The Girl That Never Was

"The Girl That Never Was" is a song by English singer-songwriter James Blunt. It was released by Atlantic Records UK on 4 October 2023 as the third single from Blunt's seventh studio album, Who We Used to Be.[1]

"The Girl That Never Was"
Single by James Blunt
from the album Who We Used to Be
Released4 October 2023
GenrePop
Length3:13
LabelAtlantic Records UK
Songwriter(s)
  • James Blunt
  • George Tizzard
  • Rick Parkhouse
Producer(s)Red Triangle
James Blunt singles chronology
"All The Love That I Ever Needed"
(2023)
"The Girl That Never Was"
(2023)
Music video
"The Girl That Never Was" on YouTube

Background

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"The Girl That Never Was" was written by Blunt, George Tizzard and Rick Parkhouse. It was written about Blunt and his wife losing a child through miscarriage.[2][3][4]

Live performance

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On 27 October 2023, Blunt performed the song on the BBC's The One Show. On writing the song, Blunt shared "I'm married. We had aspirations to start a family and...people in my situation have gone through that, you win some battles and you lose some [...] the ones that we have lost we struggle with a bit."[5]

Music video

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A lyric video was released on the day of the single's official release,[6] with the official music video, directed by Vaughan Arnell released on 12 October 2023.[7] On 20 October 2023, Blunt released a video showing an acoustic performance of "The Girl That Never Was".[8]

Chart performance

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The single peaked at number 7 on the UK Singles Downloads Chart Top 100 on 3 November 2023.[9] It appeared on that chart for seven consecutive weeks.[10]

Charts

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Chart performance for "The Girl That Never Was"
Chart (2023) Peak
position
UK Singles Downloads (OCC)[11] 7

References

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  1. ^ "James Blunt - Who We Used to Be". Spotify. 27 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  2. ^ Everett, Charlotte (28 October 2023). "James Blunt has One Show viewers in tears with emotional reason for new song". The Mirror. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  3. ^ "JAMES BLUNT touches on loss in new single 'The Girl That Never Was'". XS Noize. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  4. ^ "James Blunt drops latest single The Girl That Never Was". Retro Pop Magazine. 5 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  5. ^ Hallam, Katy (27 October 2023). "BBC The One Show viewers sobbing as James Blunt shares tragic reason for new song". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  6. ^ "James Blunt - The Girl That Never Was (Lyric Video)". YouTube. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  7. ^ "The Girl That Never Was (Official video)". YouTube. 12 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  8. ^ "James Blunt - The Girl That Never Was (Acoustic)". YouTube. 20 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  9. ^ "Official Singles Downloads Chart on 03/11/2023". Official Charts. 20 October 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  10. ^ "James Blunt - The Girl That Never Was". Official Charts. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  11. ^ "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 November 2023.