"If I Let You Go" is a song by Irish boy band Westlife. It was released in the United Kingdom on 9 August 1999 as the second single from their self-titled debut album (1999). It became the band's second number-one hit, spending 11 weeks on the UK Singles Chart. The song has received a Platinum sales certification in the UK for selling over 600,000 in combined sales of purchased and streaming-equivalent sales. It is the band's 10th-best-selling single in paid-for sales and combined sales in the UK as of January 2019.
Composition "If I Let You Go" composed in the traditional verse–chorus form in B major, with Brian McFadden, Shane Filan, and Mark Feehily's vocals ranging from the chords of D4 to A5.
Music video The music video was directed by Sven Harding and was filmed in Tenerife, Spain. It depicts the band walking along a beach and singing by a hillside surrounded by red and yellow flags.
Feehily revealed on an Instagram post of the music video that their record label guy said they based the official music video of the single "What Makes You Beautiful" by British-Irish pop band One Direction off this video.
Track listings
UK CD1 "If I Let You Go" (radio edit) "Try Again" Enhanced CD
UK CD2 "If I Let You Go" (radio edit) "If I Let You Go" (extended version) Interview with Andi Peters
UK cassette single and European CD single "If I Let You Go" (radio edit) "Try Again"
Australian CD single "If I Let You Go" (radio edit) – 3:38 "Try Again" – 3:34 "If I Let You Go" (extended version) – 6:07 Enhanced CD
Credits and personnel Credits are lifted from the UK CD1 and Westlife liner notes.
Studios Recorded at Cheiron Studios (Stockholm, Sweden) Strings recorded at Soundtrade Studios (Stockholm, Sweden) Mixed at Mono Music Studios (Stockholm, Sweden)
Personnel
Jörgen Elofsson – writing Per Magnusson – writing, keyboards, production, arrangement, programming David Kreuger – writing, arrangement, programming Andreas Carlsson – additional backing vocals Mats Berntoft – acoustic and electric guitars Tomas Lindberg – bass Ulf & Henrik Janson – string arrangement David Kreuger – production Bernard Lohr – recording (strings), mixing
Charts
Weekly charts Chart (1999–2000)PeakpositionEl Salvador (El Siglo de Torreón)9Estonia (Eesti Top 20)17Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)8Europe (European Hit Radio)31Finland Airplay (Radiosoittolista)10Guatemala (El Siglo de Torreón)4Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)9Netherlands Airplay (Music & Media)11 Airplay (Music & Media)18Spain Airplay (Top 40 Radio)23UK Airplay (Music Week)7
Year-end charts Chart (1999)PositionAustralia (ARIA)95Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)45Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)100New Zealand (RIANZ)28Sweden (Hitlistan)35UK Singles (OCC)59 Chart (2000)PositionBrazil (Crowley)46
Certifications and sales
Release history RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)Sweden9 August 1999CDUnited Kingdom
References
External links "If I Let You Go (Radio Edit)" Official Westlife Website