Back to You (Bryan Adams song)

"Back to You" is a rock song by Canadian singer Bryan Adams, written by Adams and Eliot Kennedy. It was first released in 1997 as a live acoustic version for Adams' album MTV Unplugged and features students from the Juilliard School, conducted by Michael Kamen. Upon its release, the song became Adams' ninth number-one single in his home country, staying at number one on the RPM Top Singles chart for three nonconsecutive weeks, and reached the top 40 in Australia, Hungary, Iceland and the United Kingdom. It was later included on the compilation albums The Best of Me and Anthology.

"Back to You"
Single by Bryan Adams
from the album MTV Unplugged
B-side	"Hey Elvis" "Can't Stop This Thing We Started / It Ain't a Party...If You Can't Come 'Round"
Released	November 21, 1997
Recorded	September 26, 1997
Genre	Rock
Length	4:25 (Live version) 5:06 (Original demo version)
Label	A&M
Songwriter(s)	Bryan Adams and Eliot Kennedy
Producer(s)	Bob Rock
Bryan Adams singles chronology
"I Finally Found Someone" (1996) "Back to You" (1997) "I'm Ready" (1998)

The B-sides are two tracks performed the same night as the album, however "Can't Stop This Thing We Started / It Ain't a Party...If You Can't Come 'Round" is only featured on the MTV Unplugged DVD, while "Hey Elvis" was previously unreleased.

Critical reception

Larry Flick from Billboard wrote, "Here is the bouncy, uptempo pop single that Adams' longtime fans have been longing for. A new tune that will be featured on the singer's forthcoming "Unplugged" collection, "Back To You" has a sweet acoustic feel and deserves to easily glide onto top 40 playlists. The chorus has instant sing-along potential, and Adams delivers every syllable with an "aw-shucks" romantic flair. At the same time, there's enough bite in the instrumentation to keep mainstream rock radio listeners happily engaged. An excellent single that leaves you hankering for more."[1]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Back to You"	Bryan Adams, Eliot Kennedy	4:30
2.	"Hey Elvis"	Adams, Gretchen Peters	3:41
3.	"Can't Stop This Thing We Started / It Ain't a Party...If You Can't Come 'Round"	Adams, Robert John "Mutt" Lange	4:40

Personnel

• Bryan Adams – guitar, vocals
• Keith Scott – lead guitar, vocal harmonies
• Dave Taylor – bass, vocal harmonies
• Micky Curry – drums, vocal harmonies
• Danny Cummings – percussion, vocal harmonies
• Tommy Mandel – piano
• Michael Kamen – string arrangement and conductor

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1997–1998) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[2] 38 Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[3] 3 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[4] 1 Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[5] 1 Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM)[6] 4 Germany (Official German Charts)[7] 62 Hungary (Mahasz)[8] 4 Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[9] 29 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[10] 77 Scotland (OCC)[11] 19 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[12] 56 UK Singles (OCC)[13] 18 scope="row" US Radio Songs (Billboard)[14] 42 scope="row" US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[15] 14 scope="row" US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[16] 27 scope="row" US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[17] 19

Year-end charts Chart (1998) Position Canada Top Singles (RPM)[18] 9 Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[19] 11

References

1. Flick, Larry (November 29, 1997). "Reviews & Previews: Singles" (PDF). Billboard. p. 65. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
2. "Australian-charts.com – Bryan Adams – Back to You". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
3. "Ultratop.be – Bryan Adams – Back to You" (in Dutch). Ultratip.
4. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 3432." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
5. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 3427." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
6. "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 3442." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
7. "Offiziellecharts.de – Bryan Adams – Back to You". GfK Entertainment Charts.
8. "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 15 no. 1–3. January 17, 1998. p. 14. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
9. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (25.12. 1997–01.01. 1998)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). December 27, 1997. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
10. "Dutchcharts.nl – Bryan Adams – Back to You" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
11. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
12. "Swedishcharts.com – Bryan Adams – Back to You". Singles Top 100.
13. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
14. "Bryan Adams Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard.
15. "Bryan Adams Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
16. "Bryan Adams Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard.
17. "Bryan Adams Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard.
18. "RPM's Top 100 Hits of '98" (PDF). RPM. Vol. 68 no. 12. December 14, 1998. p. 20. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
19. "RPM's Top 100 Adult Contemporary Tracks of '98". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 13, 2019.