"There You'll Be" is a love song by American country pop recording artist Faith Hill. It was first offered to Celine Dion, who reportedly turned it down. Written by Diane Warren, produced by Trevor Horn and Byron Gallimore, and arranged by David Campbell, it was released in May 2001 and was featured on the Pearl Harborsoundtrack. The track was also featured on Hill's greatest hits albumsThere You'll Be and The Hits. "There You'll Be" is about remembering deceased acquaintances and reminding oneself that they will always be with them. Upon its release, it became Hill's highest-charting single in the United Kingdom and Ireland, reaching numbers three and four respectively. The single topped the charts of Canada, Portugal and Sweden and became a top-ten hit in the United States and several European nations. Music critics responded positively to the song, and it received a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Its music video was directed by Michael Bay, who also directed Pearl Harbor. The video was set in the same time period as the film and drew many parallels.
Lyrical content
Arden Lambert from Country Daily wrote, "The song starts with a mellow tone, but slowly builds up as the track advances. This melody simulates what people feel when they lose someone. Its lines speak of gratefulness to a deceased person who has shown you that there is more to life. It is a song that looks back on all the things they shared with you. Ultimately, it is a reminder that even if they are not with us anymore, you will know that they will continue to keep us strong as the line in the song says, "I'll keep a part of you with me, And everywhere I am there you'll be".
Critical reception
Arden Lambert from Country Daily wrote that "There You'll Be" is "a lovely ballad" and noted Hill's "sky-high vocals" on the song. David Browne from Entertainment Weekly described it as a "ballad orchestration that crests in choruses" and noted that "soaring diva" Faith Hill can follow in the footsteps of Celine Dion and Trisha Yearwood. Mary Ann A. Bautista from Philippine Daily Inquirer wrote that it "makes the images of the movie "Pearl Harbor" come alive in your mind as you listen." Richmond Times-Dispatch noted the song as "vocally soaring" and "string-soaked". Randy Wilcox from The Robesonian called the ballad a "pop gem". In her review of There You'll Be: The Best of Faith Hill, Kathy Korsmo from The Spokesman-Review said that Hill "is an amazing vocalist" and added that her versatility reminds of early Mariah Carey.
Chart performance
Released in May 2001, "There You'll Be" reached a peak of number 10 on the US BillboardHot 100 in July 2001 due to strong airplay. No commercial CD single was released because producers wanted to boost sales of the Pearl Harbor soundtrack, which forced the song to chart solely on airplay in the United States. The song also reached number 11 on the Billboard Country Singles Chart. On the BillboardAdult Contemporary chart, it stayed at number one for 11 non-consecutive weeks. In Canada, it topped the Canadian Singles Chart for three non-consecutive weeks. In Europe, "There You'll Be" peaked at number one in Portugal and Sweden; in the latter nation, the single reached number one on August 2 and remained at the top for five weeks in total, ending 2001 as Sweden's tenth-most-successful hit. In the Flanders region of Belgium, the song rose to number two on the chart week of August 25 and was the region's 23rd-best-selling hit of the year. Elsewhere, the single peaked within the top 10 in Austria, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Switzerland. It additionally became a top-twenty hit in Finland, Italy, New Zealand, and Spain. On the Eurochart Hot 100, the song peaked at number six. In Australia, it reached number 24 and spent eight weeks on the ARIA Singles Chart. "There You'll Be" is by far Faith Hill's biggest hit single in the United Kingdom to date, debuting and peaking at number three on the UK Singles Chart in June 2001 and spending 14 weeks inside the top 100. On September 20, 2008, a contestant named Amy Connelly sang the song for her audition on The X Factor. Her performance renewed interest in the original Faith Hill rendition of the song, and the track re-entered the UK Singles Chart at number 10 the next week based purely on downloads, which gave the song an extra four weeks inside the top 100. It gained yet another week on the chart in 2012, when it re-entered at number 47. The single is certified Platinum in the UK and Sweden and Gold in Belgium.
