"Wonderful Life"
Single by Hurts
from the album Happiness
B-side"Affair"
Released3 May 2010 (2010-05-03)
Recorded2009
GenreSynthpop
Length4:15
Label
  • Major Label
  • RCA
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Hurts singles chronology
"Better Than Love"
(2010)		 "Wonderful Life"
(2010)		 "Stay"
(2010)

"Wonderful Life" is a song by English musical duo Hurts from their debut album, Happiness. It was released as their debut single in Denmark on 3 May 2010 and was released as their second single in the United Kingdom on 22 August 2010. The song peaked at number two in Germany and reached top ten positions in Denmark, Switzerland, Poland and Austria. It also charted in Belgium.

Background

In an interview with entertainment website Digital Spy, lead singer Theo Hutchcraft said of "Wonderful Life": "It's basically based on two extremes: the first being a man who wants to kill himself and the second being love at first sight. He's standing on the bridge about to jump and he's stopped by a woman. They see each other and fall in love. She basically says, 'Come with me, it's all going to be fine'. The song only offers a snippet of someone's life, so we don't know what happens at the end of it."[1]

Critical reception

"Wonderful Life" was well received from music critics. Digital Spy gave the song five out of five stars writing: "Over noirishly simmering synths, frontman Theo Hutchcraft tells the story of a suicidal man saved from jumping off the Severn Bridge by the strike of love at first sight. The rest, quite frankly, speaks for itself. Classy video? Check. Haunting vocals? You got 'em. Epic instrumental breakdown two-thirds of the way through? Seriously, it's all here."[2] The Guardian reviewer Paul Lester wrote: "Wonderful Life is a heart-piercing future classic. Close your eyes and you're transported back to 1987, with the pristine production and melodies."[3] Fraser McAlpine of BBC Chart Blog gave the song four out of five stars and described it as a sad song with "bitterly optimistic lyrics".[4] Brent DiCrescenzo from Time Out Chicago gave "Wonderful Life" four out of five stars and called it a "immaculately crafted, melodramatic pop song[s]"[5] Sarah Walters of City Life gave the song three out of five stars. She felt the song was "a product of the 1980s", and wrote, "There are countless debts in here: the sentimental synth of the Pet Shop Boys or Fiction Factory, the dancefloor savvy of The Beloved, the emotional lyrical arch China Crisis or the dashes of saxophone used by Spandau Ballet and Black".[6] (Coincidentally, Black had a hit with a song of the same title).[7] Chris Maguire of AltSounds gave a mixed review: "It isn't ground-breaking by any means but it is a good example of pop music done well. Sure the lyrics aren't the greatest [...] but the chorus is good and will rattle around in your brain for quite a few hours after you have finished listening to it."[8]

In his book 'Albion's Secret History: Snapshots of England's Pop Rebels and Outsiders' Guy Mankowski wrote a chapter about the song, commenting that Hurts 'deftly created a European mythology of their own with their debut video for the single ‘Wonderful Life’. Within four minutes they created an evocative visual landscape, rich with reference points, which proved that even in the contemporary era Europe retained a sense mystique for the English.' [9]

Track listing

Personnel

Source:[10]

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Austria (IFPI Austria)[46] Gold 15,000*
Germany (BVMI)[47] 3× Gold 450,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[48] Platinum 30,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Format
Denmark 3 May 2010 Digital download
Germany 30 July 2010[49]
6 August 2010[50] CD single
United Kingdom 22 August 2010[51] Digital download
23 August 2010[52] CD single

References

  1. ↑ Balls, David (27 December 2009). "Music - Interview - Ones To Watch: Hurts". Digital Spy. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  2. ↑ Copsey, Robert (23 August 2010). "Music - Singles Review - Hurts: 'Wonderful Life'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  3. ↑ Lester, Paul (27 July 2009). "New band of the day – No 593: Hurts". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
  4. ↑ McAlpine, Fraser (15 January 2010). "Chart Blog: Hurts - 'Wonderful Life'". BBC Music. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
  5. ↑ DiCrescenzo, Brent. "Tracks | Hurts - Wonderful Life | Summer Camp - Round the Moon | Music review". Time Out Chicago. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
  6. ↑ Walters, Sarah. "Single Review: Hurts - Wonderful Life - Releases - Music". Retrieved 3 September 2010.
  7. ↑ Lester, Paul (27 July 2009). "Hurts (No 593)". The Guardian. London.
  8. ↑ Chris Maguire (2 September 2010). "Hurts - Wonderful Life (Single)". AltSounds. Archived from the original on 25 October 2014.
  9. ↑ Guy Mankowski (2 September 2010). "The New Europeans: Depeche Mode, Ultravox, Hurts and Disco Lento". 3AM Magazine.
  10. ↑ Wonderful Life (liner notes). Hurts. Sony. 2010.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. ↑ "Hurts – Wonderful Life" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  12. ↑ "Hurts – Wonderful Life" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  13. ↑ "Hurts – Wonderful Life" (in French). Ultratip.
  14. ↑ Hurts — Wonderful Life. TopHit. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  15. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 201039 into search.
  16. ↑ "Hurts – Wonderful Life". Tracklisten.
  17. ↑ "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 122, no. 36. 11 September 2010. p. 47. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 2 August 2019 – via American Radio History.
  18. ↑ "Hurts: Wonderful Life" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat.
  19. ↑ "Hurts – Wonderful Life" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  20. ↑ "Greece Digital Song Sales – Hurts – Wonderful Life". Billboard. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  21. ↑ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége.
  22. ↑ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Hurts". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  23. ↑ "Media Forest Week 49, 2010". Israeli Airplay Chart. Media Forest.
  24. ↑ "Luxembourg Digital Song Sales – Hurts – Wonderful Life". Billboard. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  25. ↑ "Hurts – Wonderful Life" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  26. ↑ "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100.
  27. ↑ "Top w dyskotekach" (in Polish). ZPAV. 1 January 2011. Archived from the original on 11 October 2011. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
  28. ↑ "Russia Airplay Chart for 2011-01-10." TopHit. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  29. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  30. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201041 into search.
  31. ↑ "Hurts – Wonderful Life". Singles Top 100.
  32. ↑ "Hurts – Wonderful Life". Swiss Singles Chart.
  33. ↑ "Hurts: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  34. ↑ "Ukraine Airplay Chart for 2010-12-27." TopHit. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  35. ↑ "Jahreshitparade Singles 2010". austriancharts.at (in German). Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  36. ↑ "2010 Year End Charts – European Hot 100 Singles". Billboard. Archived from the original on 12 September 2011. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  37. ↑ "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts – 2010" (in German). Offizielle Deutsche Charts. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  38. ↑ "Rádiós Top 100 – hallgatottsági adatok alapján – 2010" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  39. ↑ "Swiss Year-End Charts 2010". swisscharts.com. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  40. ↑ "Rádiós Top 100 – hallgatottsági adatok alapján – 2011" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  41. ↑ "2011 Yearly Charts". Media Forest. 30 December 2011. Archived from the original on 12 February 2012.
  42. ↑ "Top Radio Hits Russia Annual Chart 2011" (in Russian). TopHit. Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  43. ↑ "Top Radio Hits Ukraine Annual Chart 2011" (in Russian). TopHit. Archived from the original on 16 March 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  44. ↑ "Top Radio Hits Russia Annual Chart 2012" (in Russian). TopHit. Archived from the original on 16 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  45. ↑ "Top Radio Hits Ukraine Annual Chart 2012" (in Russian). TopHit. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  46. ↑ "Austrian single certifications – Hurts – Wonderful Life" (in German). IFPI Austria. 24 February 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  47. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Hurts; 'Wonderful Life')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  48. ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Wonderful Life')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  49. ↑ "Wonderful Life: Hurts" (in German). Amazon.de. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
  50. ↑ "Wonderful Life: Hurts" (in German). Amazon.de. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
  51. ↑ "Wonderful Life: Hurts". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
  52. ↑ "Wonderful Life: Hurts". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
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