Maybe (Emma Bunton song)

"Maybe" is a song by English singer Emma Bunton from her second solo studio album, Free Me (2004). The song was written by Bunton and Yak Bondy, and produced by Mike Peden. It was released on 13 October 2003 as the album's second single. It enjoyed moderate commercial success, entering the top 40 on various record charts. The song contains lounge and bossa nova influences, and the music video was inspired by the style of Sweet Charity's song "Rich Man's Frug".[1][2] Bunton performed an edit of the song as her solo performance on The Return of the Spice Girls tour.

"Maybe"
Single by Emma Bunton
from the album Free Me
B-side"Don't Tell Me You Love Me Anymore"
Released13 October 2003 (2003-10-13)
Recorded2003
StudioSarm West Studios (London)
Genre
Length3:45
Label19
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Mike Peden
Emma Bunton singles chronology
"Free Me"
(2003)		 "Maybe"
(2003)		 "I'll Be There"
(2004)
Audio sample
  • file
  • help
Music video
"Maybe" on YouTube

Production

The unusual inspiration behind the song was a soundtrack album of 1970s German porn music; Bunton and her collaborators "found some ideas out of that". She described the process as "mad" and "hilarious", while noting the style of the finished song is reminiscent of its origins.[3]

Music video

The music video for "Maybe" was directed by Harvey & Carolyn. The video is strongly inspired by the "Rich Man's Frug" scene from 1969 film Sweet Charity.[2] Bunton began conceptualising the music video while she was in the process of writing; her inspiration was the "very sexy" stage musical Chicago. She chose to incorporate Bob Fosse's style of dancing (used in that musical) to create a "slick" and "different" work.[4]

The video starts with Bunton entering a hall, which is a big theatre, all painted in white. She is wearing a white hooded trench coat, which she then removes to reveal a black dress with a pink collar and cuffs (the same as the one on the cover of the single). Throughout the video there is a lot of dancing scenes behind white, green and pink backdrops.[1]

Critical reception

A 2004 review of the album Free Me by BBC Music described the song as "a perfect pastiche of French fluffy '60s bubblegum pop".[5] In 2006, Talia Kraines of the same website said the song had a "beehive razzamatazz".[6]

Commercial performance

"Maybe" debuted at number six on the UK Singles Chart. In early 2004, "Maybe" began to receive airplay across Australia and continental Europe, where it achieved top-40 success and huge radio airplay, but it failed to emulate the major impact it had on the UK.

Early in January 2005, the song and its remix were solicited to US radio. Both versions climbed to a peak position of number six on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.

Track listings
  • UK and European CD single
  1. "Maybe" – 3:45
  2. "Don't Tell Me You Love Me Anymore" – 4:01
  3. "Maybe" (Bini & Martini Club Mix) – 8:10
  4. "Maybe" (video)
  • European two-track CD single
  1. "Maybe" – 3:45
  2. "Don't Tell Me You Love Me Anymore" – 4:01

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Free Me.[7]

Charts

References
  1. ""Maybe" Music Video". YouTube. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  2. "Sweet Charity "Rich Man's Frug"". YouTube. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  3. "Emma Bunton - Free me interview [Part 2]". YouTube. 13 December 2008. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  4. "Emma Bunton - Free me interview [Part 3]". YouTube. 13 December 2008. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  5. "BBC - Music - Review of Emma Bunton - Free Me". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  6. Kraines, Talia. "BBC - Music - Review of Emma Bunton - Life in Mono". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  7. Free Me (liner notes). Emma Bunton. 19 Recordings. 2004. 986615-8.CS1 maint: others (link)
  8. "ARIA Top 100 Singles – Week Commencing 23rd August 2004" ARIA Top 100 Singles. National Library of Australia. Retrieved 6 July 2007.
  9. "Austriancharts.at – Emma Bunton – Maybe" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
  10. "Hits of the World". Billboard. Vol. 115 no. 43. 25 October 2003. ISSN 0006-2510.
  11. "Offiziellecharts.de – Emma Bunton – Maybe". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  12. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Dance Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  13. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Emma Bunton". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  14. "Italiancharts.com – Emma Bunton – Maybe". Top Digital Download. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
  15. "Dutchcharts.nl – Emma Bunton – Maybe" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
  16. "Arhiva romanian top 100 – Editia 31, saptamina 2.08 – 8.08, 2004" (in Romanian). Romanian Top 100. Archived from the original on 17 January 2005. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  17. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  18. "Swedishcharts.com – Emma Bunton – Maybe". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
  19. "Swisscharts.com – Emma Bunton – Maybe". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
  20. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  21. "Emma Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  22. "UK Year-End Charts 2003" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.