Anything Is Possible (Will Young song)

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"Anything Is Possible"
WY AIPE.jpg
Single by Will Young
from the album From Now On
Released25 February 2002 (2002-02-25)
Recorded2002
Length3:42
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Cathy Dennis
  • Oskar Paul
Will Young singles chronology
"Anything Is Possible" / "Evergreen"
(2002)
"Light My Fire"
(2002)

"Anything Is Possible" is a song co-written by Chris Braide and Cathy Dennis for the winner of the first series of Pop Idol in the United Kingdom. Will Young won the competition and therefore released the song as his debut single, with production by Dennis and Oskar Paul. It debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, and has been certified 3× platinum by the British Phonographic Industry. It has since become the 14th best-selling single of all time in the UK, [1] as well as the second best-selling UK single of the 21st century. [2]

Contents

Background and writing

Pop Idol creator Simon Fuller asked Chris Braide and Cathy Dennis to write a song for the show, having been impressed by "Have You Ever", a song the pair had written for S Club 7. [3] The song was recorded by the final three acts in the show, Will Young, Gareth Gates and Darius Danesh. After winning the show, Young released the song as his debut single and it was later included on his debut studio album, From Now On (2002). In an interview with HitQuarters, Braide said the song was written in Dennis' front room at her baby grand piano and recorded on a small Dictaphone. [3] When the song, as recorded by Young, proved an immediate smash hit, Dennis supposedly phoned Braide and said: "You won't believe this, but that little song that we wrote in three hours is selling 100,000 copies a day." [3] In 2011, Young first expressed his dislike of the song, telling Elle magazine: "I've never done "Anything is Possible" live. I hate it. I absolutely hate it." [4] In 2022, he told the Official Charts Company: "I just think it’s such a terrible song. I only ever sang it once [...] It's dreadful. I used to call it "Anything is Puss-able." It’ll never be performed again, unless somebody pays me a huge amount of money. Awful." [5]

Chart performance

The song was performed on the Pop Idol live final by both Young and Gates. Young went on to win the show, and released "Anything Is Possible" as a double A-side single, along with "Evergreen", which was also recorded by the final three and performed by the final two. The single went straight to the number one spot on the UK Singles Chart and stayed there for three consecutive weeks, only to be knocked off the top spot by Gates' debut single, "Unchained Melody". It became the fastest-selling debut in UK chart history, selling 403,027 copies on its day of release. It went on to sell over 1,790,000 copies, and in the official list of the all-time best-selling singles in the UK in November 2012, it appeared 14th. [6] It was the biggest selling single of the 2000s, and was also the biggest selling single of the 21st century until June 2015, [7] when it was overtaken by "Happy" by Pharrell Williams. [2]

Music video

A music video for "Anything Is Possible" was filmed in Cuba in the week of 11 February 2002. [8] [9] 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." [4]

Track listing

CD single [10]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Anything Is Possible"
  • Dennis
  • Oskar Paul
3:41
2."Evergreen"
  • Magnusson
  • Kreuger
  • Elofsson [a]
4:13

Notes

Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the From Now On album booklet. [11]

Studio

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for "Anything Is Possible"
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [18] 3× Platinum1,790,000 [19]

Release history

"Anything Is Possible" release history
RegionDateLabelFormat(s)Ref(s)
United Kingdom25 February 2002 CD single [20]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Will Young</span> English singer, songwriter, and actor (born 1979)

William Robert Young is an English singer, songwriter, and actor. He came to prominence after winning the 2002 inaugural series of the ITV talent contest Pop Idol, making him the first winner of the worldwide Idol franchise. His double A-sided debut single "Anything Is Possible" / "Evergreen" was released two weeks after the show's finale and became the fastest-selling debut single in the UK. Young also came in fifth place in World Idol performing the single "Light My Fire" written by the band the Doors.

Catherine Roseanne Dennis is a British singer, songwriter and record producer. She was discovered as a teenager by music manager Simon Fuller, which led to her featuring on the hit dance single "C'mon and Get My Love" with D Mob in 1989.

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<i>From Now On</i> (Will Young album) 2002 studio album by Will Young

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Will Young discography</span>

The discography of Will Young, an English singer who rose to fame when he won the first series of Pop Idol in 2001 contains eight studio albums, four compilation albums, two extended plays (EPs), thirty-three singles, and twenty-eight music videos. Young's debut single was a double A-side, "Evergreen" and "Anything Is Possible", released in 2002. This became the fastest-selling debut single in UK chart history going straight to number one and going on to sell over 1.8 million copies. In the Top 40 Biggest Selling Singles of the 21st Century published by the Official Charts Company, "Evergreen" topped the list. In October 2002 Young released his debut album, From Now On, which included "Evergreen" and "Anything Is Possible", "Light My Fire", "The Long and Winding Road" and "Don't Let Me Down"/"You and I".

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Have You Ever</span> 2001 single by S Club 7

"Have You Ever" is a song by British pop group S Club 7, released as a single on 19 November 2001. Following the success of the group's 2000 Children in Need track, "Never Had a Dream Come True", the BBC asked S Club 7 to perform the 2001 track for the charity as well. "Have You Ever" was co-written by Cathy Dennis, Andrew Frampton, and Chris Braide. "Have You Ever" acted as an introduction to S Club 7's third album, Sunshine (2001).

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