"Evergreen"
Song by Westlife
from the album World of Our Own
Released2001
RecordedOlympic Studios, London, and A Side Productions' Studios, Stockholm
Length4:07
LabelBMG
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Per Magnusson
  • David Kreuger

"Evergreen" is a song co-written by Jörgen Elofsson, Per Magnusson and David Kreuger, and originally recorded by Irish boy band Westlife. The song appears on their album World of Our Own (2001). It was composed in the traditional verse–chorus form in C major, with band members Shane Filan and Brian McFadden's vocal ranging from the chords of F#3 to B4.[1]

Credits and personnel

Will Young version

"Evergreen"
Single by Will Young
from the album From Now On
Released25 February 2002 (2002-02-25)[2]
Recorded2002
Length4:07
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Per Magnusson
  • David Kreuger
Will Young singles chronology
"Anything Is Possible" / "Evergreen"
(2002)		 "Light My Fire"
(2002)

In 2002, the song was chosen to be the winner's single for the first series of Pop Idol and was recorded by the show's three finalists: Will Young, Gareth Gates and Darius Danesh. During the final, the song was performed by both Young and Gates. Young went on to win the show, and released "Evergreen" as a double A-side single, along with "Anything Is Possible", which was also recorded by the final three and performed by the final two. The song was later included on Young's debut album, From Now On (2002). Gates' version of the song was also released as a B-side to his single, "Unchained Melody".

Background

"Evergreen" was written by Swedish musicians Jörgen Elofsson, Per Magnusson, and David Kreuger.[3] Westlife was less impressed with Young's version, dismissing the song chosen for the Pop Idol winner as one of the "weakest" on their third studio album World of Our Own (2001).[4] Band member Kian Egan told BBC News: "When we heard the song at first we always knew it was going to be a great song. But when we recorded, it just wasn't a contender for our singles."[4]

Chart performance

"Evergreen" went straight to the number one spot in the UK Singles Chart and stayed there for three consecutive weeks, before being knocked off the top spot by Gates' debut single, "Unchained Melody". It was the best-selling song of 2002 and was also the fastest-selling debut in UK chart history,[5] selling 403,027 copies on its day of release[6] and over 1.1 million copies by the end of the week.[7][8] The song went on to sell over 1.79 million copies and in 2012 it appeared 14th in the official list of the all-time best-selling singles in the UK.[9] It was the biggest selling single of the 21st century in the UK until 2015,[10] when it was overtaken by "Happy" by Pharrell Williams.[11]

Music video

A music video for "Evergreen" was filmed in February 2002.[12] In 2011, Young express his dislike of the video in an interview with Elle magazine, saying: "I can't bear "Evergreen" or "Anything is Possible," they're absolutely shocking. And you wouldn't believe the amount of money that was spent on those videos [...] Dreadful videos. At one moment it looks like I'm in love with a tree! Dreadful. Really odd. Dreadful. No, no, no. No."[13]

Track listing

CD single[14]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Anything Is Possible"
  • Dennis
  • Oskar Paul
3:41
2."Evergreen"
  • Magnusson
  • Kreuger
  • Elofsson[a]
4:13

Notes

  • ^[a] signifies a co-producer

Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the From Now On album booklet.[3]

  • Fredrik Andersson – engineering
  • Jörgen Elofsson – co-production, writing
  • Henrik Janson – arrangement
  • Ulf Janson – arrangement
  • David Kreuger – production, programming, writing
  • Peter Lewis – engineering
  • Tomas Lindberg – bass
  • Bernard Löhr – mixing
  • Per Magnusson – production, writing
  • Esbjörn Öhrwall – guitar
  • Jeanette Olsson – backing vocals
  • Stockholm Session Orchestra – orchestra
  • Tim Roe – engineering assistance
  • United Colours of Sound – backing vocals
  • Anders von Hofsten – backing vocals

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for "Evergreen"
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[21] 3× Platinum 1,790,000[22]

Release history

"Evergreen" release history
Region Date Label Format(s) Ref(s)
United Kingdom 25 February 2002 CD single [23]

References

  1. ↑ "Evergreen BY WESTLIFE - DIGITAL SHEET MUSIC".
  2. ↑ "New Releases – For Week Starting 25 February 2002: Singles". Music Week. 23 February 2002. p. 35.
  3. 1 2 From Now On (UK CD album booklet). Will Young. 19 Recordings, S Records, RCA Records, BMG. 2002. 74321 969592.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  4. 1 2 "Westlife dismiss Pop Idol song". BBC News. 13 February 2002. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  5. ↑ "Singer Will Young reveals why he is enjoying his role in Cabaret so much and his delight at landing a new record deal". Daily Record. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  6. ↑ "FOR THE RECORD". Daily Mirror. Trinity Mirror. 9 January 2006. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  7. ↑ Wells, Matt (4 March 2002). "Pop Idol Will faces Top of the Pops ban". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  8. ↑ White, Jack (15 June 2019). "The Top 20 best-selling debut singles on the Official Singles Chart". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  9. ↑ "UK's million-selling singles: the full list". The Guardian. 4 November 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  10. ↑ "The Official Top 150 Biggest Selling Singles of the 21st Century revealed!". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  11. ↑ Copsey, Rob (11 June 2015). "The Official Top 40 Biggest Selling Singles of the Millennium so far revealed". Official Charts Company.
  12. ↑ "Will and Gareth jet off to film pop videos". Irish Examiner. 11 February 2002. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  13. ↑ "Will Young slams first single". Elle Canada. 24 December 2011. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  14. 1 2 "Will Young has biggest selling single of the decade". The Daily Telegraph. 1 January 2009. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  15. ↑ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 20, no. 13. 23 March 2002. p. 18. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  16. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Anything Is Possible / Evergreen". Irish Singles Chart.
  17. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  18. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  19. ↑ "Top 100 Songs of 2002". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 2002. Archived from the original on 2 June 2004. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  20. ↑ "The Officia UK Singles Chart 2002" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  21. ↑ "British single certifications – Will Young – Anything Is Possible/Evergreen". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  22. ↑ Copsey, Rob (26 May 2015). "Will Young's Official biggest selling singles revealed: "I'm shocked by that!"". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  23. ↑ "New Releases – For Week Starting 25 February 2002: Singles". Music Week. 23 February 2002. p. 35.
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