If I Ever Feel Better

"If I Ever Feel Better"
Single by Phoenix
from the album United
Released	22 January 2001
Genre	French house [1]
Length	3:42
Label	Virgin
Songwriter(s)	Thomas Pablo Croquet Christian Mazzalai Laurent Mazzalai Frederic Moulin
Producer(s)	Phoenix Philippe Zdar
Phoenix singles chronology
"Too Young" (1999) "If I Ever Feel Better" (2001) "Everything Is Everything" (2004)

"If I Ever Feel Better" is a song by French band Phoenix, released on 1 June 2000 as the third single from their debut studio album, United . It contains a sample of Japanese jazz musician Toshiyuki Honda's 1979 track "Lament", which was written by Chikara Ueda. ^[2] The song remains Phoenix's highest charting in both France and internationally, reaching top-10 positions in Belgium, Italy and Spain, as well as number 12 in France. It was certified gold in Italy by FIMI in 2017.

Critical reception

In a review for the band's album It's Never Been Like That , Rob Mitchum of Pitchfork referred to the song and "Everything Is Everything" as "brilliant" with "production as crisp as a Frito and singer Thomas Mars' mercury croon" that "could slot into the playlists of hipsters and receptionists alike". ^[3] In a review for Erlend Øye's DJ-Kicks album that includes a remix of the track, Nick Sylvester called the original version an "utterly catchy French house gem". ^[1]

Track listing

1. "If I Ever Feel Better" (edit) – 3:42
2. "'If I Ever Feel Better, I'll Go to the Disco' Said the Buffalo Bunch" – 6:09
3. "On Fire" (Nash Kato version) – 2:05

Charts

Chart performance for "If I Ever Feel Better"

Chart (2000–2001)	Peak position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) [4]	8
France (SNEP) [5]	12
Italy (FIMI) [6]	4
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [7]	67
Netherlands (Tipparade) [8]	8
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [9]	6
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [10]	23
UK Singles (OCC) [11]	65

Certifications

Certifications for "If I Ever Feel Better"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
France (SNEP) [12]	Gold	250,000*
Italy (FIMI) [13]	Gold	25,000‡
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Sylvester, Nick (7 May 2004). "Erlend Øye: DJ Kicks Album Review". Pitchfork . Retrieved 25 September 2025.
2. United (liner notes). Virgin Records. 2000. 7243 8 488532 8.
3. Mitchum, Rob (24 May 2006). "Phoenix: It's Never Been Like That Album Review". Pitchfork . Retrieved 11 January 2023.
4. "Phoenix – If I Ever Feel Better" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
5. "Phoenix – If I Ever Feel Better" (in French). Le classement de singles. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
6. "Phoenix – If I Ever Feel Better". Top Digital Download. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
7. "Phoenix – If I Ever Feel Better" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
8. "Phoenix – If I Ever Feel Better" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 . Retrieved 11 January 2023.
9. "Phoenix – If I Ever Feel Better" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
10. "Phoenix – If I Ever Feel Better". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
11. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
12. "French single certifications – Phoenix – If I Ever Feel Better" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique . Retrieved 29 August 2025.
13. "Italian single certifications – Phoenix – If I Ever Feel Better" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana . Retrieved 11 January 2023.