Leave Right Now
2003 single by Will Young
title: "Leave Right Now" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["19-recordings-singles", "2003-singles", "2003-songs", "2010-singles", "bertelsmann-music-group-singles", "irish-singles-chart-number-one-singles", "number-one-singles-in-scotland", "rca-records-singles", "song-recordings-produced-by-stephen-lipson", "songs-written-by-eg-white", "syco-music-singles", "uk-singles-chart-number-one-singles", "will-young-songs"] description: "2003 single by Will Young" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leave_Right_Now" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary 2003 single by Will Young ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox song"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Leave Right Now |
| cover | WYLRN2.jpg |
| type | single |
| artist | Will Young |
| album | Friday's Child |
| released | |
| genre | |
| length | 3:31 |
| writer | Eg White |
| producer | Stephen Lipson |
| prev_title | Don't Let Me Down |
| prev_title2 | You and I |
| prev_year | 2002 |
| next_title | Your Game |
| next_year | 2004 |
| misc | {{Extra album cover |
| header | Alternative covers |
| type | single |
| cover | WYLRN.jpg |
| caption | Australian artwork |
| :: |
::callout[type=note] the song by Will Young ::
| name = Leave Right Now | cover = WYLRN2.jpg | alt = | type = single | artist = Will Young | album = Friday's Child | B-side = | released = | recorded = | studio = | venue = | genre = | length = 3:31 | label =
- RCA
- BMG
- 19
- S | writer = Eg White | producer = Stephen Lipson | prev_title = Don't Let Me Down | prev_title2 = You and I | prev_year = 2002 | next_title = Your Game | next_year = 2004 | misc = {{Extra album cover | header = Alternative covers | type = single | cover = WYLRN.jpg | border = | alt = | caption = Australian artwork "Leave Right Now" is a song by British singer Will Young. It was written by Eg White and produced by Stephen Lipson for Young's second studio album, Friday's Child (2003). A song about unrequited love, it was released as the album's first single, becoming another number-one hit on the Irish and the UK Singles Chart.
White was awarded the Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically for "Leave Right Now" in 2004. The song was later also included on the international version of Young's third album, Keep On (2005). It also served as the exit song for the ninth season of American Idol. Young performed it on the penultimate episode to accompany a video montage recapping the season on 25 May 2010.
Critical reception
Stylus Magazine, who were mostly mixed to negative for Young's previous number ones, rated "Leave Right Now" with 9/10, saying "Better. Much, much better. By this time Will was comfortable as a popstar, prepared to add a little WTF to his videos (here he has a fight with the viewer in an art gallery), and had his style down pat: jacket and jeans rocked to a level not seen since Lovejoy and Tinker were bossing things in the late 80s. He had songs to match as well: 'Leave Right Now' is just one of the most English songs ever, which is understandable: what could be more English than a privately educated homosexual? The guy's a moderate genius—Dido with testicles and a heart." In 2007, Freaky Trigger ranked the song at number 54 in their list of the "Top 100 Songs of All Time," with critic Pete Baran calling it "one of the ballsiest songs of the noughties." In 2020, The Guardian ranked "Leave Right Now" at number 74 in its list of "The 100 greatest UK No 1 singles".
Commercial performance
The single went to number one in the UK Singles Chart and stayed there for two weeks, selling 117,702 copies in its first week. As of December 2018, the single had sold 638,000 copies, (728,000 including streaming equivalent sales). The song has sold 50,000 copies in the United States according to Billboard, with 32,000 of those occurring the week he performed on American Idol.
Music video
A music video for "Leave Right Now" was directed by Kevin Godley. The clip, which has no transitions and features actress Kelly Wenham as one of the party guests, features Young at a private view where a fight starts and he gets caught up in it.
The video is set in first person perspective, showing the viewer in a conversation with the guests, the guests' heads turning when they notice Young, and other guests speaking to the viewer when Young refuses to leave the view to ask if they are okay.
Track listings
| headline = UK CD single | extra_column = Producer(s)
| title1 = Leave Right Now | writer1 = Eg White | extra1 = Stephen Lipson | length1 = 3:33
| title2 = Cry | writer2 = | extra2 = | length2 = 4:20
| title3 = Leave Right Now | note3 = acoustic | writer3 = White | extra3 = Lipson | length3 = 4:12
| title4 = Leave Right Now | note4 = video | length4 = 3:36 | headline = European CD single | extra_column = Producer(s)
| title1 = Leave Right Now | writer1 = White | extra1 = Lipson | length1 = 3:33
| title2 = Ticket to Love | note2 = live at Exeter Festival 2003 | writer2 = | extra2 = | length2 = 5:23 | headline = Australian CD single | extra_column = Producer(s)
| title1 = Leave Right Now | writer1 = White | extra1 = Lipson | length1 = 3:33
| title2 = Ticket to Love | note2 = live at Exeter Festival 2003 | writer2 = | extra2 = | length2 = 5:23
| title3 = Cry | writer3 = | extra3 = | length3 = 4:20
| title4 = Leave Right Now | note4 = acoustic | writer4 = White | extra4 = Lipson | length4 = 4:12
| title5 = Leave Right Now | note5 = video | length5 = 3:36
Credits and personnel
- Tracey Ackerman – backing vocals
- Steve Barney – drums
- Anne Dudley – orchestra arranger
- Stephen Lipson – producer, programming
- Heff Moraes – mixing engineer
- John Themis – guitar
- Greg Wells – keyboards
- Eg White – protools
- Will Young – guitar, vocals
Charts
Weekly charts
::data[format=table title="Weekly chart performance for "Leave Right Now""] | Chart (2003–2010) | Peak position | Canada (Nielsen SoundScan) | Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) | US Heatseekers Songs (Billboard) | |---|---|---|---|---| | 69 | | | | | | 3 | | | | | | 5 | | | | | ::
Year-end charts
::data[format=table title="2003 year-end chart performance for "Leave Right Now""]
| Chart (2003) | Position | Ireland (IRMA) | UK Singles (OCC) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | |||
| 5 | |||
| :: |
::data[format=table title="2004 year-end chart performance for "Leave Right Now""]
| Chart (2004) | Position | Sweden (Hitlistan) | UK Singles (OCC) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 71 | |||
| 72 | |||
| :: |
Decade-end charts
::data[format=table title="Deacade-end chart performance for "Leave Right Now""]
| Chart (2000–2009) | Position | UK Singles (OCC) |
|---|---|---|
| 67 | ||
| :: |
Certifications
Release history
::data[format=table title="Release history for "Leave Right Now""]
| Region | Date | Label | Format | Ref(s) | United Kingdom | Australia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 November 2003 | CD | |||||
| 8 March 2004 | ||||||
| :: |
Cover versions
- In 2005, "Leave Right Now" was parodied by Mario Rosenstock for the radio show Gift Grub, whose identically titled version poked fun at Roy Keane's controversial departure from Manchester United and his falling-out with Alex Ferguson. Rosenstock's version also reached number one on the Irish Singles Chart.
- In 2005, "Leave Right Now" was covered in French by Pierrick Lilliu as "La même erreur" on his 2005 debut album, Besoin d'espace.
- In 2005, actor Peter Gallagher recorded a version for his album 7 Days in Memphis.
- In 2013, Australian artist Anthony Callea recorded a version for his album, Thirty.{{cite web|url=https://secondhandsongs.com/performance/36375/versions#nav-entity |title= Leave Right Now|publisher=secondhandsongs.com |access-date=31 January 2023}}
- In 2018, English musical theatre actor Lee Mead recorded a version for his album 10 Year Anniversary.
References
References
- Byrne, Katie. (25 February 2010). "'American Idol' Reveals New Exit Song: 'Leave Right Now'". MTV.com.
- ""Gotta Get Thru This": Dom Passantino's Survey of the New Millenium's UK #1 Singles - Article - Stylus Magazine". stylusmagazine.com.
- [https://freakytrigger.co.uk/tag/top-100-songs-of-all-time/page/9/ top 100 songs of all time. FreakyTrigger]
- (5 June 2020). "The 100 greatest UK No 1s: 100-1". [[The Guardian]].
- Jones, Alan. (17 January 2004). "Reality TV gives boost as singles slide goes on".
- Copsey, Rob. (6 December 2018). "Official Charts Flashback 2003: Will Young – Leave Right Now". [[Official Charts Company]].
- (2 June 2010). "Lee DeWyze lands six tracks on SoundScan Top 200". Content.usatoday.com.
- willyoungVEVO. (2009-10-03). "Will Young - Leave Right Now".
- (2003). "Leave Right Now". [[RCA Records]], [[Bertelsmann Music Group.
- (2003). "Leave Right Now". RCA Records, BMG, 19 Recordings, S Records.
- (2004). "Leave Right Now". RCA Records, BMG, 19 Recordings, S Records.
- "Will Young Chart History (Canadian Digital Songs)".
- (20 December 2003). "Hits of the World – Eurocharts".
- "Will Young - Chart history".
- "Best of Singles 2003". [[Irish Recorded Music Association.
- "The Official UK Singles Chart 2003". [[UKChartsPlus]].
- "Årslista Singlar, 2004". [[Sverigetopplistan]].
- "The Official UK Singles Chart 2004". [[UKChartsPlus]].
- [[BBC Radio 1. Radio 1]] Chart of the Decade, as presented by [[DJ Nihal]] on 29 December 2009
- Copsey, Rob. (26 May 2015). "Will Young's Official biggest selling singles revealed: "I'm shocked by that!"". [[Official Charts Company]].
- (22 November 2003). "New Releases: Singles".
- (8 March 2004). "The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 8th March 2004". [[Australian Recording Industry Association.
- "Dermot Kennedy claims Ireland’s Christmas Number 1 single and album with Giants and Without Fear". officialcharts.com.
- "Pierrick Lilliu – La même erreur". austriancharts.at.
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::