Anything Is Possible (Will Young song)

"Anything Is Possible" is a song co-written by Chris Braide and Cathy Dennis for the winner of the first series of Pop Idol in the United Kingdom. Will Young won the competition and therefore released the song as his debut single, with production by Dennis and Oskar Paul. It debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, and has been certified 3× platinum by the British Phonographic Industry. It has since become the 14th best-selling single of all time in the UK,[1] as well as the second best-selling UK single of the 21st century.[2]

"Anything Is Possible"
Single by Will Young
from the album From Now On
Released25 February 2002 (2002-02-25)
Recorded2002
Length3:42
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Cathy Dennis
  • Oskar Paul
Will Young singles chronology
"Anything Is Possible" / "Evergreen"
(2002)		 "Light My Fire"
(2002)

Background and writing

Pop Idol creator Simon Fuller asked Chris Braide and Cathy Dennis to write a song for the show, having been impressed by "Have You Ever", a song the pair had written for S Club 7.[3] The song was recorded by the final three acts in the show, Will Young, Gareth Gates and Darius Danesh. After winning the show, Young released the song as his debut single and it was later included on his debut studio album, From Now On (2002). In an interview with HitQuarters, Braide said the song was written in Dennis' front room at her baby grand piano and recorded on a small Dictaphone.[3] When the song, as recorded by Young, proved an immediate smash hit, Dennis supposedly phoned Braide and said: "You won't believe this, but that little song that we wrote in three hours is selling 100,000 copies a day."[3] In 2011, Young first expressed his dislike of the song, telling Elle magazine: "I've never done "Anything is Possible" live. I hate it. I absolutely hate it."[4] In 2022, he told the Official Charts Company: "I just think it’s such a terrible song. I only ever sang it once [...] It's dreadful. I used to call it "Anything is Puss-able." It’ll never be performed again, unless somebody pays me a huge amount of money. Awful."[5]

Chart performance

The song was performed on the Pop Idol live final by both Young and Gates. Young went on to win the show, and released "Anything Is Possible" as a double A-side single, along with "Evergreen", which was also recorded by the final three and performed by the final two. The single went straight to the number one spot on the UK Singles Chart and stayed there for three consecutive weeks, only to be knocked off the top spot by Gates' debut single, "Unchained Melody". It became the fastest-selling debut in UK chart history, selling 403,027 copies on its day of release. It went on to sell over 1,790,000 copies, and in the official list of the all-time best-selling singles in the UK in November 2012, it appeared 14th.[6] It was the biggest selling single of the 2000s, and was also the biggest selling single of the 21st century until June 2015,[7] when it was overtaken by "Happy" by Pharrell Williams.[2]

Music video

A music video for "Anything Is Possible" was filmed in Cuba in the week of 11 February 2002.[8][9] In 2011, Young express his dislike of the video in an interview with Elle magazine, saying: "I can't bear "Evergreen" or "Anything is Possible," they're absolutely shocking. And you wouldn't believe the amount of money that was spent on those videos [...] Dreadful videos. At one moment it looks like I'm in love with a tree! Dreadful. Really odd. Dreadful. No, no, no. No."[4]

Track listing
CD single[10]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Anything Is Possible"
  • Dennis
  • Oskar Paul
3:41
2."Evergreen"
  • Magnusson
  • Kreuger
  • Elofsson[a]
4:13

Notes

  • ^[a] signifies a co-producer

Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the From Now On album booklet.[11]

Studio

  • Mastered at Transfermation (London, England)

Personnel

Charts

Certifications
Certifications for "Anything Is Possible"
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[18] 3× Platinum 1,790,000[19]

Release history
"Anything Is Possible" release history
Region Date Label Format(s) Ref(s)
United Kingdom 25 February 2002
CD single [20]

References
  1. Lane, Daniel (27 June 2013). "Daft Punk's Get Lucky becomes one of the UK's biggest selling singles of all-time!". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  2. Copsey, Rob (11 June 2015). "The Official Top 40 Biggest Selling Singles of the Millennium so far revealed". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  3. "Interview with Chris Braide". HitQuarters. 30 August 2010. Archived from the original on 6 October 2013. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
  4. "Will Young slams first single". Elle Canada. 24 December 2011. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  5. Smith, Carl (1 June 2022). "Will Young talks lost duets, longevity and Lil Nas X as he releases 20 Years - The Greatest Hits album". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  6. Ami Sedghi (4 November 2012). "UK's million-selling singles: the full list". Guardian. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  7. "The Official Top 150 Biggest Selling Singles Of the 21st Century revealed!". Official Charts Company. 7 May 2012.
  8. "Will and Gareth jet off to film pop videos". Irish Examiner. 11 February 2002. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  9. "Westlife dismiss Pop Idol song". BBC Music. 13 February 2002. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  10. "Will Young has biggest selling single of the decade". The Daily Telegraph. 1 January 2009. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  11. From Now On (UK CD album booklet). Will Young. 19 Recordings, S Records, RCA Records, BMG. 2002. 74321 969592.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 20, no. 13. 23 March 2002. p. 18. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  13. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Anything Is Possible / Evergreen". Irish Singles Chart.
  14. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  15. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  16. "Top 100 Songs of 2002". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 2002. Archived from the original on 2 June 2004. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  17. "The Official UK Singles Chart 2002" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  18. "British single certifications – Will Young – Anything Is Possible/Evergreen". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  19. Copsey, Rob (26 May 2015). "Will Young's Official biggest selling singles revealed: "I'm shocked by that!"". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  20. "New Releases – For Week Starting 25 February 2002: Singles". Music Week. 23 February 2002. p. 35.
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