"I Am Blessed" is a song by British

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring two or more women in music, female singers who generally vocal harmony, harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female p ...

Eternal written by hit songwriter

Mark Mueller Mark Mueller (born July 11, 1957) is an American songwriter. A two-time winner of the ASCAP Pop Award for writing one of the Most Performed Songs of the year, he has had three ''Billboard'' Hot 100 Top Ten singles and one #1 Adult Contemporary hi ...

and Marsha Malamet. An R&B and

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

, it was released as the second single from the group's second studio album, '' Power of a Woman'' (1995), and peaked at number seven on the UK Singles Chart. It was certified silver by the

British Phonographic Industry BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...

(BPI) for shipments over 200,000 copies in the UK. It also reached number seven in Ireland, becoming the group's second top-10 hit in that country. Eternal performed "I Am Blessed" for

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

at the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

in 1995.

Critical reception

James Masterton James Masterton (born 2 September 1973) is a British music critic and columnist, his work focusing on the UK Singles Chart having been an online fixture on various sites since the 1990s. Masterton is also a producer for talkSPORT, and has worke ...

for

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described the song as one of the group's "softer, slushier records". Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...

'' wrote, "Another possible chart-buster from the creme of British R&B. The religious undertones are very suitable for the

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

season, just like the extra track Oh Happy Day, a wonderfully updated version of the

traditional with a jazzy rhythm guitar and a midtempo beat." A reviewer from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' rated it three out of five, adding that "this silky smooth

has hints of

I Will Always Love You "I Will Always Love You" is a song written and originally recorded in 1973 by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. Written as a farewell to her business partner and mentor Porter Wagoner, expressing Parton's decision to pursue a solo career ...

, with Easther living up to

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's standards. A hit, but not a monster."

Track listings

UK CD1 and Australian CD single # "I Am Blessed" # " Oh Happy Day" # "

Stay Stay may refer to: Places * Stay, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the US Law * Stay of execution, a ruling to temporarily suspend the enforcement of a court judgment * Stay of proceedings, a ruling halting further legal process in a tr ...

" (1995 D.A.R.C. R&B remix) # "Faith in Love" UK CD2 # "I Am Blessed" (Spiritual mix) # "Faith in Love" # " Power of a Woman" (Fathers of Sound vocal mix) UK cassette single # "I Am Blessed" # "Faith in Love" European CD single # "I Am Blessed" # "Oh Happy Day" # "Power of a Woman" ( Nightcrawlers mix) # "Faith in Love"

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the '' Power of a Woman'' album booklet. Studio * Mastered at The Master Room (London, England) Personnel *

– writing * Marsha Malamet – writing * Clem Clempson – guitar * Dave Phillips – keyboards * Peter Oxendale – keyboards * Nick Ingman – string arrangements * Ronnie Wilson – production * Dennis Charles – production * Simon Climie – additional production and remix * Nick Hopkins – recording engineer * Andy Bradfield – mix engineering * Ashley Alexander – assistant engineering * Paul Meehan – programming * Sam Noel – technician * Arun Chakraverty – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Eternal 1990s ballads 1995 singles 1995 songs Contemporary R&B ballads EMI Records singles Eternal (band) songs First Avenue Records singles Songs written by Mark Mueller