"You Have Been Loved" | ||||
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Single by George Michael | ||||
from the album Older | ||||
A-side | "The Strangest Thing '97" | |||
Released | 8 September 1997[1] | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 5:30 | |||
Label | Virgin | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | George Michael | |||
George Michael singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"You Have Been Loved" on YouTube |
"You Have Been Loved" is a song by English singer and songwriter George Michael, recorded for his third studio album, Older (1996). It was written by Michael and David Austin and produced by Michael. On 8 September 1997, "You Have Been Loved" was released as a double A-side single with "The Strangest Thing '97" and reached number two in the United Kingdom, behind Elton John's " Candle in the Wind 1997" charity record.
Michael wrote "You Have Been Loved" about his lover, Anselmo Feleppa, who died of an AIDS-related illness in 1993. [2] It was released as the sixth single from Older. "The Strangest Thing", also from the album, was remixed and re-recorded for this release as a more up-tempo track, the original version more a Middle Eastern and bossa-nova song. [3]
Matthew Hocter from Albumism said "You Have Been Loved" is "one of the album’s most heartbreaking and painfully personal love songs". [4] A reviewer from Music Week rated it four out of five, describing it as "a gorgeous but painfully sad ballad about the lost of a loved one. May be too downbeat to get his usual feverish radio support, but should go Top 10." [5] The magazine's Alan Jones felt it is "George at his most laidback." He added, "Beautifully sung mood music, it meanders melliflously for more than five minutes and is like a breath of fresh air, though the fact that Older has sold so many copies already, and the track's lack of a commercial hook, will limit its chart potential." [6] An editor from Sunday Mirror wrote, "A beautiful ballad. Considering recent events, it strikes the perfect chord. Enough said." [7] Alan Jackson from The Times declared it as a "lush, achingly tasteful ballad on bereavement" from "pop's King of Sorrows." [8]
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United Kingdom ( BPI) [22] | Silver | 200,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |