For the word, see hopelessly.
Hopelessly
single
CoverHopelesslyCover.jpg
ArtistRick Astley
AlbumBody & Soul
B-side
ReleasedAugust 1993
Length3:35
LabelRCA
Writer
Producer
  • Gary Stevenson
  • Rick Astley
Prev year1991
Next year1993

"Hopelessly" is a song performed by English singer-songwriter Rick Astley and written by Rob Fisher and Astley. It was produced by Gary Stevenson and Astley. The song was recorded for Astley's fourth album, Body & Soul (1993). It was released as a single in 1993 by RCA Records. The single peaked at number 33 on the UK Singles Chart, number 28 in the United States, and number eight in Canada.

The song had originally been intended to feature in the 1993 film Body of Evidence, starring Madonna and Willem Dafoe and was going to make up part of the soundtrack for the film and the subsequent album that followed was planned around the film; however, it was decided last minute by the film's production team that there were not going to be any songs in the film, just an orchestral backing. Astley later said that the decision by the film's production team "changed everything. Suddenly, the record label was stuck with an album that no one really wanted, that hadn't really been A&R'd and that no longer had a reason to exist. What were they going to do?"[1]

Track listing

Studio version

  1. "Hopelessly" – 3:35
  2. "When I Fall in Love" – 3:02
  3. "Hold Me in Your Arms" – 4:24
  4. "Whenever You Need Somebody" – 3:28

Live version

  1. "Hopelessly" (live, recorded in Italy, September 1993) – 2:58
  2. "Never Gonna Give You Up" – 3:32
  3. "Together Forever" – 3:24
  4. "She Wants to Dance with Me" – 3:15

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for "Hopelessly"
Chart (1993–1994)Peak
position
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[2]88
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[3]31
Quebec (ADISQ)[4]21
UK Airplay (ERA)[5]88
US Cash Box Top 100[6]22

Year-end chart

1993 year-end chart performance for "Hopelessly"
Chart (1993)Position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[7]61
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[8]21
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[9]37
1994 year-end chart performance for "Hopelessly"
Chart (1994)Position
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[10]45

References

  1. ^ Astley, Rick (2024). Never: The Autobiography. London: Panmacmillan. p. 206.
  2. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100". Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 47. 20 November 1993. p. 19. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  3. ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40" (in Icelandic). Dagblaðið Vísir. 23 September 1993. p. 20. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
  4. ^ Michel Gignac. "Compilation des succès par ordre alphabétique d'interprètes" (in French). banq.qc.ca. Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec. p. 39. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
  5. ^ "Airplay 100". Hit Music. 20 November 1993. p. 21. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  6. ^ "Top 100 Pop Singles". Cash Box. Vol. LVII, no. 10. 30 October 1993. p. 10. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  7. ^ "The RPM Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1993". RPM. Retrieved 2 July 2025. – via Library and Archives Canada
  8. ^ "The RPM Top 100 A\C Tracks of 1993". RPM. Retrieved 2 July 2025. – via Library and Archives Canada.
  9. ^ "1993 Hot Adult Contemporary Singles". Billboard. Archived from the original on 8 October 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
  10. ^ "1994 Hot Adult Contemporary Singles & Tracks". Billboard. Archived from the original on 20 July 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2011.