| "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single byPhil Collins | ||||
| from the albumAgainst All Odds: Music from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | ||||
| B-side |
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| Released |
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| Recorded | 1983 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:23 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter | Phil Collins | |||
| Producer | Arif Mardin | |||
| Phil Collins singles chronology | ||||
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| Audio sample | ||||
"Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" | ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" onYouTube | ||||
"Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" (also titled "Against All Odds") is a song by English drummer, singer and songwriterPhil Collins. It was recorded for the soundtrack tothe 1984 film of the same name. It is apower ballad in which its protagonist implores an ex-lover to "take a look at me now", knowing that reconciliation is "against all odds", but worth the gamble. The single reached No. 1 on theBillboard Hot 100 in the United States, the first of seven US No. 1s for Collins in his solo career.[4] It also topped the charts in Canada, Ireland, and Norway, while peaking at No. 2 in theUK singles chart.
The song has been covered by several singers, some versions of which have been successful in both the US and UK markets. It has twice reachedNo. 1 in the UK: the pairing ofMariah Carey and pop groupWestlife in September 2000,[5] and then again bySteve Brookstein, the first winner ofThe X Factor, in January 2005.[6]
Collins was approached to write the title song to the Americanneo-noir filmAgainst All Odds (1984) while it was still in its preliminary "rough cut form".[7] DirectorTaylor Hackford, who previously useda song forAn Officer and a Gentleman (1982), planned to do the same forAgainst All Odds,[8] which is a remake ofOut of the Past (1947). When he signed withAtlantic Records, he was provided with a roster of artists, among whom Collins was chosen to render the film's theme song based on the quality of his voice.[8]
At the time the soundtrack was being completed, Collins was on tour withGenesis. Hackford flew toChicago to see one of the band's concerts. Collins watched the film on avideocassette recorder in his hotel room and agreed to appear on the soundtrack.[9] Hackford said that it was a "textbook case of designing a song to reflect what the film is".[8] The song appears in the film as background music during the closing credits.[10]
Originally titled "How Can You Just Sit There?", the song's music was written by Collins during sessions for his debut solo albumFace Value (1981), but it became discarded as it was his least favourite of the several ballads he wrote at the time.[11][12] Nor was it included onHello, I Must Be Going! (1982), as many newer songs were written for it. Collins eventually presented the demo to Hackford when approached to write a song forAgainst All Odds, which he loved. Collins then penned the lyrics, which were for the film.[12] Due to lack of time available (as he was on tour with Genesis), he hadarrangerArif Mardin produce it, and they worked on it over two days.[12] The piano performance is by New York musicianRob Mounsey. Piano, keyboard bass and a string section arranged and conducted by Mardin were recorded at RCA Studios, New York, while Collins recorded vocals and drums in Los Angeles.[8]
On episode 339 ofThis American Life, "Break Up", Collins relays that the song was inspired and written shortly after the breakup between him and his first wife. In the interview he says that the divorce transformed him from being a musician into also being a lyricist.[citation needed]
The song was first included on a Collins album on the 1998 compilationHits, and it also appeared on his compilationLove Songs: A Compilation... Old and New (2004). A live performance of the song also appears on theSerious Hits... Live! album. In 2015, Collins released the original demo recording from theFace Value sessions as part of hisTake A Look At Me Now project.
"Against All Odds" won theGrammy Award forBest Pop Vocal Performance, Male in1985, was nominated forSong of the Year and for anAcademy Award as well as for aGolden Globe both in theBest Original Song categories. At the Academy Awards ceremony, Collins was not invited to sing his song on stage and instead sat in the audience as dancerAnn Reinking gave a mostly lip-synced vocal performance accompanied by a dance routine. Reinking's performance was poorly received by critics from theLos Angeles Times andPeople,[13][14] as well as by Collins himself in aRolling Stone interview.[15]
When another song Collins performed for a film, "Separate Lives", was being nominated for anAcademy Award, in interviews about the original snub by the Academy for "Against All Odds", Collins would jokingly say "the hell with him – I'm going up too", referring to what he would do if the Stephen Bishop-written song were to win the award.[16] Collins lost to theStevie Wonder song "I Just Called to Say I Love You".
Writing for her review of the film soundtrack,AllMusic's Heather Phares said that the film is best remembered for the inclusion of Collins' "classic theme song".[17] Phares added that the song "remains not only one of Collins' definitive singles, but one of the 1980s' best love songs".[17] Hackford had the same view, stating that it "decidedly" helped the film: people identified the song with the film and came to watch it.[8] When the single reached the top five, it contributed to the increased box office sales of the film.[8]
RapperRZA named "Against All Odds" as his favourite power ballad in an article on such songs inSpin.[18]The Guardian andAmerican Songwriter both named it as Collins' second-best solo song behind "In the Air Tonight".[19][20]
"Against All Odds" became Collins' third top-ten single in the UK, peaking at #2 for three weeks in 1984. It was kept from the top spot byLionel Richie's "Hello" for the first of these three weeks, andDuran Duran's "The Reflex" for the next two. It was ranked 14th in the year-end best-seller chart. In the U.S. and Canada, it peaked at No. 1 on theBillboard Hot 100 charts for three weeks in the spring of 1984 and four weeks on the CanadianRPM charts.[9]Billboard ranked it as the No. 5 song for 1984 andRPM ranked it at No. 2.[21]
The single's music video was directed by Taylor Hackford, produced by Jeffrey Abelson through Parallax Productions and cinematographed byDaniel Pearl.[22] Hackford was paidUS$20,000 (out of a total budget of US$45,000)[23] for a complete Collins clip. The music video was released in February 1984.[8] A No. 1 MTV video for several weeks,MTV ranked it as No. 4 four in its 1984 year-end top 20 video countdown.[24] Gary LeMel, music supervisor at Columbia, felt the music video on MTV increasedAgainst All Odds' box office takings by at least US$5 million.[23]
The concept for the video was created by Keith Williams, a Welsh-born writer who had already worked with Abelson on the video for "Dancing with Myself" (Billy Idol), and who would go on to also create concepts for "Holding Out for a Hero" (Bonnie Tyler) and "Ghostbusters" (Ray Parker Jr.) for the same producer as well as "Say You, Say Me" (Lionel Richie) fromWhite Nights, which Hackford also directed.[25]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[64] | Gold | 45,000‡ |
| France (SNEP)[65] 2016 Remaster | Gold | 100,000‡ |
| Italy (FIMI)[66] | Gold | 35,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[67] | Platinum | 30,000‡ |
| Poland (ZPAV)[68] | Gold | 25,000‡ |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE)[69] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[70] | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[71] | Gold | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
American singerMariah Carey recorded and co-produced her version of the song withJimmy Jam and Terry Lewis for her seventh studio albumRainbow (1999). It was released on 29 May 2000, as the fourth single from the album, byColumbia Records.[72] Carey later released a new version of the song, featuring new vocals by Irish pop groupWestlife, which served as the first single from the band's second album,Coast to Coast (2000).
| "Against All Odds" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single bySteve Brookstein | ||||
| from the albumHeart and Soul | ||||
| Released | 20 December 2004 | |||
| Recorded | 2004 | |||
| Genre | Pop rock | |||
| Length | 3:12 | |||
| Label | Sony BMG | |||
| Songwriter | Phil Collins | |||
| Steve Brookstein singles chronology | ||||
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English singer andThe X Factor winnerSteve Brookstein included "Against All Odds" on his debut studio album,Heart and Soul (2005). It was released as his debut single on 20 December 2004 bySony BMG proceeds went to the Asian Tsunami Fund.[73]
In 2004, Brookstein won the televised UK talent competitionThe X Factor, and recorded a cover of thePhil Collins 1984 hit "Against All Odds" as his debut single. It entered theUK Singles Chart at number two behind "Do They Know It's Christmas?" byBand Aid 20, and then climbed to number one, where it stayed for one week from 2 January 2005 to 8 January 2005 and was replaced byElvis Presley's "Jailhouse Rock". "Against All Odds" was later included on Brookstein's debut albumHeart and Soul.
"Against All Odds" debuted at number two in the United Kingdom, behindBand Aid 20's version of "Do They Know It's Christmas?", and at number 11 in Ireland. It charted at number one in the UK the following week. "Against All Odds" sold 127,701 copies in its first week in the UK, the lowest first-week sales for anX Factor winner's single until 2015.[74] Brookstein's version has sold 204,000 copies in the UK to date, making it the lowest-selling X Factor winner's single.[75] It has sold fewer than half the copies ofLeon Jackson's "When You Believe" andLittle Mix's "Cannonball", a third ofJoe McElderry's "The Climb", a quarter ofLeona Lewis's "A Moment Like This", and a fifth of those ofMatt Cardle's "When We Collide",Shayne Ward's "That's My Goal",James Arthur's "Impossible" andAlexandra Burke's "Hallelujah". The next fewest sales from a winner's song wasSam Bailey's version of "Skyscraper", which had first-week sales of 149,000 copies, 26,000 more than "Against All Odds".[75] However, Louisa Johnson, Matt Terry and Rak Su would all have lower first week sales in later years.
In 2026, a weirdSuper Bowl LX commercial called "Take a Look"[76]for the hydration multiplier drink mix product where toilets, urinals and even a portable bathroom sing a cover of the song as it encourages its viewers to "take a look at your pee" and do a better job hydrating it if its yellow.
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
Phil Collins songs | |
|---|---|
| Face Value | |
| Hello, I Must Be Going! | |
| No Jacket Required | |
| Buster | |
| ...But Seriously | |
| Serious Hits... Live! |
|
| Both Sides | |
| Dance into the Light | |
| ...Hits | |
| Tarzan | |
| Testify | |
| Brother Bear | |
| Going Back | |
| Featured singles | |
| Other singles | |
| Other songs | |
