Maybe (Emma Bunton song)

"Maybe"
Single by Emma Bunton
from the album Free Me
B-side	"Don't Tell Me You Love Me Anymore"
Released	13 October 2003
Format	CD single
Recorded	Sarm West Studios (London)
Length	3:45
Label	Polydor
Writer(s)	Emma Bunton Yak Bondy
Producer(s)	Mike Peden
Emma Bunton singles chronology
"Free Me" (2003) "Maybe" (2003) "I'll Be There" (2004)
Audio sample file info · help Music video "Maybe" on YouTube

"Maybe" is a song recorded by English singer Emma Bunton for her second studio album, Free Me (2004). Written by Bunton herself and Yak Bondy, and produced by Mike Peden, it was released as the second single from the album on 13 October 2003 by Polydor Records. It enjoyed moderate success, entering the top forty on various record charts. The song contains lounge/bossa influences, and the music video was inspired by the style of Sweet Charity's "Rich Man's Frug".^[1][2] Bunton performed an edit of the song as her solo performance on the Return of the Spice Girls tour.

Production

The unusual inspiration behind the song was a soundtrack album of 70s German porn music; Bunton and her collaborators "found some ideas out of that". She described the process as "mad" and "hilarious", while noting the style of the finished song is reminiscent of its origins.^[3]

Music video

In the summer of 2003, a music video for "Maybe" was released. Directed by Harvey & Carolyn, the video is strongly inspired by the Rich Man's Frug scene from film Sweet Charity.^[2] Bunton began conceptualising the music video while she was in the process of writing; her inspiration was the "very sexy" stage musical Chicago. She chose to incorporate Bob Fosse's style of dancing (used in that musical) to create a "slick" and "different" work.^[4]

The video starts with Bunton entering a hall, which is a big theatre, all painted in white. She is wearing a white hooded trench coat, which she then removes to reveal a black dress with a pink collar and cuffs (the same as the one on the cover of the single). Throughout the video there is a lot of dancing scenes behind white, green and pink backdrops.^[1]

Critical reception

A 2004 review of the album Free Me by BBC Music said the song was "a perfect pastiche of French fluffy '60s bubblegum pop".^[5] In 2006, Talia Kraines of the same website said the song had a "beehive razzamatazz".^[6]

Chart performance

"Maybe" debuted at number six on the UK Singles Chart and although it did not reach the top five as "Free Me" had, it outsold its predecessor and totalled 80,247 copies once it completed its chart run. In early 2004, "Maybe" began to receive airplay across Australia and Continental Europe, where it achieved top forty success and huge radio airplay, but it failed to emulate the major impact it had on the UK. The song failed to enter the Canadian Singles Chart and the BDS airplay chart, but it managed to frequently occupy the number one position on MuchMoreMusic's MMMTop10.ca. Up until the end of the summer, it maintained a top ten position before it exited the chart.

Early in January 2005, the song and its remix were solicited to US radio. Both versions climbed to a peak position of number six on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play, which made it a success in nightclubs.

Track listings and formats

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Maybe".

UK/European CD single

1. "Maybe" – 3:45
2. "Don't Tell Me You Love Me Anymore" – 4:01
3. "Maybe" (Bini & Martini Club Mix) – 8:10
4. "Maybe" (Video)

European 2-track CD single

1. "Maybe" – 3:45
2. "Don't Tell Me You Love Me Anymore" – 4:01

Official remixes

1. "Maybe" (Bini & Martini Club Mix) – 8:10
2. "Maybe" (Bini & Martini Ocean Dub) – 8:10
3. "Maybe" (Illicit Club Mix) – 7:52
4. "Maybe" (Illicit Dub) – 7:11
5. "Maybe" (Illicit Radio Edit) – 3:26
6. "Maybe" (Almighty Club Mix) – 6:59
7. "Maybe" (Almighty Dub) – 6:58
8. "Maybe" (Almighty Radio Edit) – 3:12

Charts

Chart (2003–05)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart[7]	56
Austrian Singles Chart[8]	63
Dutch Single Top 100[9]	88
European Hot 100 Singles[10]	21
German Singles Chart[11]	52
Hungarian Dance Chart[12]	38
Irish Singles Chart[13]	17
Italian Singles Chart[14]	20
Scottish Singles Chart[15]	4
Swedish Singles Chart[16]	33
Swiss Singles Chart[17]	93
UK Singles Chart[18]	6
US Hot Dance Club Play[19]	6

References

1. ""Maybe" Music Video". YouTube. Retrieved 2012-08-28.
2. "Sweet Charity "Rich Man's Frug"". YouTube. Retrieved 2012-08-28.
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8_rhCD11Pw Free Me Interview with Emma Bunton
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfWKVPcbcLo Free Me Interview with Emma Bunton
5. http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/gdqv
6. http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/86cz
7. "ARIA Top 100 Singles – Week Commencing 23rd August 2004" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Pandora Archive. Retrieved 6 July 2007.
8. "Emma Bunton – Maybe" (in German). IFPI Austria. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
9. "Emma Bunton – Maybe" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
10. "Hits of the World". Billboard (Prometheus Global Media) 115 (43). 25 October 2003. ISSN 0006-2510.
11. "Emma Bunton, Maybe" (in German). GfK Entertainment. charts.de. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
12. "Dance Top 40 lista – 2004. 36. hét" (in Hungarian). Mahasz. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
13. "Top 50 Singles, Week Ending 6 November 2003". Irish Recorded Music Association. Chart-Track. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
14. "Emma Bunton – Maybe". Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
15. http://www.officialcharts.com/charts/scottish-singles-chart/20031019/41
16. "Emma Bunton – Maybe". Swedish Recording Industry Association. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
17. "Emma Bunton – Maybe". Media Control. Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 May 2008.
18. "Emma Bunton – Maybe". Official Charts Company. Chart Stats. Retrieved 6 July 2007.
19. "Emma Bunton Album & Song Chart History – Dance/Club Play Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 26 December 2011.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics