One More Try (George Michael song)
Encyclopedia
"One More Try" is a U.S. number-one hit song written and performed by George Michael
and released by Epic Records
in 1988 as the fourth single from Faith
.
. A ballad
at six minutes in length, the song lyrically
explores a young man's hesitancy to enter/revisit a new relationship because he had been emotionally hurt so many times previously. The song concludes with temptation taking over, and Michael ends by singing the title for the only time.
"One More Try" remained a live favourite at Michael's concerts in the years which followed, although its radio airplay tends to be restricted to specific "Love Song
s"-esque features because of both the tempo and the length.
but became his seventh #1 on the Billboard Hot 100
in the USA
. Four of the six singles issued from Faith went to number one in America, while by comparison, none managed to do so in the UK.
"One More Try" was the third consecutive #1 single from the Faith
album. "One More Try" debuted at an impressive #40 the week of 16 April 1988, and matching the speed of "Father Figure", reached #1 by its seventh week, 28 May 1988, this time staying there for three consecutive weeks. "One More Try" was the second-longest running #1 of 1988, tied with "Every Rose Has Its Thorn
" by Poison
, and behind the four-week run of Steve Winwood
's "Roll with It".
In total, "One More Try" spent 7 weeks in the Top 10 and 14 weeks in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100
. It was a triple-chart #1, also topping the R&B and Adult Contemporary
charts and becoming the last number-one single on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
chart by a white male artist until Robin Thicke
's "Lost Without U
" (2007).
recorded the song as their second single off their debut album Fairy Tales.
Beverley Knight
covered "One More Try" and released it as the third single release from her seventh studio album
, Soul UK
, a tribute to UK soul artists. It is due for release in the UK on 23 October 2011. The b-sides are remixes of Freeez's single "Southern Freeez", the original of which also appears on Soul UK.
Knight's version of "Cuddly Toy" was added to the BBC Radio 2
Playlist, entering the C-list. Knight performed the song live on BBC Radio 2's Weekend Wogan in June 2011.
iTunes Digital download
Other versions
George Michael
George Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...
and released by Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
in 1988 as the fourth single from Faith
Faith (George Michael album)
Faith is George Michael's first solo album, released in October 1987 via Columbia Records/Epic Records. The album has won several awards including the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1989. To date, the album has sold over 25 million copies worldwide, and received diamond certification from...
.
History
The song was the fourth of six singles to be released from George's debut solo album FaithFaith (George Michael album)
Faith is George Michael's first solo album, released in October 1987 via Columbia Records/Epic Records. The album has won several awards including the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1989. To date, the album has sold over 25 million copies worldwide, and received diamond certification from...
. A ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
at six minutes in length, the song lyrically
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...
explores a young man's hesitancy to enter/revisit a new relationship because he had been emotionally hurt so many times previously. The song concludes with temptation taking over, and Michael ends by singing the title for the only time.
"One More Try" remained a live favourite at Michael's concerts in the years which followed, although its radio airplay tends to be restricted to specific "Love Song
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
s"-esque features because of both the tempo and the length.
Track listing
"One More Try" Maxi CD- "One More Try" (album version) – 5:50
- "Look at Your Hands" – 4:36
Chart performance
It reached #8 in 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 ...
but became his seventh #1 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
in the USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Four of the six singles issued from Faith went to number one in America, while by comparison, none managed to do so in the UK.
"One More Try" was the third consecutive #1 single from the Faith
Faith (George Michael album)
Faith is George Michael's first solo album, released in October 1987 via Columbia Records/Epic Records. The album has won several awards including the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1989. To date, the album has sold over 25 million copies worldwide, and received diamond certification from...
album. "One More Try" debuted at an impressive #40 the week of 16 April 1988, and matching the speed of "Father Figure", reached #1 by its seventh week, 28 May 1988, this time staying there for three consecutive weeks. "One More Try" was the second-longest running #1 of 1988, tied with "Every Rose Has Its Thorn
Every Rose Has Its Thorn
"Every Rose Has Its Thorn" is a power ballad by American glam metal band Poison. It was released in 1988 as the third single from Poison's second album Open Up And Say... Ahh!. It is the band's only number-one hit in the U.S., reaching the top spot on Christmas Eve in 1988 for three weeks . It was...
" by Poison
Poison (band)
Poison is an American glam metal band that achieved great success in the mid-1980s to mid-1990s. To date, Poison has sold over 30 million records worldwide and have sold 15 million records in the United States alone. The band has also charted ten singles to the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100,...
, and behind the four-week run of Steve Winwood
Steve Winwood
Stephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
's "Roll with It".
In total, "One More Try" spent 7 weeks in the Top 10 and 14 weeks in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. It was a triple-chart #1, also topping the R&B and Adult Contemporary
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...
charts and becoming the last number-one single on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
chart by a white male artist until Robin Thicke
Robin Thicke
Robin Charles Thicke is an Award-winning American R&B singer-songwriter, musician, composer, and actor. Thicke's albums, which he previously released under the moniker Thicke, are noted for their feature of a predominantly R&B sound. Robin Thicke has penned hits for popular artists such as...
's "Lost Without U
Lost Without U
"Lost Without U" is the second official single released from Robin Thicke's second album The Evolution of Robin Thicke .-Writing and inspiration:...
" (2007).
Charts
| Chart (1988) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Singles Chart Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
19 |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... |
1 |
| Dutch Singles Chart Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
4 |
| French Singles Chart Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
5 |
| 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... |
22 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
1 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
8 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
7 |
| Swedish Singles Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
4 |
| Swiss Singles Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
4 |
| UK Singles Chart UK 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 ... |
8 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
1 |
| US Billboard Adult Contemporary | 1 |
Certifications
| Country | Certification |
|---|---|
| France Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
Silver |
| United States Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... |
Gold |
Divine version
In 1999, American teen trio DivineDivine (group)
Divine was an american R&B girl group formed in 1996 who are best known for their 1998 hit single "Lately". Group members include Kia Thornton, Nikki Bratcher and Tonia Tash...
recorded the song as their second single off their debut album Fairy Tales.
Track listing
- "One More Try" – 6:00
- "One More Try" (extended version) – 9:00
- "One More Try" (a cappella version) – 4:50
Charts
| Chart (1999) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
29 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
13 |
Beverley Knight version
British singer-songwriterSinger-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Beverley Knight
Beverley Knight
Beverley Knight MBE is a British soul and R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer who released her debut album in 1995. Heavily influenced by soul greats such as Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin, Knight has released six studio albums to date...
covered "One More Try" and released it as the third single release from her seventh studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
, Soul UK
Soul UK
-Singles:Knight confirmed whilst performing at London's Porchester Hall, at the album launch show, in April 2011, that the first single from the album would be "Mama Used to Say", a cover of the Junior single, which peaked number 7 in the UK in 1982. The single was released on 27 June 2011...
, a tribute to UK soul artists. It is due for release in the UK on 23 October 2011. The b-sides are remixes of Freeez's single "Southern Freeez", the original of which also appears on Soul UK.
Knight's version of "Cuddly Toy" was added to the BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
Playlist, entering the C-list. Knight performed the song live on BBC Radio 2's Weekend Wogan in June 2011.
Background
In regards to her version of "One More Try", Knight said "Everyone knew who George Michael was, but this song is when he became the real thing in my mind. He channelled a gospel sound, black America, ate it up, Britain followed and then the whole world. I took that sound, and going back to my own church roots, I ran with it." George Michael endorsed Knight's version of "One More Try" stating, "I'm always flattered by cover versions of my songs – especially when they are sung as beautifully as this. Thank You Beverley".Track listing
Digital download- "One More Try" (Album Version) - 5:43
- "Southern Freeez" (Soulseekers Club Mix) - 7:17
- "Southern Freeez" (Soulseekers Radio Edit) - 3:28
- "Southern Freeez" (MCM Funky Freeez Radio Edit) - 3:18
iTunes Digital download
- "One More Try" (Album Version) - 5:43
- "Southern Freeez" (Soulseekers Club Mix) - 7:17
- "Southern Freeez" (Soulseekers Dub) - 7:17
- "Southern Freeez" (MCM Funky Freeez Radio Edit) - 3:18
Other versions
- "One More Try" (Radio Edit)
Release history
| Region | Date | Format |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 23 October 2011 | Digital download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
Other cover versions
- 1997: Joan BaezJoan BaezJoan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
- 2004: Gloria EstefanGloria EstefanGloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García de Estefan; known professionally as Gloria Estefan is a Cuban-born American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known as the "Queen Of Latin Pop", she is in the top 100 best selling music artists with over 100 million albums sold worldwide, 31.5 million of those...
- 2011: Iron & WineIron & WineSamuel Beam , better known by his stage and recording name Iron & Wine, is an American singer-songwriter. He has released four studio albums, several EPs and singles, as well as a few download-only releases, which include a live album...
(for The A.V. ClubThe A.V. ClubThe A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
s "A.V. Undercover" series)