007)
Official remixes
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
song written and produced by Natasha Bedingfield
Natasha Bedingfield
Natasha Anne Bedingfield is a British pop singer and songwriter. Bedingfield debuted in the 1990s as a member of the Christian dance/electronic group The DNA Algorithm with her siblings Daniel Bedingfield and Nikola Rachelle...
, Mads Hauge and David Tench for Bedingfield's second album, N.B.
N.B. (album)
N.B. is the second studio album released by British singer-songwriter Natasha Bedingfield. It was released in the UK on 30 April 2007 through Phonogenic Records. Upon release the album was praised for Bedingfield's vocals and the fun theme to the records however some critics were disappointed...
(2007). The song is written in the key of E-flat minor and set in 4/4 time. Bedingfield's vocals range from F#3 to B4. The lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
discuss if there is a soulmate
Soulmate
A soulmate is believed by some to be the person with whom one has a feeling of deep or natural affinity, similarity, love, intimacy, sexuality, spirituality, or compatibility. A related concept is that of the twin flame or twin soul, which is thought to be the ultimate soulmate...
for everyone and if Bedingfield will ever find the right partner. The song was released as the album's second single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
in July 2007. It was a commercial success, and the most successful single from N.B, reaching number seven in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and the top forty in the majority of the chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
s it entered. "Soulmate" is the fourth single released for the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
version of N.B., Pocketful of Sunshine.
The song gained much popularity in the U.S after it was played in an episode of the highly rated MTV program The Hills
The Hills
The Hills is a reality television series which originally aired on MTV from May 31, 2006 until July 13, 2010. The show uses a reality television format, following the personal lives of several young adults living in Los Angeles, California, but tends towards a narrative format more commonly found...
. Promotion for the single started months after its release, in April 2009. She performed it on The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show, often shortened to Ellen, is an American television talk show hosted by comedian/actress Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it is produced by Telepictures and airs in syndication, including stations owned by NBC Universal. For its first five seasons, the show...
, 15 April and Dancing With The Stars
Dancing with the Stars
Dancing with the Stars is the name of several international television series based on the format of the British TV series Strictly Come Dancing, which is distributed by BBC Worldwide – the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the format has been licensed to over 35 countries...
on 21 April. The song was also used throughout the final episode of season 5 of the TV series "Medium" and the finale of The Bachelorette (season 4)
The Bachelorette (Season 4)
The Bachelorette 4 is the fourth season of ABC reality television series The Bachelorette. After a long three year absence of the show, the season premiere aired on May 19, 2008. This season featured Deanna Pappas courting 25 men. Pappas was rejected by Brad Womack in the eleventh season of The...
following Jesse Csincsak's
Jesse Csincsak
Jesse Csincsak is an American professional snowboarder. Jesse is the founder of the non-profit organization JSAK Snowboarding which helps snowboarders with Olympic aspirations to raise money for training, travel and related expenses. Jesse is also a coach at High Cascade Snowboard Camp and a...
proposal to DeAnna Pappas
Deanna Pappas
DeAnna Marie Stagliano is a TV personality best known for her participation in the ABC Television reality dating shows The Bachelor, Season 11, and The Bachelorette, Season 4.- Early life :...
.
Critical reception
The song received negative reviews from critics in the UK. Paul Taylor of the Manchester Evening NewsManchester Evening News
The Manchester Evening News is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in the United Kingdom. It is published every day except Sunday and is owned by Trinity Mirror plc following its sale by Guardian Media Group in early 2010. It has an average daily circulation of 90,973 copies...
called the song "impassioned", but IndieLondon.co.uk called the track "far too sentimental" and rated it two out of five stars. In a review for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, Lizzie Ennever named the song one of the "obviously 'not-so-great' tracks" from N.B., comparing it to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n singer Tina Arena
Tina Arena
Filippina Lydia "Tina" Arena is an Australian singer, songwriter and musical theatre actress. She has won several awards, most notably 6 ARIA Awards and in both 1996 and 2000 she received the World Music Award for the world's best selling Australian artist...
.
Music video
The music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
was directed by Mark Pellington
Mark Pellington
-Life and career:Pellington was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He directed The Mothman Prophecies, a 2002 film starring Richard Gere dealing with mysterious deaths foretold by a strange red-eyed flying creature, Mothman, as well as Arlington Road in 1999 starring Tim Robbins and Jeff Bridges....
and was filmed in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
on 10 May and 11 May 2007. The video begins with a close-up
Close-up
In filmmaking, television production, still photography and the comic strip medium a close-up tightly frames a person or an object. Close-ups are one of the standard shots used regularly with medium shots and long shots . Close-ups display the most detail, but they do not include the broader scene...
of Bedingfield in a dark room. As the video proceeds, the camera slowly zooms out, revealing the room which contains a sofa and a mirror. Shots of Bedingfield in a Gray dress in front of a light background, people kissing and skyscrapers are intercut throughout the video. It premiered 6 June 2007 on Yahoo! UK
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
.
Chart performance
"Soulmate" debuted on the UK Singles ChartUK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
at number seventy on 17 June 2007, three weeks later the song climbed to the peak position of number seven. In Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, "Soulmate" debuted at number thirty-nine on 5 July 2007. It peaked at number twenty-eight a week later.
The single had moderate success in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. In Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, "Soulmate" reached number seven and remained on the singles chart for a total of eighteen weeks. Elsewhere, it reached the top ten in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
and the top twenty in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
In the US, before even being released, it charted at #70 on Hot Digital Songs and #74 on the Pop 100, as well as Bubbling Under the Hot 100 at #3 (equivalent to #103). Airplay has increased and the single has reached #14 on the Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks. "Soulmate" also debuted on the US Hot 100 at #96.
In Germany, the single was certified Gold in year 2009, two years after the release. It is her first certificate in that country.
Formats and track listings
These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Soulmate".UK CD single
(88697111992; Released 2 July 2007)
- "Soulmate"
- "Chasing CarsChasing Cars"Chasing Cars" is the second single from Snow Patrol's fourth album, Eyes Open. It was recorded in 2005 and released on 6 June 2006 in the US and 24 July 2006 in the UK as the album's second single....
" (Live at BBC Radio 1BBC Radio 1BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
Live LoungeLive LoungeThe Live Lounge is a segment on the British radio station BBC Radio 1. Originally hosted by Jo Whiley on her mid-morning radio show and now hosted by Fearne Cotton, it exhibits well-known artists usually performing one song of their own and one by another artist, in an acoustic format...
)
Australian CD single
(88697125472; Released 6 August 2007)
- "Soulmate"
- "Chasing Cars" (Live at BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge)
- "I Wanna Have Your Babies" (Kardinal Beats Remix)
- "Soulmate" music video
Digital download
(Released 5 June 2007)
- "Soulmate"
- "Chasing Cars" (Live at BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge)
iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
digital download
(Released 2 July 2007)
- "Soulmate" (Live acoustic session with AOLAOLAOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
)
Official remixes
- "Soulmate" (Bimbo JonesBimbo JonesBimbo Jones is a UK dance music group comprising producers Lee Dagger and Marc JB and vocalist Katherine Ellis. Known for their remix work and white label releases, they produced a remix of Meck's 2006 UK number-one single "Thunder in My Heart Again"...
Radio Edit) - "Soulmate" (Bimbo Jones Club Mix)
Charts and certifications
| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Ireland (IRMA Irish Recorded Music Association Irish Recorded Music Association is the Irish record industry association. IRMA is a non-profit association set up to manage and control the music industry in the Republic of Ireland.-Goals and activities:... ) |
28 |
| United Kingdom (Official Charts Company) | 7 |
| Chart (2008) | Peak position |
|---|
Year-end charts
| Chart (2007) | Rank |
|---|---|
| German Singles Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
44 |
Certifications
Personnel
The following people contributed to "Soulmate":- Natasha Bedingfield – lead vocals, bongos, productionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
- Patrick LeonardPatrick LeonardPatrick Raymond Leonard is an American songwriter, keyboardist and music producer, known for his longtime collaboration with Madonna on many different recordings....
- production - Michelle Andrews - guitar
- Mads Hauge - vocal production
- David Tench - vocal production
- Vanessa Freebirn - celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
, stringString instrumentA string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
arrangements - Carla Campell, Neel Hammond - violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
- Manny MarroquinManny MarroquinManny Marroquin, born 21 September 1971 in Guatemala, is a Grammy winning mixing engineer. His family moved to Los Angeles when he was nine due to the Guatemalan Civil War....
- mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may... - Jared Robbins - mixing assistant
- Darnell McEuchgain - beatboxing
- Kieran McGuiness- vocals
External links
- "Soulmate" cover and lyrics on official website NatashaBedingfield.com