"One More Try" is a song recorded by English singer and songwriter

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer-songwriter and record producer. Regarded as a pop culture icon, he is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling rec ...

from his debut solo album, ''

Faith Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. In the context of religion, faith is " belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". According to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, faith has multiple definitions, inc ...

'' (1987). It was released on 11 April 1988 as the album's fourth single by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. The song hit number one on all of the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the

Hot Black Singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 po ...

and the

Hot Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

charts. Its music video was directed by

Tony Scott Anthony David Leighton Scott (21 June 1944 – 19 August 2012) was a British film director and producer. He made his theatrical film debut with ''The Hunger (1983 film), The Hunger'' (1983) and went on to direct highly successful action and t ...

and filmed in Australia.

Background

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 ...

at almost six minutes in length, the song lyrically explores a young man's hesitancy to enter/revisit a new relationship because he had been emotionally hurt so many times previously. The song concludes with temptation taking over, and Michael ends by singing the title for the only time. In 1988, Michael told ''Countdown'' that the song was written, recorded and finished in eight hours. "One More Try" remained a live favourite at Michael's concerts in the years which followed including a live gospel version performed at

Wembley Arena Wembley Arena () (originally the Empire Pool, currently known as OVO Energy, OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, Greater London, England. The 12,500-seat facility is Greater Lond ...

on 1 December 1993 as a part of the Concert of Hope, later released on the " Jesus to a Child" single in 1996.

Critical reception

Tony Reed from ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'' wrote, "''I've had enough of danger'', George sings on this, the third single off ''Faith'', and apparently quite the crowd pleaser on his current world tour. Now what sort of danger could that be? The mini bar running out of Perrier? The batteries in his Philishave packing in?" He also declared it as a "very, very sl-o-ow ballad".

Chart performance

It reached number eight on the UK Singles Chart and became his sixth number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the US. Four of the six singles issued from ''Faith'' went to number one in America, while by comparison, none managed to do so in the UK. "One More Try" was the third consecutive number one single from the ''

'' album. "One More Try" debuted at an impressive number 40 the week of 16 April 1988, and matching the speed of " Father Figure", reached number one by its seventh week, 28 May 1988, this time staying there for three consecutive weeks. "One More Try" was the second-longest running number one of 1988, tied with " Every Rose Has Its Thorn" by

Poison A poison is any chemical substance that is harmful or lethal to living organisms. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figurati ...

, and behind the four-week run of

Steve Winwood Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a guitarist, keyboard player, and vocalist prominent for his dis ...

's " Roll with It". In total, "One More Try" spent seven weeks in the top 10 and 14 weeks in the top 40 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, out of a total of 18 weeks. It was a triple-chart number one, also topping the then-

chart and the

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

charts, and becoming the last number-one single on the now-Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart by a white male artist until Robin Thicke's " Lost Without U" (2007).

Music video

Filmmaker

directed the simple music video for the song, which features Michael singing alone in an empty room. The first shot of the video alone lasts a little over two minutes, ending at the beginning of the second verse. Throughout, a grey-blue light can be seen shining into his window, a metaphor for loneliness. In another scene, he attempts to draw a heart on his bathroom cabinet's glass door, but cannot finish the heart, as at this point, sadness and grief have taken over. His furniture can also be seen with drapes over each piece, as well as the curtains drawn, another lonely metaphor. The video was filmed at the Carrington Hotel in New South Wales, Australia, which was empty and derelict at the time.

Track listing

* Maxi CD # "One More Try" (album version) – 5:50 # "Look at Your Hands" – 4:36

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Divine version

In 1999, American teen trio

Divine Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a singl ...

released the song as the second single off their only album ''

Fairy Tales A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the Folklore, folklore genre. Such stories typically feature Magic (supernatural), magic, Incantation, e ...

''.

Track listing

#"One More Try" – 6:00 #"One More Try" (extended version) – 9:00 #"One More Try" (a cappella version) – 4:50

Charts

Release history

Beverley Knight version

British singer and songwriter

Beverley Knight Beverley Knight (born Beverley Anne Smith, 22 March 1973) is an English singer, songwriter, actress and radio personality. She released her first album, ''The B-Funk'', in 1995. Heavily influenced by American soul music icons such as Sam Cooke ...

covered "One More Try" and released it as the third single release from her seventh

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

, '' Soul UK'', a tribute to UK soul artists. It was released in the UK on 23 October 2011. The B-sides are remixes of Freeez's single "Southern Freeez", the original of which also appears on ''Soul UK''.

Background

In regards to her version of "One More Try", Knight said "Everyone knew who George Michael was, but this song is when he became the real thing in my mind. He channelled a gospel sound, black America, ate it up, Britain followed and then the whole world. I took that sound, and going back to my own church roots, I ran with it." George Michael endorsed Knight's version of "One More Try" stating, "I'm always flattered by cover versions of my songs – especially when they are sung as beautifully as this. Thank You Beverley".

Track listing

;Digital download # "One More Try" (album version) – 5:43 # "Southern Freeez" (Soulseekers club mix) – 7:17 # "Southern Freeez" (Soulseekers radio edit) – 3:28 # "Southern Freeez" (MCM Funky Freeez radio edit) – 3:18 ;iTunes digital download # "One More Try" (album version) – 5:43 # "Southern Freeez" (Soulseekers club mix) – 7:17 # "Southern Freeez" (Soulseekers dub) – 7:17 # "Southern Freeez" (MCM Funky Freeez radio edit) – 3:18 ;Other versions # "One More Try" (radio edit)

Release history

Other cover versions

*1997:

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (, ; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing mo ...

*2000:

*2003: Hazel O'Connor for her first-ever official best of compilation, ''A Singular Collection'' *2011: Iron & Wine (for ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

''s "A.V. Undercover" series) *2011: Stacy Francis on first season of '' The X Factor USA'' *2011:

*2014:

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey ( ; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Songbird Supreme" by ''Guinness World Records'', Carey is known for her five-octave voc ...

recorded the song for her album '' Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse''. *2014: Josh Kaufman *2022: Calum Scott *2022: Crosses *2023: Carrie Underwood performed the song at the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...

ceremony to honour Michael's induction.

References

{{Mariah Carey songs 1987 songs 1988 singles 1999 singles 2011 singles George Michael songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles 1980s ballads Contemporary R&B ballads Blue-eyed soul songs Songs written by George Michael Song recordings produced by George Michael RPM Top Singles number-one singles Beverley Knight songs Epic Records singles Columbia Records singles Pendulum Records singles Mariah Carey songs