Amazing (Matt Cardle song)

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

"Amazing"
Single by Matt Cardle
from the album Letters
Released19 February 2012 (2012-02-19)
Recorded2010–2011
GenreIndie pop
Length3:59
LabelSyco Music, Columbia
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Richard 'Biff' Stannard
Matt Cardle singles chronology
"Starlight"
(2011)
"Amazing"
(2012)
"It's Only Love"
(2012)

"Amazing" is a song by British singer-songwriter Matt Cardle, released as the third single from his debut studio album, Letters, on 19 February 2012. The song was co-written by Tom Leonard, Martin Harrington, Ash Howes, Richard Stannard and Cardle himself. The single was backed with an all-new track, "All Is Said", as well as a live version of "Slowly", and a studio version of his cover of "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face".

Critical reception[edit]

Robert Copsey of Digital Spy gave the song a positive review, stating: "Co-written by the man himself and produced by Richard Stannard – Ellie Goulding, Will Young – 'Amazing' will do little to deter his detractors who claim he is nothing more than mushy MOR guitar-pop, but it should easily please his larger-than-you'd-think fanbase. Yes, it's another Keane-esque guitar-strumming number, the lyrics are clichéd – "Look inside this fragile heart of mine" – and he belts out his trademark ad-libs at the end, but – whisper it – sometimes you just can't beat a bit of no-frills pop." .[1]

Lawsuit[edit]

On 9 June 2016, it was reported that Ed Sheeran and Johnny McDaid, were being sued by "Amazing" songwriters Harrington and Leonard, for $20 million for copyright infringement with their song "Photograph". The lawsuit says: "Given the striking similarity between the chorus of Amazing and Photograph, (the) defendants knew when writing, publishing, recording, releasing, and distributing Photograph that they were infringing on a pre-existing musical composition."[2] Cardle clarified on Twitter that it was not his lawsuit, adding that he thinks Ed Sheeran is "a genius and 100% deserves all his success".[3] The lawsuit was privately settled in April 2017, with no admission of guilt and an undisclosed sum.[4]

Music video[edit]

The music video for "Amazing" premiered on 13 January 2012, at a total length of four minutes and six-seconds.[5] The video shows scenes of Cardle performing the song in a dark room, direct to camera. Certain shots are filmed in a laissez-faire[clarification needed] style, with the camera and boom operators being seen in shot. It also shows scenes of couples in the surrounding studio, either upset or re-uniting.

Track listing[edit]

Digital EP[6]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Amazing"Matt Cardle, Tom Leonard, Martin Harrington, Ash Howes, Richard Stannard3:58
2."The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" (Studio Mix)Ewan MacColl3:36
3."All Is Said" (Demo)Matt Cardle, James Walsh, Eliot James3:54
4."Slowly" (Live from Koko)Matt Cardle, Eg White, David Sneddon4:00
Promotional CD single[7]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Amazing"Matt Cardle, Tom Leonard, Martin Harrington, Ash Howes, Richard Stannard3:31
2."Amazing" (Instrumental)Matt Cardle, Tom Leonard, Martin Harrington, Ash Howes, Richard Stannard3:31

Chart performance[edit]

Chart (2011) Peak
position
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[8] 84

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Matt Cardle: 'Amazing' - Single review - Music Singles Review". Digital Spy. 17 February 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
  2. ^ "Ed Sheeran is being sued for $20m by two songwriters over his track Photograph". Newsbeat. BBC Online. 9 June 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  3. ^ @MattCardle (9 June 2016). "Please read news articles closely. This is not my lawsuit. I think @edsheeran is a genius & 100% deserves all his success 🙏🏽❤️ X" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  4. ^ Ellis-Petersen, Hannah (11 April 2017). "Ed Sheeran may regret Photograph that led to $20m copyright case". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  5. ^ "Matt Cardle - Amazing". 13 January 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2013 – via YouTube.
  6. ^ "Amazing: Matt Cardle: Amazon.co.uk: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
  7. ^ "Matt Cardle // Starlight & Amazing | Rushes Blog". Rushesblog.wordpress.com. 17 January 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
  8. ^ "Official UK Singles Top 100 - 29th June 2013 | Official UK Top 40 | music charts | Official Singles Chart". Theofficialcharts.com. Archived from the original on 8 November 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2013.