She's the One (World Party song)

"She's the One" is a song by British rock band World Party. It was written and produced by Karl Wallinger for World Party's fourth studio album, Egyptology (1997). The song won an Ivor Novello Award in 1997.^[2] It was featured in the 1997 movie The Matchmaker and the 1998 movie The Big Hit. World Party performed the song live on British TV show, Later... with Jools Holland in 1998. Robbie Williams released a cover of the song in 1999, which reached number one in the UK Singles Chart.

"She's the One"
UK promotional CD single
Promotional single by World Party
from the album Egyptology
Released	16 June 1997 (1997-06-16)^[1]
Length	4:56
Label	Chrysalis (UK) The Enclave (US)
Songwriter(s)	Karl Wallinger
Producer(s)	Karl Wallinger
World Party singles chronology
"Beautiful Dream" (1997) "She's the One" (1997) "Call Me Up (promotional only)" (1997)
Alternative cover
US promotional CD single

Robbie Williams version

"She's the One"
Single by Robbie Williams
from the album I've Been Expecting You
A-side	"It's Only Us"
B-side	"Coke & Tears"
Released	8 November 1999 (1999-11-08)^[3]
Length	4:18
Label	Chrysalis
Songwriter(s)	Karl Wallinger
Producer(s)	Guy Chambers Steve Power
Robbie Williams singles chronology
"Strong" (1999) "She's the One" / "It's Only Us" (1999) "Win Some Lose Some" (1999)
Music video
"She's the One" on YouTube

English singer Robbie Williams covered "She's the One" and released it as a single on 8 November 1999. In most countries, the song was released alone, but in the United Kingdom and New Zealand, it was released as a double A-side single with "It's Only Us". It was the fourth single from his second studio album, I've Been Expecting You (1998), and was also included on his first compilation album, The Ego Has Landed (1999). The song became Williams' second number-one single in the United Kingdom.

The song went on to win a number of awards around the world, including a 2000 Brit Awards for British Single of the Year and British Video of the Year in 2000, and it also won a Capital Radio Award for Best Single.

Wallinger's response

The song's producers, Guy Chambers and Steve Power, used the drummer and bassist of World Party's touring band (neither of whom played on the World Party version) to perform the backing track for Williams, resulting in a very similar-sounding cover. World Party's frontman and songwriter Karl Wallinger was not made aware that a cover was going to be released using his own band. When the song became a hit, and after having experienced a near-fatal brain aneurysm around the time of the song's release, Wallinger stated that he experienced "ongoing bitterness", going on to say that "the song had a much better time than me, popping off to the Brits while I was at home eating crackers dipped in water".^[4]

When introducing the song in live performances, Williams often claims that it is one of the best songs he's ever written, despite not actually having written the song.^[5] This culminated in a telephone outburst from the song's actual writer, Wallinger, to Chambers, stating "Your fucking friend Robbie Williams. Tell him from me that he's a cunt".^[6] Williams has never publicly acknowledged that "She's the One" is a cover of the World Party's track^{[citation needed]}, although in a 2019 commercial for his album The Christmas Present featuring Amazon Alexa,^[7] when Williams claimed he had written the song, the device states that he did not write She's the One, to which Williams admits "no, I didn't".

Music video

In the video Williams is a coach to an ice skating couple—portrayed by Pamela O'Connor and Jonathon O'Dougherty—but when the male skater gets injured during practice, Williams takes his place for the final and gets the highest scores. The video ends with Williams and the female skater celebrating with the male skater, who had been watching from the sidelines. Philip Woods, a 10-year-old figure skater from Chelmsford, played the young Williams in a flashback.^{[citation needed]} The UK version of the video features commentary by Barry Davies.^[8]

Track listings

UK CD1^[9]

1. "It's Only Us" – 2:50
2. "She's the One" – 4:18
3. "Coke & Tears" – 4:24
4. "It's Only Us" (video)

UK CD2^[10]

1. "She's the One" – 4:18
2. "It's Only Us" – 2:50
3. "Millennium" (live at Slane Castle) – 4:40
4. "She's the One" (video)

UK cassette single^[11]

1. "She's the One" – 4:18
2. "It's Only Us" – 2:50
3. "Millennium" (live at Slane Castle) – 4:40

Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the I've Been Expecting You album booklet.^[12]

Studio

• Mastered at Metropolis Mastering (London, England)

Personnel

• Karl Wallinger – writing
• Robbie Williams – vocals
• Gary Nuttall – background vocals
• Steve McEwan – background vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar
• David Catlin-Birch – bass guitar
• Guy Chambers – piano, production, arrangement
• Chris Sharrock – drums
• London Session Orchestra – orchestra
• Gavyn Wright – orchestra leader
• Nick Ingman – orchestral arrangement
• Steve Power – production, recording, mixing, programming
• Steve McNichol – programming
• Steve Price – orchestral engineering
• Tony Cousins – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1999–2000) Peak position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)^[13] 16 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)^[14] 40 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)^[15] 21 Czech Republic (IFPI)^[16] 14 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)^[17] 9 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)^[18] 13 France (SNEP)^[19] 74 Germany (Official German Charts)^[20] 27 Greece (IFPI)^[21] 1 Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)^[22] 8 Ireland (IRMA)^[23] 4 Italy (FIMI)^[24] 8 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)^[25] 29 Netherlands (Single Top 100)^[26] 33 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)^[27] with "It's Only Us" 3 Paraguay (El Siglo de Torreón)^[28] 7 Scotland (OCC)^[29] with "It's Only Us" 1 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)^[30] 42 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)^[31] 20 UK Singles (OCC)^[32] with "It's Only Us" 1

Year-end charts Chart (1999) Position Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)^[33] 191 UK Singles (OCC)^[34] 48 UK Airplay (Music Week)^[35] 17

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)^[37]	Platinum	781,000^[36]

References

1. "New Releases: Albums". Music Week. 14 June 1997. p. 43.
2. Cassidy, Andy (7 October 2012). . pennymusic.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
3. "New Releases – For Week Starting 8 November, 1999: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 6 November 1999. p. 31. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
4. Karl Wallinger: The song that saved my bacon
5. Karl Wallinger Vs. Robbie Williams: The Song That Saved My Bacon, 26:10
6. Heath, Chris "Reveal: Robbie Williams", Reveal: Robbie Williams, 2017
7. Robbie Williams - Ask Alexa (The Christmas Present)
8. Stevenson, Andy (29 January 2015). "Vox in the Box: Barry Davies". The Set Pieces. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
9. It's Only Us / She's the One (UK CD1 liner notes). Robbie Williams. Chrysalis Records. 1999. CDCHSS5112, 7243 8 87913 0 4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
10. She's the One / It's Only Us (UK CD2 liner notes). Robbie Williams. Chrysalis Records. 1999. CDCHS 5112, 7243 8 87914 0 3.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
11. She's the One / It's Only Us (UK cassette single sleeve). Robbie Williams. Chrysalis Records. 1999. TCCHS 5112, 7243 887913 4 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
12. I've Been Expecting You (UK CD album booklet). Robbie Williams. Chrysalis Records. 1998. 497 8372.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
13. "Robbie Williams – She's the One" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
14. "Robbie Williams – She's the One" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
15. "Robbie Williams – She's the One" (in French). Ultratop 50.
16. (in Czech). IFPI CR. Archived from the original on 3 March 2000. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
17. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 16, no. 48. 27 November 1999. p. 11. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
18. "Robbie Williams: She's the One" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat.
19. "Robbie Williams – She's the One" (in French). Les classement single.
20. "Robbie Williams – She's the One" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
21. "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 16, no. 52. 25 December 1999. p. 9. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
22. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 20 (4.11 – 11.11 1999)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 5 November 1999. p. 10. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
23. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – She's the One". Irish Singles Chart.
24. "Robbie Williams – She's the One". Top Digital Download.
25. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 50, 1999" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
26. "Robbie Williams – She's the One" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
27. "Robbie Williams – She's the One / It's Only Us". Top 40 Singles.
28. "Los Discos Más Vendicos En Iberoamérica y Estados Unidos". El Siglo de Torreón (in Spanish). 2000. Archived from the original on 17 March 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
29. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
30. "Robbie Williams – She's the One". Singles Top 100.
31. "Robbie Williams – She's the One". Swiss Singles Chart.
32. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
33. "Jaarlijsten 1999" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
34. "Best Sellers of 1999: Singles Top 100". Music Week. London, England. 22 January 2000. p. 27.
35. "Most Broadcast of 1999: Airplay Top 50" (PDF). Music Week. 22 January 2000. p. 31. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
36. "Robbie Williams' Official Top 40 Biggest Dingles in the UK Revealed". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
37. "British single certifications – Robbie Williams – She's The One/It's Only Us". British Phonographic Industry.

External links

• World Party website