"Hold On" is a song by American vocal group

Wilson Phillips Wilson Phillips is an American pop vocal group formed in Los Angeles in 1989. The group consists of sisters Carnie and Wendy Wilson, the daughters of Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, and Chynna Phillips, the daughter of John and Michelle Phi ...

, released on February 27, 1990, by SBK Records as the lead single from their debut studio album, ''

'' (1990). The song was written by

Carnie Wilson Carnie Wilson (born April 29, 1968) is an American singer and television personality. She is the daughter of Brian Wilson and in 1989 co-founded the pop music trio Wilson Phillips with her younger sister Wendy. From 1995 onwards, she has also b ...

Chynna Phillips Chynna Gilliam Phillips (born February 12, 1968) is an American singer and actress. She is a member of the pop vocal trio Wilson Phillips and is the daughter of the Mamas & the Papas band members John and Michelle Phillips and half-sister of ...

and

Glen Ballard Basil Glen Ballard Jr. (born May 1, 1953) is an American songwriter, lyricist, and record producer. He is best known for co-writing and producing on Wilson Phillips' debut and sophomore albums, '' Wilson Phillips'' and '' Shadows and Light'', ...

, and produced by Ballard. It topped the US ''

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Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

for a week in June 1990 and was the most successful single of that year in the US. It also became a worldwide hit, peaking within the top three in Australia and Canada and the top 10 in Belgium, Ireland, New Zealand, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The song received platinum sales certifications in Australia and the UK and a gold certification in the US. Julien Temple directed its music video, which was filmed on sites in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. "Hold On" won the

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for Hot 100 Single of the Year for 1990. At the

33rd Annual Grammy Awards The 33rd Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 20, 1991. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Quincy Jones was the night's biggest winner winning a total of six awards including Album of the Year. Performer ...

, "Hold On" was nominated for Song of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group, losing in both categories. In 2017, ''Billboard'' ranked the song number 15 in their list of "100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time". In 2020, Cleveland.com ranked it at number 37 in their list of the best ''

No. 1 song of the 1990s. In 2022, ''

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'' ranked number 246 in their list of "The 250 Best Songs of the 1990s".

Background

Chynna Phillips wrote the song's lyrics while battling

substance abuse Substance misuse, also known as drug misuse or, in older vernacular, substance abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods that are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder, differing definition ...

as well as being in a "really bad" relationship. She explained to

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne (born Kelly Brianne Clarkson, April 24, 1982), known professionally as Kelly Clarkson, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Rising to fame after winning the American Idol season 1, first season of ''Ameri ...

in 2020, "I just said if I don't change my course, I'm going to be in a lot of trouble." Producer Glen Ballard presented the track to the group, noting it needed lyrics. Phillips based the lyrics off of the principles taught in AA, specifically the idea that things had to be taken "one day at a time." The next day, Phillips returned with "Hold On" and sang it for the Wilsons and Ballard, who immediately loved it. "I remember one guy I played it for said, 'That's not going to go anywhere. That's not a very good song. It's really corny,'" Phillips recalls. "I just remember thinking to myself, 'God, I hope he's wrong.'"

Commercial performance

"Hold On" became Wilson Phillips' first number one single, reaching the top spot of the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on June 9, 1990, and, despite spending just a single week at number one, was ranked the top song of the year by ''Billboard''. (This was the second and most recent concurrence of this to date, the first of which was " Stranger on the Shore" by "Mr." Acker Bilk in 1962.) The song also spent a week atop the adult contemporary chart that same year. In Europe, "Hold On" peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart; this was in large part due to a performance by the group on the legendary British music series ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

'' a week prior to the song's peak position. Additionally, it was a top 10 hit also in Belgium, Ireland and Sweden, while peaking within the top 20 in the Netherlands, Switzerland and West Germany. Despite being number one on the US year-end for 1990, the song did not appear on the 1990s decade-end chart. It does, however, appear on Billboard's 60th anniversary "All-time chart" at number 228, ahead of many songs that do appear on the decade-end chart.

Critical reception

Alex Henderson from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

felt that the song is not "remotely convincing." J.D. Considine from ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publi ...

'' complimented it as "a tough-but-tuneful paean to self-reliance" and "irresistibly catchy". Bill Coleman from ''

'' described it as an "engaging and melodic pop confection". In 2020, Tony L. Smith from Cleveland.com wrote, "A decade or two ago, Wilson Phillips' inspirational anthem "Hold On" wasn't regarded as anything more than a cheesy (maybe the cheesiest) pop song from the Nineties. But opinions change. For a generation big on nostalgia, it gets no bigger than "Hold On", a song that has good times written all over it." The Daily Vault's Christopher Thelen stated in his review of ''

'', that it's the "defining moment" for the album, "setting the tone for what was to come as well as letting the listener know that all they have to do is sit back and enjoy the ride." A reviewer from ''

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'' called the song "melodic, well crafted and extremely catchy", and "everything you would expect from a band madeup of daughters of rock stars." David Quantick from ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' felt the single "is fine and rather thrashes everything else here n the album However, since it was one of the songs here written by the cowboy-booted threesome, it bodes well for the future."

Music video

A music video was produced to promote the single, directed by English film, documentary and music video director Julien Temple. It begins with aerial shots of a mountain side in

San Gabriel Mountains The San Gabriel Mountains () are a mountain range located in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, California, United States. The mountain range is part of the Transverse Ranges and lies between the Los Angeles Basin and the Mojave Desert ...

. Wilson Phillips sings as they sit on the side of the mountain. Later, they sing as they sit together on the beach by the ocean. Regarding the video, Wendy Wilson stated:

Impact and legacy

In 2017, ''

'' magazine ranked "Hold On" number 15 on their "100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time" list. In 2020, Cleveland.com ranked it number 37 on their list of the best ''

No. 1 song of the 1990s. In 2022, ''

'' ranked it number 246 on their list of "The 250 Best Songs of the 1990s". In October 2023, ''Billboard'' ranked "Hold On" number 312 on their "500 Best Pop Songs of All Time" ranking.

Track listings

* US CD single # "Hold On" (single fade) 3:40 # "Hold On" 4:35 * US and Canadian 7-inch vinyl and cassette single # "Hold On" – 3:30 # "Over And Over" – 4:40 * UK CD # "Hold On" (single version) 3:42 # "Hold On" (album version) 4:25 # "Over and Over" 4:27 * West German maxi-CD # "Hold On" # "Over and Over" # "A Reason to Believe"

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

In popular culture

Harold & Kumar sing the song as a duet while they are driving in the film '' Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle''. The song was featured in the finale of the 2011 film '' Bridesmaids'', performed by the band members as themselves, bringing renewed recognition to Wilson Phillips.

References

{{Authority control 1989 songs 1990 debut singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Music videos directed by Julien Temple SBK Records singles Song recordings produced by Glen Ballard Songs about heartache Songs about suicide Songs written by Glen Ballard Wilson Phillips songs