"Carolyna" is a song by British singer

Melanie C Melanie Jayne Chisholm (born 12 January 1974), commonly known as Melanie C or Mel C, is an English singer and songwriter. She rose to fame in the mid-1990s as a member of the pop group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Sporty Spice. W ...

. It was written by Melanie C, Paul Gendler, and

Steve Mac Steve McCutcheon (born 15 January 1972), known professionally as Steve Mac, is a British record producer, songwriter and musician. A multi-award-winning producer, he is one of the most prolific songwriters and record producers in modern Briti ...

for her fourth studio album, '' This Time'' (2007), while production was helmed by Mac. The song was released by Red Girl Records as the album's second single in United Kingdom and some European territories. "Carolyna" peaked at number 19 on the

Scottish Singles Chart The Scottish Albums Chart is a chart compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) which is based on how physical and digital sales towards the UK Albums Chart fare in Scotland. The official singles chart for Scotland, the Scottish Singles Chart, ...

and entered the top 30 in Austria and Germany, also reaching number forty-nine on the UK Singles Chart.

Composition

"Carolyna" was written by Melanie C along with Paul Gendler, and

for her fourth studio album, '' This Time'' (2007). Production was overseen by Mac. Lyrically, "Carolyna" is about a girl who has had a rough start in life and needs to escape to find freedom and happiness. Melanie C revealed during her interview at British talk show ''

Loose Women ''Loose Women'' (known as ''Live Talk'' from 2000 to 2001) is a British talk show that broadcasts on ITV weekdays from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. The show focuses on a panel of four female presenters who interview celebrities, talk about aspects of ...

'', that she wrote this song after watching a documentary in

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

about young kids living in the streets; and that the danger of homelessness was something that always scared her in her childhood.

Chart performance

Released on 8 June 2007, the same week when the

Spice Girls The Spice Girls are an English girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Mel B ("Scary Spice"), Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"), Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"), Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"), and Victoria Beckham ("Posh Spice"). They have sold over 10 ...

announced their reunion on their The Return of the Spice Girls Tour, "Carolyna" debuted and peaked at number 49 on the UK Singles Chart in the week of 30 June 2007. It charted for only one week, becoming Melanie C's first single not to chart inside the top 40 in the United Kingdom. Elsewhere, the song entered the top 30 in Austria and Germany, where it peaked at number 21 and 28, respectively.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

was directed by

Tim Royes Tim Royes (25 December 1964 – 13 August 2007) was a British music video director and editor. He had directed and produced videos for artists such as Westlife (" Mandy"), Melanie C (" I Want Candy", " The Moment You Believe", " Carolyna"), Emm ...

and was shot on 3 May 2007, and it was the final video he directed before his death. The visuals see Melanie C as the

guardian angel A guardian angel is a type of angel that is assigned to protect and guide a particular person, group or nation. Belief in tutelary deity, tutelary beings can be traced throughout all antiquity. The idea of angels that guard over people played ...

of a girl, played by actress

Christina Chong Christina Chong is a British actress and singer. She has appeared in several notable roles in film and television, including ''Monroe'', ''Line of Duty'', '' Halo: Nightfall'', ''Black Mirror'', ''Doctor Who'', and '' 24: Live Another Day''. S ...

, who is facing problems in her own life such as alcoholism, fighting with the boyfriend and non-stop partying. Whenever the girl looks herself at the mirror, she will see Melanie looking at her. Throughout the video, Melanie is also seen in the places where the girl was seen having problems such as the living room of the girl's house, the room where the girl was seen partying and the bedroom of the girl where at the end of the music video, Melanie then appears and spreads open her arms as a gesture of aid. The camera shows the tattoos on Melanie's wrists, which read "Love" and "Happiness" in Thai.

Track listings

;Europe CD maxi single # "Carolyna" 3:21 # "Carolyna" 3:17 # " I Want Candy" 3:22 # "Carolyna" 3:17 # "Carolyna" 5:20 ;UK CD maxi single # "Carolyna" # "Carolyna" # "Carolyna" # " First Day of My Life" ;UK 7-inch vinyl/iTunes Single # "Carolyna" # "Fragile" ;UK DVD single # "Carolyna" # "First Day of My Life" # "Fragile"

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of '' This Time''. * Chad Chandler – mixing engineer * Melanie Chisholm – vocals, writer * Paul Gendler – writer * Chris Laws – recording engineer *

– producer, writer * Daniel Pursey – recording engineer

Charts

Release history

References

{{authority control 2007 singles Melanie C songs Pop ballads Rock ballads Songs written by Steve Mac Songs written by Melanie C Song recordings produced by Steve Mac Music videos directed by Tim Royes 2006 songs Number-one singles in Portugal