What If (Kate Winslet song)

Infobox Single
Name = What If


Artist = Kate Winslet
from Album =
Released = November 2001
Format = CD Single
Genre = Pop, Ballad
Length = 4:21
Label = EMI/Liberty
Writer = Julian Knott
Producer = Steve Mac
Chart position = #1 Austria,Belgium,Ireland
#3 Netherlands, Europe
#4 Switzerland
#6 Germany, United Kingdom
Last single =
This single = "What If"
(2001)
Next single = "What If" is a single by actress Kate Winslet, released in November 2001.

The song is taken from the 2001 animated film "" which is based on the Charles Dickens classic novel. Winslet provided the voice of Belle in the film, which also stars Nicolas Cage, Jane Horrocks and Simon Callow.

"What If" is a ballad that follows the film's theme, and was the first and only song to be released from the official movie soundtrack. It was written by Julian Knott and produced by Steve Mac, who has worked with Westlife, Boyzone and 5ive. The music video, which was directed by Paul Donnellon and produced by Chris Horton, shows Winslet walking around an old Victorian house, along with clips from the film.

News that Winslet was secretly recording the one-off single to vie for the 2001 UK Christmas number one spot was reported in the The Daily Mirror newspaper. In the event the song entered the UK singles chart at number 6, and was beaten to the Christmas top spot by Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman's version of "Somethin' Stupid". "What If" debuted at number 1 on the Irish singles chart on 8 December 2001, toppling Irish television puppet Dustin's version of "Sweet Caroline". It remained at number 1 for four weeks. At Winslet's request, the proceeds from the single were given to the NSPCC and Sargent Cancer Care For Children.

In 2004, a dance remake of the song was released by Ronny V featuring Nanda.

External links

* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0259929/news "Winslet Records a Single"] (IMDb news article)
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/1676426.stm "Winslet Launches Festive Chart Bid"] (BBC News story)