I was always a bit puzzled by the If That Were Me release just because I view it as easily the weakest song on Northern Star. I don't doubt Mel's sincerity on the subject. Geri's If Only even talks about she and Mel's care for people living without homes. It's just that the song has some genuinely clunky lyrics (that irked me even as a kid)...and doesn't have the punch of most of the other tracks on the album. I actually think she had several songs that didn't make the album cut that are far better than If That Were Me (namely Follow Me), but if the subject was that important to Mel, I get why she'd want it on her record.

 

Probably what was most irksome was Mel barely promoting Holler (Forever's best new track with major hit potential) to spend her time pushing If That Were Me (Northern Star's worst track that's lucky to have managed #18).

 

What would I have released instead as a fifth single? I think it would have to be a double a-side. What the four previous releases did extremely well was show different sides of Mel as an artist. So. Maybe Closer/Go! as the final single? I don't know if I'd release them as stand-alone singles, but Be The One and Suddenly Monday do have something of a classic feel to me...and they might have made for nice promo videos or something.

Not really because it sold very well for a #18 hit back them with over 60k sales, plus it kept Northern Star in the charts so some of it's sales went towards the album instead which is the entire aim of a single really.

 

I thought a Feel the sun Hex Hector remix / New song double a-side should have closed it personally considering we were on the firth single by this point might as well go for broke if they wanted a high charting single.

 

ITWM had a long chart run at the very lower end of the chart (same with Holler) which suggests at the time they were both overstocked and expected to sell more and spent a lot of weeks after release in the 'reduced bin' which obviously adds sales but probably at a loss at the time.

 

That would suggest to me Virgin and record stores saw it as an under performance at the time too.

I agree with sammy here - after two number one singles there's no way they expected If That Were Me to bomb in at #18 - it was absolutely a disaster for a pop act where lower top ten could be seen as a failure. I actually doubt they expected it to miss the top five at that point.

If That Were Me was a total disaster, from the terrible song and lyrics, to that f***ing awful video.

 

It was such a bad release, but Mel has form when it comes to releasing her worst album tracks as singles (case in point: Better Alone, I Want Candy, On The Horizon, This Time, Fearless, etc etc etc)...

ITWM had decent enough sales and the album had already exploded so the chart position is not that surprising!!

 

Choosing this song as a single is most surprising.

She should have included that song as a b-side (Spice World single vs b-side material problem as always) to Closer or Feel The Sun. But I guess her mental health problems kinda change the plans. If I’m not wrong Feel The Sun remix was sent to American radios. Even Suddenly Monday was a better choice. Closer has a Spanish end of summer type of nostalgia and I could see the video being shot in a former corrida arena, without the bulls of course, like one of Madonna’s song.

In an alternate universe, Go! (or even Suddenly Monday) would have been an amazing 5th single. :music:

She should have included that song as a b-side (Spice World single vs b-side material problem as always) to Closer or Feel The Sun. But I guess her mental health problems kinda change the plans. If I’m not wrong Feel The Sun remix was sent to American radios. Even Suddenly Monday was a better choice. Closer has a Spanish end of summer type of nostalgia and I could see the video being shot in a former corrida arena, without the bulls of course, like one of Madonna’s song.

 

 

There is a Feel the sun remix?

There is a Feel the sun remix?

Yep THAT should have been the final single from the album!!!!

 

Loved it, ps how amazing did she sound there! :wub:

A pity that we don’t have a studio version of that!

A pity that we don’t have a studio version of that!

 

 

If it was sent to US radio then we really should! :cry:

If it was sent to US radio then we really should! :cry:

I'm pretty sure dancinqueen's doesn't remember well. If it was true, a promo CD would have surfaced a long time ago.

 

IF an unreleased studio version does exist, I hope it is included on #NorthernStar25 next year. :cool:

I'm pretty sure dancinqueen's doesn't remember well. If it was true, a promo CD would have surfaced a long time ago.

 

IF an unreleased studio version does exist, I hope it is included on #NorthernStar25 next year. :cool:

 

I’m sure about that. I didn’t even know about the live version. And I remember hearing that remix somewhere. I’ll try to find it on YouTube - I normally don’t dream about things like that ahhhh

I had heard of a remix but only in the live setting, never as an official recorded remix. I'm not sure how I feel about that live version to be honest... It sounds fine for a live setting but I'd hate it if it meant that FTS would have gotten the I Turn To You treatment, which in my opinion killed an almost perfect song.

 

Feel The Sun album version is Melanie's best song imo, and the album version of I Turn To You is also one of her best but was ruined by the trash-y Ibiza-wannabe single version. Successful as it was, I cant stand it for its trashiness when the original was so perfect and different from the usual Melanie C track.

 

So in that regards, I am happy we never got a FTS remix as a single :P

Hold up, what's wrong with 'Better Alone'? :o

Hold up, what's wrong with 'Better Alone'? :o

 

I think a lot of people just don't like the bitterness of it + feel that there's better tracks on the album (I've always liked it to be honest).

That remix of Feel the Sun has never been released, I don't think we even know who did that arrangement of it? So I think this is maybe a Mandela effect moment!

 

Also Mr.X re: I Turn to You's remix:

 

 

:teresa:

OMG that would've slayed just like I turn to you remix :heart:

That remix of Feel the Sun has never been released, I don't think we even know who did that arrangement of it? So I think this is maybe a Mandela effect moment!

 

Also Mr.X re: I Turn to You's remix:

 

 

:teresa:

 

 

Never has there been an opinion so wrong!

 

I like the album version it’s good but the single version is epic! It’s always one of the last songs I play at any party I have and everyone always dances (I turn to you, stop, tragedy and believe - so fabulously gay lol).

 

I would have loved a remix like for single, we still have the album versions to listen to alongside them.