"I Wish" is a song by English singer-songwriter Gabrielle. It was written by Gabrielle and Jon Douglas for her debut album, Find Your Way (1993), while production was helmed by Douglas. Released as the album's third single on 29 November 1993 by Go! Beat, the song peaked at number 26 on the UK Singles Chart. In North America, "I Wish" reached number 52 in the United States and number 76 in Canada.
Critical reception Upon the release, Larry Flick from Billboard magazine wrote, "Top 40 follow-up to the breakthrough hit 'Dreams' shows Gabrielle in fine, feline voice, delivering sweetly romantic lyrics atop a plush shuffle beat. Coated with delicious strings and a light soul subtext, single has the strength to easily surpass its predecessor's chart peak and firmly establish Gabrielle as a radio star with a long and bright future." Alan Jones from Music Week gave it a score of four out of five, adding, "There's a surfeit of superior soul balladeering this week, and Gabrielle's is one of the best. it is likely to be huge." James Hamilton from the Record Mirror Dance Update described it as a "pleasant nasally crooned rolling swayer" in his weekly dance column. German band Culture Beat reviewed the song for Smash Hits, giving it three out of five."New Singles". Smash Hits. p. 51. 24 November 1993.
Music video The accompanying music video for "I Wish" was directed by Max & Dania, a.k.a. Max Giwa and Dania Pasquini, and produced by Chris Symes for Propaganda Films. It was released on 29 November 1993 and is a funky version of Cinderella with The Posse members as the ugly sisters.
Track listings
Charts Chart (1993–1994)PeakpositionEurope (Eurochart Hot 100) 69Europe (European AC Radio) 19Europe (European Hit Radio) 23Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40) 34UK Airplay (Music Week) 8UK Dance (Music Week) 4UK Club Chart (Music Week) 5
Release history RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)United Kingdom29 November 1993Go! BeatJapan25 February 1994Mini-CD
References