Picture of You (Boyzone song)

"Picture of You"
Single by Boyzone
from the album Where We Belong and Bean: The Album
B-side	"Let the Message Run Free" "I've Got You"
Released	21 July 1997 (1997-07-21)
Genre	Pop [1] soul [1]
Length	3:28
Label	Polydor
Songwriter(s)	Andrew Watkins Paul Wilson Eliot Kennedy Ronan Keating
Producer(s)	Absolute
Boyzone singles chronology
"Isn't It a Wonder" (1997) "Picture of You" (1997) "Baby Can I Hold You" / "Shooting Star" (1997)
Music video
"Picture of You" on YouTube

"Picture of You" is a song by Irish boy band Boyzone, released in July 1997 by Polydor Records as the first single from their third studio album, Where We Belong (1998). Written by frontman Ronan Keating, Eliot Kennedy, and producers Absolute, the song peaked at No. 2 in both Ireland and the United Kingdom. As of February 2025, it is the group's most-streamed single in the UK, at 36 million streams. ^[2]

"Picture of You" served as the main theme for the film Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie , for which Rowan Atkinson appeared as his character with the band on both the single cover and in the music video. The song's appearance in the film won the Ivor Novello Award for Best Original Song for a Film or Broadcast at the 1998 ceremony. ^[3]

Critical reception

Larry Flick from Billboard magazine wrote, "This videogenic boy group continues in its quest to win the hearts of stateside teens with a cute confection that borrows heavily from the vintage Motown sound of the Temptations and the Four Tops. Unfortunately, their vocals are not nearly as soulful, even though their harmonies are note-perfect. Still, there should certainly be more than a handful of kiddie-driven top 40 stations that will find this track useful. Also, Polydor would be wise to court the mature ears of AC radio listeners, who will get a nostalgic charge out of this 'Picture'." ^[4] A reviewer from Music Week gave it a score of four out of five, describing it as a "catchy pop/soul song". ^[1]

Track listings

UK and European CD1 [5] "Picture of You" – 3:28 "Let the Message Run Free" – 5:08 "Words" (Spanglish version) – 4:02 UK and European CD2 [6] "Picture of You" – 3:28 "Picture of You" (extended mix) – 5:54 "I've Got You" – 3:45

UK cassette single [7] "Picture of You" – 3:28 "Picture of You" (extended mix) – 5:54 Japanese CD single [8] "Picture of You" "Let the Message Run Free" "Shooting Star" "Baby Can I Hold You" (7-inch edit)

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1997) Peak position Australia (ARIA) [9] 39 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [10] 23 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [11] 30 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) [12] 19 Canada (Nielsen SoundScan) [13] 27 Canada CHR/Top 40 (BDS) [13] 26 Estonia (Eesti Top 20) [14] 3 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) [15] 12 Europe (European Hit Radio) [16] 6 France (SNEP) [17] 15 Germany (GfK) [18] 32 Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40) [19] 38 Ireland (IRMA) [20] 2 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [21] 25 Netherlands (Single Top 100) [22] 27 Poland ( Music & Media ) [23] 10 Scotland (OCC) [24] 1 Spain (Top 40 Radio) [25] 36 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) [26] 22 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [27] 23 Taiwan (IFPI) [28] 9 UK Singles (OCC) [29] 2

Year-end charts Chart (1997) Position Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) [30] 95 Europe (European Hit Radio) [31] 25 France (SNEP) [32] 91 Romania (Romanian Top 100) [33] 43 UK Singles (OCC) [34] 48

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ) [35]	Gold	15,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI) [36]	Platinum	600,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United Kingdom	21 July 1997	CD cassette	Polydor	[37]
Japan	1 March 1998	CD		[38]

References

1. "Reviews: Singles" (PDF). Music Week . 12 July 1997. p. 23. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
2. Griffiths, George (6 February 2025). "Boyzone's Official Top 40 biggest songs in the UK revealed". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 1 March 2025.
3. "The Ivors 1998". Ivor Novello Awards . Retrieved 11 February 2022.
4. Flick, Larry (25 October 1997). "Reviews & Previews: Singles" (PDF). Billboard . p. 79. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
5. Picture of You (UK & European CD1 liner notes). Polydor Records. 1997. 571313-2.
6. Picture of You (UK & European CD2 liner notes). Polydor Records. 1997. 571311-2.
7. Picture of You (UK cassette single sleeve). Polydor Records. 1997. 571310-4.
8. Picture of You (Japanese CD single liner notes). Polydor Records. 1998. POCP-7274.
9. "Boyzone – Picture of You". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
10. "Boyzone – Picture of You" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
11. "Boyzone – Picture of You" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
12. "Boyzone – Picture of You" (in French). Ultratop 50.
13. Lwin, Nanda (2000). Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide. Music Data Canada. p. 49. ISBN   1-896594-13-1.
14. "Eesti Top 20". Sõnumileht (in Estonian). 19 August 1997. p. 8. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
15. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 14, no. 32. 9 August 1997. p. 12. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
16. "EHR Top 40" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 14, no. 37. 13 September 1997. p. 21. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
17. "Boyzone – Picture of You" (in French). Le classement de singles.
18. "Boyzone – Picture of You" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
19. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (24.7. '97 – 30.7. '97)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 25 July 1997. p. 22. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
20. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Picture of You". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
21. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 34, 1997" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
22. "Boyzone – Picture of You" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
23. "Major Market Airplay – Week 28/1997" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 15, no. 28. 26 July 1997. p. 23. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
24. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
25. Fernando Salaverri (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN   84-8048-639-2.
26. "Boyzone – Picture of You". Singles Top 100.
27. "Boyzone – Picture of You". Swiss Singles Chart.
28. "IFPI Taiwan – Single Top 10 (1997/33)". Archived from the original on 28 January 1999. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
29. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
30. "Rapports annuels 1997" (in Dutch). Ultratop . Retrieved 11 May 2020.
31. "1997 Year-End Sales Charts: Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 14, no. 52. 27 December 1997. p. 9. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
32. "Tops de L'année | Top Singles 1997" (in French). SNEP . Retrieved 21 July 2020.
33. "Romanian Top 100: Top of the Year 1997" (in Romanian). Romanian Top 100. Archived from the original on 22 September 2005.
34. "Top 100 Singles 1997". Music Week . 17 January 1998. p. 27.
35. "New Zealand single certifications – Boyzone – Picture Of You". Radioscope. Retrieved 13 May 2025.Type Picture Of You in the "Search:" field.
36. "British single certifications – Boyzone – Picture of You". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 2 February 2024.
37. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week . 19 July 1997. p. 27. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
38. "ピクチャー・オブ・ユー | ボーイゾーン" [Picture of You | Boyzone] (in Japanese). Oricon . Retrieved 1 December 2023.