You'll Never Stop Me Loving You

Last updated

"You'll Never Stop Me Loving You"
You'll never stop me loving you.jpg
Single by Sonia
from the album Everybody Knows
Released12 June 1989
Studio PWL 1 and 4 (London, England)
Genre Dance-pop
Length3:22
Label
Songwriter(s) Stock Aitken Waterman
Producer(s) Stock Aitken Waterman
Sonia singles chronology
"You'll Never Stop Me Loving You"
(1989)		"Can't Forget You"
(1989)
Music video
"You'll Never Stop Me Loving You" on YouTube

"You'll Never Stop Me Loving You" is the debut single of English pop singer Sonia. Written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman, the song was included on Sonia's debut album, Everybody Knows (1990). The single became Sonia's only number-one single on the UK Singles Chart and reached number 10 on the US Billboard Dance Club Play chart.

Contents

Background and release

In a 1990 interview, Sonia told about how she met the producer, "The whole thing is quite like a dream to me. Pete [Waterman, of Stock Aitken Waterman] was doing this radio road show in Liverpool, and I thought to myself, 'Oh this is a chance I can't miss!' So I went along to try and sing to him." Gaining Waterman's attention was not easy, but once she did, the producer added her to PWL's Coca-Cola Hitman Roadshow, a tour of England featuring the label's up-and-coming artists. [1] Contrary to music industry myth, the song was not written to fit Sonia's personality, with Mike Stock stating that the track was actually refined from pre-existing ideas that were likely originally intended for Kylie Minogue's Enjoy Yourself album. [2]

In the United Kingdom, PWL and Chrysalis Records released the song on 12 June 1989 as a 7-inch and 12-inch vinyl single. [3] Three weeks later, on 3 July, a cassette single was issued. [4] In Japan, a mini-CD single was released on 30 August 1989. [5] After its release, the track developed a tongue-in-cheek reputation as a "stalker anthem", due to its lyrical themes of unrequited romantic obsession and a refusal to take no for answer; [2] however, composer Mike Stock says that while the lyrics sparked some alarm from female backing vocalists during composition and recording, he feels that Sonia's innocent teenage delivery defuses any sinister interpretation. [2] Directed by Pete Cornish, the music video shows Sonia dancing and trying to flirt with a male dancer in a studio. [6]

Critical reception

Initial response

Bill Coleman from Billboard wrote, "Successful European track will entice American jocks hankering for bubbly pop/NRG with "French Kiss" twist. Already showing early signs of widespread radio crossover." [7] Pan-European magazine Music & Media found that "the SAW backing sounds like most of the other work they have done but at least Sonia has a good voice." [8] Richard Lowe from Smash Hits felt the single "was probably the best all year." [9] David Giles of Music Week described the song as being "ghastly" and deemed "Listen to Your Heart" "a hundred times better". [10]

Retrospective reviews

In a 2019 critical review, James Masterton attributed the single's success to SAW's popularity at the time, stating: "Not even the most ardent fan of the producers' work would admit that the single was at effort, devoid of much in the way of melody or choral appeal and a song into which even the overwhelming enthusiasm of the still relentlessly cherry Sonia could not breathe any life". [11] In 2020, Gary James of Entertainment Focus described the song as a "classic SAW" which was "very much of it's[ sic ] time", praised "Sonia's soulful pop powerhouse vocal which really gets going as we hit the chorus" and presented "Sonia's instant likability" as one of the factors that contributed to the song's success. [6]

Impact and legacy

In 2014, Matt Dunn of WhatCulture ranked the song at number 8 in his "15 unforgettable Stock Aitken Waterman singles" list, adding that it "had just the right mix of 'SAW sound', cheesy lyrics, a stomping beat and a cute video to capture the public's imagination". [12] In 2021, British magazine Classic Pop ranked "You'll Never Stop Me Loving You" number 27 on their list of the "Top 40 Stock Aitken Waterman songs", adding: "18-year-old Sonia Evans was a complete unknown when she approached Pete Waterman for a break in the biz, and luckily SAW, er, saw potential in the effervescent, ginger-haired scouser. Despite slightly stalkerish lyrics... it rocketed up the charts. Some thought it was Kylie, which might have helped its rise to the top of the UK hit parade." [13]

Chart performance

"You'll Never Stop Me Loving You" debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number 55 on 24 June 1989, peaked at number one three weeks later and for two weeks, becoming Sonia's only number-one single there, and stayed on the chart for 13 weeks, [14] which led the song to rank at number 16 on the national year-end chart. [15] In Ireland, the song also topped the chart on which it remained for a total of eight weeks, [16] and peaked within the top ten in other two European nations, Greece and Norway, where it attained number three and ten, respectively. [17] [18] It was a top 20 hit in Spain (13), Finland (14) and the Flanders region of Belgium (18), [19] [20] [21] while it culminated at number 20 in its third week out of a 12-week chart run on the German singles chart. [22] In addition it missed the top 20 by one place in Switzerland, [23] and peaked within the top 30 in the Netherlands and France. [24] [25] On the Pan-Eurochart Hot 100 singles chart compiled by the Music & Media magazine, it debuted at number 41 on 15 July 1989, jumped to number eight the next week, reached number one in its fourth week, [26] and remained on the chart for a total of 20 weeks divided into two segments. Much aired on UK radios where it reached number one on the airplay chart, [27] it was present for six weeks on the European Airplay Top 50, with a peak at number 34 in its third week. [28]

"You'll Never Stop Me Loving You" was a moderate hit in Oceanian markets: in Australia, it entered the ARIA Singles Chart at number 160 in August 1989, reached a peak of number 29 two months later and charted for 17 weeks, [29] while it reached number 43 in New Zealand. [14] In the US, "You'll Never Stop Me Loving You" peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Dance Club Play chart in April 1990, [30] and peaked at number 26 on the Billboard 12-inch Singles Sales chart the same month. [31]

Track listings

Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from the UK 7-inch single liner notes. [32]

Studio

Personnel

Charts

Cover versions

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonia (singer)</span> English pop singer (born 1971)

Sonia Evans, known mononymously as Sonia, is an English pop singer from Liverpool. She had a 1989 UK number one hit with "You'll Never Stop Me Loving You" and became the first female UK artist to achieve five top 20 hit singles from one album. She represented the United Kingdom in the 1993 Eurovision Song Contest, where she finished second with the song "Better the Devil You Know". Between 1989 and 1993, she had 11 UK top 30 hits, including "Listen to Your Heart" (1989), "Counting Every Minute" (1990) and "Only Fools " (1991). In 1994, she starred as Sandy in a West End revival of the musical Grease, while on television she appeared as Bunty in the 1998 BBC comedy series The Lily Savage Show.

Stock Aitken Waterman are an English songwriting and record production trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, and Pete Waterman. The trio had great success from the mid-1980s through to the early 1990s. SAW is considered one of the most successful songwriting and producing partnerships of all time, scoring more than 100 UK top-40 hits, selling over 150 million records and earning an estimated £60 million.

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References

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  2. 1 2 3 Chart Beats. "A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman: Ep 48: Sealed With A Kiss to Tell Him I Called on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts (Podcast). Australia. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  3. ↑ "New Singles". Music Week . 10 June 1989. p. 33.
  4. ↑ "New Singles". Music Week. 1 July 1989. p. 35.
  5. ↑ "ネヴァー・ストップ・ミー・ラヴィング・ユー | ソニア" [Never Stop Me Loving You | Sonia] (in Japanese). Oricon . Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  6. 1 2 James, Gary (23 April 2020). "Sonia's Everybody Knows: looking back at the classic album 30 years on". Entertainment Focus. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  7. ↑ Coleman, Bill (17 February 1990). "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 102, no. 7. p. 89. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  8. ↑ "Previews: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media . 15 July 1989. p. 22. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  9. ↑ Lowe, Richard (20 September 1989). "Singles". Smash Hits . p. 73. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  10. ↑ Giles, David (16 December 1989). "Singles" (PDF). Music Week . p. 23. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  11. ↑ Masterton, James (2019). "Sonia". Chart Watch UK - Hits of 1989. ISBN   9781090753205.
  12. ↑ Dunn, Matt (16 January 2014). "15 unforgettable Stock Aitken Waterman singles". WhatCulture . Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  13. ↑ "Top 40 Stock Aitken Waterman songs". Classic Pop . Retrieved 29 August 2021.
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  15. 1 2 Copsey, Rob (7 May 2021). "Official Top 40 best-selling songs of 1989". Official Charts . Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  16. 1 2 "The Irish Charts – Search Results – You'll Never Stop Me". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
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  29. 1 2 "Sonia – You'll Never Stop Me Loving You". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  30. 1 2 "Dance Club Songs" . Billboard. 21 April 1990. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  31. 1 2 "Dance Singles Sales" . Billboard. 7 April 1990. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  32. 1 2 You'll Never Stop Me Loving You (UK 7-inch single sleeve). Sonia. Chrysalis Records, PWL Records. 1989. CHS 3385.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  33. ↑ You'll Never Stop Me Loving You (UK 12-inch single sleeve). Sonia. Chrysalis Records, PWL Records. 1989. CHS 12 3385.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  34. ↑ You'll Never Stop Me Loving You (UK cassette single sleeve). Sonia. Chrysalis Records, PWL Records. 1989. CHSMC3385.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  35. ↑ You'll Never Stop Me Loving You (UK 12-inch remix single vinyl disc). Sonia. Chrysalis Records, PWL Records. 1989. CHSR 12 3385.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  36. ↑ You'll Never Stop Me Loving You (US cassette single sleeve). Sonia. Chrysalis Records, PWL Records. 1990. 4JM 23385.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  37. ↑ You'll Never Stop Me Loving You (Japanese mini-CD single liner notes). Sonia. Chrysalis Records, PWL Records. 1989. XP10-2102.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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  42. ↑ "Year End Singles". Record Mirror . 27 January 1990. p. 44.
  43. ↑ "Young Divas (Album) by Young Divas". iTunes Store. Apple. 14 November 2006. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
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