"If Only" is a 2008 single released by Scottish singer

KT Tunstall Kate Victoria "KT" Tunstall (born 23 June 1975) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician. She first gained attention with a 2004 live solo performance of her song "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on ''Later... with Jools Holland'', and h ...

, and released as the third single from her second studio album '' Drastic Fantastic'' (2007). The song was written by Tunstall and Jimmy Hogarth, and was released as the album's third and final single (not counting "Little Favours" which was released as a promotional single in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

only) in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

on 3 March 2008. In her native Scotland, "If Only" debuted at No. 15 on the Scottish Singles Charts, and reached No. 45 on the UK Singles Chart.

Background

"If Only" first appeared as a track on Tunstall's second unreleased

demo album Demo, usually short for demonstration (disambiguation), demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than for release *Demo (Behind Crimson Eyes), ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 ...

, ''Toons March '03''. The demo version of "If Only" is markedly different from the version found on ''Drastic Fantastic'', with a mellower sound and slightly slower tempo and Tunstall having a slightly higher tone to her voice. For a period of time, prior to the release of ''

Eye to the Telescope ''Eye to the Telescope'' is the debut studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall, originally released on 13 December 2004 and re-released 10 January 2005 by Relentless Records. On 19 July 2005, it was nominated for the 2005 Mercury ...

'', the demo versions of "If Only" and " Other Side of the World" were available for download free of charge on Tunstall's website. In 2018 it was used in the Hallmark Channel movie "Winter's Dream" starring

Dean Cain Dean George Cain ( né Tanaka; born July 31, 1966) is an American actor. From 1993 to 1997, he played Clark Kent / Superman in the TV series '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman''. Cain was the host of '' Ripley's Believe It or Not! ...

. The songs lyrical composition is largely around the "what if" scenario people may face when trying to make a decision, or indeed for something. Additionally, it also suggests a lyrical meaning of someone reflecting on a life event which could have had a different outcomes entirely, "if only" fate allowed it do so. "If Only" is reportedly one of KT Tunstall's favourite songs on ''Drastic Fantastic''. Rowan Collinson of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

commented that "If Only", along with album track "Little Favours", seemed to be performed in such a style which would be beneficial during live performances, and marked a shift in direction from her debut album ''

'' (2004). In 2023, ''Classic Rock History'' magazine listed "If Only" at number six in their list of Top 10 KT Tunstall songs. Millie Zeiler of ''Classic Rock History'' described the song as "mellow", and credited is as being "the perfect daydreamer-type song that allows the listener to embark on a musical journey of their own".

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 ...

for "If Only" was directed by James Caddick and filmed at the Olympic Ski Jumping Hill ( Lysgårdsbakken) in

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the munici ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. The video features Tunstall as a

ski jumper Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the fin ...

who fails to complete an important jump. The video concludes with an injured Tunstall bleeding from the nose being helped up, smiling to the camera.

Commercial performance

In the United Kingdom, "If Only" spent two weeks within the UK Singles Charts Top 100, following its debut at number forty-five on 15 March 2008. In its second and final week on the chart, it fell to sixty-eight before falling out of the UK Top 100. Additionally, it spent two weeks within the Top 100 of the UK Singles Downloads Charts, following a debut chart position of number fifty-three, and four weeks within the Top 100 of the UK Physical Singles Charts, following a debut appearance at number twenty-five. In her native Scotland, it debuted at number fifteen on the Scottish Singles Charts.

Critical reception

"If Only" has received mixed reviews from music critics. Reviewers for

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

praised the song for its "chirpy chorus and beaming harmonies" and gave it eight stars out of ten. Christopher Hammer of AllGigs.co.uk gave it three stars out of five, calling it an " lmostperfect song for a lazy Sunday afternoon drive". Sarah Walters of the ''

Manchester Evening News The ''Manchester Evening News'' (''MEN'') is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in North West England, founded in 1868. It is published Monday–Saturday; a Sunday edition, the ''MEN on Sunday'', was launched in February 20 ...

'' was less impressed, viewing the song's "chart-ready pop" sound and "bah-bah-bah backing vocals" as a step backwards from her earlier hits such as " Black Horse and the Cherry Tree", and gave it two stars out of five. It was chosen as an album highlight by

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 ...

editor

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...

Track listing

These are the formats and track listings of single releases of "If Only". UK CD single
(Released ) #"If Only" #" Walk Like an Egyptian" (Live in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

) 7" vinyl single
(Released 3 March 2008) #"If Only" #" The Prayer" ( Radio 1

Live Lounge The Live Lounge is a segment on the British radio stations BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra. It was originally hosted by Simon Mayo, and later by Jo Whiley on her weekday mid-morning, and later weekend lunchtime radio shows, then by Fearne Cott ...

) Digital download
(Released ) #"If Only" #"Walk Like an Egyptian" (Live in Liverpool) Promo CD #"If Only" (Radio Edit) 3:30 #"If Only" 3:46 #"If Only" (Instrumental) 3:46

Charts

References

{{authority control 2008 singles KT Tunstall songs Songs written by KT Tunstall Songs written by Jimmy Hogarth 2007 songs Virgin Records singles