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"The Girl That Never Was" is a song by English singer-songwriter James Blunt. It was released by Atlantic Records UK on 4 October 2023 as the third single from Blunt's seventh studio album, Who We Used to Be.

Background

"The Girl That Never Was" was written by Blunt, George Tizzard and Rick Parkhouse. It was written about Blunt and his wife losing a child through miscarriage.

Live performance

On 27 October 2023, Blunt performed the song on the BBC's The One Show. On writing the song, Blunt shared "I'm married. We had aspirations to start a family and...people in my situation have gone through that, you win some battles and you lose some the ones that we have lost we struggle with a bit."

Music video

A lyric video was released on the day of the single's official release, with the official music video, directed by Vaughan Arnell released on 12 October 2023. On 20 October 2023, Blunt released a video showing an acoustic performance of "The Girl That Never Was".

Chart performance

The single peaked at number 7 on the UK Singles Downloads Chart Top 100 on 3 November 2023. It appeared on that chart for seven consecutive weeks.

Charts

References

1. "James Blunt - Who We Used to Be". Spotify. 27 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
2. Everett, Charlotte (28 October 2023). "James Blunt has One Show viewers in tears with emotional reason for new song". The Mirror. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
3. "JAMES BLUNT touches on loss in new single 'The Girl That Never Was'". XS Noize. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
4. "James Blunt drops latest single The Girl That Never Was". Retro Pop Magazine. 5 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
5. Hallam, Katy (27 October 2023). "BBC The One Show viewers sobbing as James Blunt shares tragic reason for new song". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
6. "James Blunt - The Girl That Never Was (Lyric Video)". YouTube. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
7. "The Girl That Never Was (Official video)". YouTube. 12 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
8. "James Blunt - The Girl That Never Was (Acoustic)". YouTube. 20 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
9. "Official Singles Downloads Chart on 03/11/2023". Official Charts. 20 October 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
10. "James Blunt - The Girl That Never Was". Official Charts. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
11. "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 November 2023.

• 2023 songs
• Atlantic Records UK singles
• Songs written by James Blunt
• James Blunt songs
• Songs written by George Tizzard
• Songs written by Rick Parkhouse
• Song recordings produced by Red Triangle (production team)