Released: 7th December 1998
Writers: B*Witched / Ray Hedges / Martin Brannigan
Peak position: #1
Chart run: 1-5-6-5-15-26-39-41-48-48-37-61-X-X-64-67
After topping the chart with their first two singles, B*Witched returned to claim a third – and ostensibly make a bid for the Christmas #1 spot – with To You I Belong.
There was never any question that B*Witched would feature somewhere in the festive chart of 1998. Having made an immediate impression with consecutive #1 hits, C’est La Vie and Rollercoaster earlier in the year – consolidated by their self-titled debut album reaching #3 – releasing a single in time for Christmas was the next rite of passage for the group to extend their run of chart-topping singles. But To You I Belong had to be tactically timed because only one act would likely be Christmas #1 in 1998. The Spice Girls were releasing Goodbye and, as their first single recorded following Geri Halliwell’s departure, commanded so much attention that the outcome was more or less a foregone conclusion. Whatever momentum B*Witched had, it would not be enough to put them in direct contention. Thus, they did the next best thing and released To You I Belong a week earlier.
As was customary for the late ‘90s, despite this being very much mooted as the group’s Christmas single (the wintry artwork features icicles and frozen surroundings, while the CD1 and cassette formats contain a track called B*Witched’s Message to Santa), there’s nothing festive about To You I Belong specifically. Moreover, the song isn’t necessarily what audiences unfamiliar with B*Witched’s album might expect after the first two singles. It leans heavily into the Irish influences that characterised the group’s identity – with a particularly prominent tin whistle – but the sombre, sweeping production is removed from the bubblegum pop effervescence of the preceding singles.
To You I Belong was co-written by B*Witched as a dedication to their parents, which occasionally results in some slightly twee moments, particularly during the first verse: “Rain fell down, you were there, I cried for you when I hurt my hand”. However, knowing that context, the sentiment is touching, and there’s still enough ambiguity within the lyrics for them to work as a love song in a more general sense (“Beside the sea, where the waves broke, I drew a heart for you, in the sand”). Indeed, beyond the anecdote about an injured hand, To You I Belong strikes a rather poetic tone: “In fields where streams, turn to rivers, I ran to you, you were there” with a simple structure that conjures vivid imagery.
Nowhere is that more effectively utilised than the chorus: “Whenever dark turns to night, and all the dreams sing their song, and in the daylight forever, to you I belong”, which is steeped in understated beauty. The production creates an atmospheric backdrop to B*Witched’s vocals, giving To You I Belong an almost ethereal quality, particularly when the group sings in a higher pitch. There’s a sense throughout that the track might be on the cusp of turning into something much bigger. Certainly, the stirring instrumental mid-section – with flourishes of Spanish guitar – does elevate it to a certain degree. However, for the most part, To You I Belong gently ebbs and flows, which showcases a maturity and depth to B*Witched’s pop persona that wasn’t necessarily apparent from C’est La Vie and Rollercoaster.
The accompanying music video is well-suited to the song and complements its musical identity. There’s a nature-based theme running through the sequences, with B*Witched wandering through a forest, performing against a backdrop of the sea and riding a wooden boat across a lake. The colour palette gives To You I Belong an objective point of difference from the preceding singles, swapping bright, vivid tones for darker shades of purple and blue mixed with washed-out scenery. Furthermore, double-exposure shots are utilised throughout, giving the group an – at times – spectral presence.
While the visuals eschew many of the things that had defined B*Witched as a bubblegum pop act to this point, it’s not a total departure and the inclusion of a dance routine where the group use finger cymbals – which was mirrored in their live performances during promotion for the single – is a quirkily on-brand gimmick that fits coherently. Any limitations from what appears to be a video created on a modest budget (despite the group’s success) all contribute effectively to a video that feels charmingly off-kilter and other-worldly.
To You I Belong earned B*Witched their third consecutive #1 hit, debuting atop the chart with impressively consistent first-week sales of 150,000 copies (for comparison, C’est La Vie sold 153,000, while Rollercoaster managed 156,800). Indeed, had the track been released a few weeks earlier, that would have comfortably been enough to prematurely end Cher’s seven-week run at #1 with Believe. B*Witched might not have had the commercial clout to take on the Spice Girls directly, but on many other weeks during 1998, they’d have been more than capable of holding their own against other established acts. Despite only a few weeks of sales, To You I Belong was the 33rd biggest-selling single of the year (381,000 copies) and is the group’s third-highest seller behind C’est La Vie and Rollercoaster.
B*Witched’s self-titled debut album had maintained a consistent presence in the top 20 since being released several months earlier. To You I Belong ensured it remained visible over the festive period to earn a double-platinum certification and become the 22nd biggest-seller of 1998 (554,000 copies). B*Witched continued to perform well into the new year — when it climbed back into the top ten — selling a further 174,361 copies to achieve a double-platinum certification. Understandably, the group’s legacy is often defined by the enduring popularity of C’est La Vie as their signature hit. But beyond that, their debut album campaign was very strong commercially by most usual standards. More so than the group often gets credit for.
Of the four singles released from B*Witched’s album, To You I Belong is probably the one most likely to be overlooked (when the group reformed for ITV2’s The Big Reunion in 2013, this is the only single from their debut album not to feature). It doesn’t have the iconic novelty of C’est La Vie, the pure bubblegum pop vigour of Rollercoaster or the soaring theatricality of Blame It On The Weatherman. But the song’s understated quality is quietly striking and showcases a very different side to B*Witched.
