| "Father Figure" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byGeorge Michael | ||||
| from the albumFaith | ||||
| B-side | "Love's in Need of Love Today" (live at Wembley Arena) | |||
| Released | 28 December 1987 (1987-12-28) | |||
| Recorded | 1987 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 5:40 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Songwriter | George Michael | |||
| Producer | George Michael | |||
| George Michael singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Father Figure" onYouTube | ||||
"Father Figure" is a song by English singer and songwriterGeorge Michael from his debut studio album,Faith (1987). It was released on 28 December 1987 as the album's fourth single byColumbia Records. The song reached number one on the USBillboard Hot 100 and number 11 on theUK singles chart. Additionally it was a top five hit in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain.
Michael had this to say on the genesis of "Father Figure":
The initial concept was totally different from the way the song turned out. In fact, the initial concept for 'Father Figure' was to make it a kind of mid-tempo dance track. And what happened was I wanted to hear something in my mix so I happened to cut out the snare on the board and suddenly it changed the whole entire mood of the track. Suddenly it seemed really dreamy. And this was halfway through writing it because I was writing the song as I was going along in the studio. And I just thought, well, hey, this is actually much better! So I worked the rest of the feel of the track around this spacey type sound. And it ended up, in my mind, being the most original-sounding thing on the album.[3]
The song is anR&B ballad, and features elements ofEgyptian music andgospel music.[4] On the track's origins Michael said:
It started off with a rhythm track with a snare, and when you play it like that it sounds a bit likePrince. But I must have been listening to it without the snare and gone, "Oh my God, that totally changes the record!" It suddenly becomes a gospel record.[5]
Released in the United Kingdom in December 1987, "Father Figure" reached number eleven on theUK singles chart – the first time Michael had failed to reach the top ten in his home country.[6]
In the United States, "Father Figure" debuted on 16 January 1988 at number 49, while "Faith" was still prominent (at number nine) in the top ten of the chart. "Father Figure" reached number one on 27 February 1988, staying at the top for two weeks. Altogether, the single spent 17 weeks in the chart.[7]
After being prominently featured inHalina Reijn's 2024erotic thrillerBabygirl, the song recharted on theUK Singles Downloads Chart (No. 71) andUK singles chart (No. 73).[8]
Sue Dando fromSmash Hits wrote, "Once again, George unveils a blinding talent for wonderful sentiment and swoony lovesome lyrics, all elegantly swathed in pristine 'epic' production and the usual echoey voice-oice which trails-ails off almost every note-ote...It's in a similar 'vein' (though not nearly as good) as 'A Different Corner', it's perfectRadio Two fodder, and it will doubtless be a top ten hit."[9] In 2017, aBillboard article about the song described it as a "smoky ballad" which alluded to his status as agay man who had not yet declared his sexuality and was operating during ahomophobic time in the music industry and wider society, with journalist Barry Walters saying it "established Michael both as a nuanced grown-up and as a skilled singer-songwriter, able to intertwine racy innuendo and romantic steadfastness". He added that "on the surface, it's a traditional love ballad, the particularly passionate kind George mastered when he wrote 'Careless Whisper'", but that "like his idol and contemporary Prince, George searched for something 'sacred' in sexuality; a healing balm that will protect both him and his beloved. He aims to provide it, both with his reassuring words and steadfast delivery – whispery and intimate during the verses, commanding and declamatory during the chorus." He concluded that the song "allowed George to celebrate forbidden desires without drawing explicit attention to his own [...] Without the elements that nudge the lyric toward off-limits territory, 'Father Figure' would be a far more conventional and much less compelling song. They serve as crucial metaphors that brought George as close as he could to writing from the heart, without alienating much of his audience and the industry."[10]
The accompanying music video for "Father Figure" depicts a relationship between a cab driver (Michael) and a high-fashion model (Tania Coleridge).[11] Various intercut flashbacks tell a backstory. Michael andAndy Morahan[12] won"Best Direction of a Video" at the 1988MTV Video Music Awards for the video.[13]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Father Figure" | George Michael | 5:38 |
| 2. | "Love's in Need of Love Today" (live at Wembley Arena, 1 Apr '87) | Stevie Wonder | 4:42 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Father Figure" | Michael | 5:38 |
| 2. | "Love's in Need of Love Today" (live at Wembley Arena, 1 Apr '87) | Wonder | 4:42 |
| 3. | "Father Figure" (instrumental) | Michael | 5:38 |
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[47] | Gold | 35,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[48] | Gold | 15,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[49] | Gold | 400,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
"Father Figure" is nonetheless a sexy slice of blue-eyed soul...
Father Figure" is a sensual, divine gospel,...
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite magazine}}:Cite magazine requires|magazine= (help)| 1980s | |
|---|---|
| 1990s |
|
| 2000s | |
| 2010s | |
| Promotional singles | |
| Other songs | |
| Featured | |
