"As If We Never Said Goodbye" is a show tune from the musical ''

Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, United States, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway (California), Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, Pacific Palisad ...

''. It was written by Don Black,

Christopher Hampton Sir Christopher James Hampton (born 26 January 1946) is a British playwright, screenwriter, translator and film director. He is best known for his play Les Liaisons Dangereuses (play), ''Les Liaisons Dangereuses'' based on the Les Liaisons da ...

(with additional lyrics by Amy Powers), and

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948) is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End theatre, West End and on Broadway theatre, Broad ...

. Ben Rimalower on Playbill calls it Andrew Lloyd Webber's greatest song. In ''Sunset Boulevard'', the main character,

Norma Desmond ''Sunset Boulevard'' is a 1950 American dark comedy film noir directed by Billy Wilder and co-written by Wilder, Charles Brackett and D. M. Marshman Jr. It is named after a major street that runs through Hollywood. The film stars William Ho ...

, reveals her longing to return to the spotlight of fame. The song has been performed by

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...

. It is featured on her album '' Back to Broadway'' and the live albums '' The Concert'' and '' Back to Brooklyn.''

Elaine Paige Dame Elaine Jill Paige (born Elaine Jill Bickerstaff, 5 March 1948) is an English singer and actress, best known for her work in musical theatre. Raised in Chipping Barnet, Barnet, Hertfordshire, Paige attended the Aida Foster Theatre School, m ...

recorded the song for her album ''

Encore An encore is an additional performance given by performers at the conclusion of a show or concert, usually in response to extended applause from the audience.Lalange Cochrane, in ''Oxford Companion to Music'', Alison Latham, ed., Oxford Universi ...

''.

Countertenor A countertenor (also contra tenor) is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of the female contralto or mezzo-soprano voice types, generally extending from around G3 to D5 or E5, although a sopranist (a ...

Chris Colfer Christopher Paul Colfer (born May 27, 1990) is an American actor, singer, and author. He gained international recognition for his portrayal of Kurt Hummel on the television musical ''Glee'' (2009–2015). Colfer's portrayal of Kurt received crit ...

(as Kurt Hummel) sings the song in the ''Glee'' season 2 episode " Born This Way". A review in ''Salon'' describes Colfer's performance as turning the song "into a valentine to self-knowledge and self-improvement—and a young, gay singer's dream of treating the world as a stage and commanding it like a star." English tenor Alfie Boe, recorded his version on his album “ Bring Him Home” in 2010.

Jason Manford Jason John Manford (born 26 May 1981) is an English comedian, presenter, actor and singer. Manford was a team captain on the Channel 4 panel show ''8 Out of 10 Cats'' from 2007 until 2010 and has presented numerous television shows for the BBC an ...

recorded the song for his 2017 album '' A Different Stage'' which was later used to open the 2020

Royal Variety Performance The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal ...

Barbra Streisand version

In 1994, American singer, songwriter, actress and director

released her cover version of "As If We Never Said Goodbye". It is taken from Streisands twenty-sixth studio album, '' Back to Broadway'' (1993), and peaked at number 20 on the UK Singles Chart. The song is also featured on the live albums '' The Concert'' and '' Back to Brooklyn.''

Critical reception

Sam Wood from ''

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'' found that after premiering the song, taken from

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

adaptation of ''

'', Streisand takes the opportunity to place "a proprietary stamp" on it. Richard Harrington from ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' named "As If We Never Said Goodbye" the "standout" of '' Back to Broadway'', writing, "Like many Lloyd Webber songs, it's maudlin, sentimental and faintly familiar - an assemblage of nostalgic reflections cannily crafted into a major statement through a melody that sweeps steadily toward its bravado finale. Streisand-as- Desmond sings "This world's waited long enough/ I've come home at last," and it's hard not to make a connection to commercial expectations for this album."Harrington, Richard (27 June 1993-06-27). "Streisand's Return: Nothing Subtle, Nothing New". ''

''. p. G06.

Charts

References

{{authority control 1993 songs 1994 singles Songs from musicals Songs with lyrics by Don Black (lyricist) Songs with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber Elaine Paige songs Columbia Records singles