Leave Right Now

2003 single by Will Young

"Leave Right Now"

Single by Will Young

from the album Friday's Child

Released

24 November 2003 (2003-11-24)

Length

3:31

Label

Songwriter(s)

Eg White

Producer(s)

Stephen Lipson

Will Young singles chronology

"Don't Let Me Down" / "You and I"
(2002)

"Leave Right Now"
(2003)

"Your Game"
(2004)

Alternative covers

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.^[1] 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."^[2] 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."^[3] In 2020, The Guardian ranked "Leave Right Now" at number 74 in its list of "The 100 greatest UK No 1 singles".^[4]

Commercial performance

The single went to number one in the UK Singles Chart and stayed there for two weeks,^[5] selling 117,702 copies in its first week.^[6] As of December 2018, the single had sold 638,000 copies, (728,000 including streaming equivalent sales).^[5] 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.^[7]

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 party where a fight starts and he gets caught up in it.

Track listings

UK CD single^[8]
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Leave Right Now"	Eg White	Stephen Lipson	3:33
2.	"Cry"	Young Julian Gallagher Richard Stannard	Gallagher Stannard	4:20
3.	"Leave Right Now" (acoustic)	White	Lipson	4:12
4.	"Leave Right Now" (video)			3:36

European CD single^[9]
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Leave Right Now"	White	Lipson	3:33
2.	"Ticket to Love" (live at Exeter Festival 2003)	Cathy Dennis Young		5:23

Australian CD single^[10]
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Leave Right Now"	White	Lipson	3:33
2.	"Ticket to Love" (live at Exeter Festival 2003)	Dennis Young		5:23
3.	"Cry"	Young Julian Gallagher Richard Stannard	Gallagher Stannard	4:20
4.	"Leave Right Now" (acoustic)	White	Lipson	4:12
5.	"Leave Right Now" (video)			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

Weekly chart performance for "Leave Right Now"
Chart (2003–10)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)^[11]	63
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)^[12]	14
Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)^[13]	69
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)^[14]	3
Ireland (IRMA)^[15]	1
Italy (FIMI)^[16]	27
Netherlands (Single Top 100)^[17]	36
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)^[18]	29
Norway (VG-lista)^[19]	17
Scotland (OCC)^[20]	1
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)^[21]	6
UK Singles (OCC)^[22]	1
US Billboard Hot 100^[23]	81
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)^[24]	19
US Heatseekers Songs (Billboard)^[25]	5

Year-end charts

2003 year-end chart performance for "Leave Right Now"
Chart (2003)	Position
Ireland (IRMA)^[26]	14
UK Singles (OCC)^[27]	5

2004 year-end chart performance for "Leave Right Now"
Chart (2004)	Position
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)^[28]	71
UK Singles (OCC)^[29]	72

Decade-end charts

Deacade-end chart performance for "Leave Right Now"
Chart (2000–09)	Position
UK Singles (OCC)^[30]	67

Certifications

Certifications for "Leave Right Now"
Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)^[32]	Platinum	622,000^[31]

Release history

Release history for "Leave Right Now"
Region	Date	Label	Format	Ref(s)
United Kingdom	24 November 2003	RCA BMG 19 S	CD	^[33]
Australia	8 March 2004	RCA BMG 19 S	CD	^[34]

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.^[35]
In 2005, "Leave Right Now" was covered in French by Pierrick Lilliu as "La même erreur" on his 2005 debut album, Besoin d'espace.^[36]
In 2005, actor Peter Gallagher recorded a version for his album 7 Days in Memphis.^[37]
In 2013, Australian artist Anthony Callea recorded a version for his album, Thirty.^[37]
In 2018, English musical theatre actor Lee Mead recorded a version for his album 10 Year Anniversary.^[37]

References

^ Byrne, Katie (25 February 2010). "'American Idol' Reveals New Exit Song: 'Leave Right Now'". MTV.com. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
^ ""Gotta Get Thru This": Dom Passantino's Survey of the New Millenium's UK #1 Singles - Article - Stylus Magazine". stylusmagazine.com.
^ top 100 songs of all time | FreakyTrigger
^ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben; Petridis, Alexis; Snapes, Laura (5 June 2020). "The 100 greatest UK No 1s: 100-1". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
^ ^a ^b Copsey, Rob (6 December 2018). "Official Charts Flashback 2003: Will Young – Leave Right Now". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
^ Jones, Alan (17 January 2004). "Reality TV gives boost as singles slide goes on". Music Week. p. 12.
^ "Lee DeWyze lands six tracks on SoundScan Top 200". Content.usatoday.com. 2 June 2010. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
^ Leave Right Now (UK CD single liner notes). Will Young. RCA Records, BMG, 19 Recordings, S Records. 2003. 82876576582.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^ Leave Right Now (European CD single liner notes). Will Young. RCA Records, BMG, 19 Recordings, S Records. 2003. 82876 593212.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^ Leave Right Now (Australian CD single liner notes). Will Young. RCA Records, BMG, 19 Recordings, S Records. 2004. 82876 59322 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^ "Issue 733" ARIA Top 100 Singles. National Library of Australia. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
^ "Will Young – Leave Right Now" (in Dutch). Ultratip.
^ "Will Young Chart History (Canadian Digital Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
^ "Hits of the World – Eurocharts" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 115, no. 51. 20 December 2003. p. 73. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Leave Right Now". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
^ "Will Young – Leave Right Now". Top Digital Download.
^ "Will Young – Leave Right Now" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
^ "Will Young – Leave Right Now". Top 40 Singles.
^ "Will Young – Leave Right Now". VG-lista.
^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
^ "Will Young – Leave Right Now". Singles Top 100.
^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
^ "Will Young Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
^ "Will Young Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
^ "Will Young - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
^ "Best of Singles 2003". IRMA. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
^ "The Official UK Singles Chart 2003" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
^ "Årslista Singlar, 2004" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
^ "The Official UK Singles Chart 2004" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
^ 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. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
^ "British single certifications – Will Young – Leave Right Now". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 22 November 2003. p. 33.
^ "The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 8th March 2004" (PDF). ARIA. 8 March 2004. p. 26. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 April 2004. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
^ "Dermot Kennedy claims Ireland's Christmas Number 1 single and album with Giants and Without Fear". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
^ "Pierrick Lilliu – La même erreur". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Leave Right Now". secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved 31 January 2023.

External links

"Leave Right Now" music video on YouTube

Will Young

Discography

Studio albums

From Now On
Friday's Child
Keep On
Let It Go
Echoes
85% Proof
Lexicon
Crying on the Bathroom Floor

Compilation albums

The Hits
Leave Right Now
The Essential
20 Years: The Greatest Hits

Singles

"Anything Is Possible" / "Evergreen"
"Light My Fire"
"The Long and Winding Road"
"Don't Let Me Down" / "You and I"
"Leave Right Now"
"Your Game"
"Friday's Child"
"Switch It On"
"All Time Love"
"Who Am I"
"Changes"
"Grace"
"Let It Go"
"Hopes & Fears"
"Jealousy"
"Come On"
"Losing Myself"
"Love Revolution"
"What the World Needs Now"
"All the Songs"
"My Love"
"Daniel"

Live releases

Live in London

Concert tours

v t e Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically
1960s	"She's Leaving Home" (1968)
1970s	"Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)?" (1970) "Something" (1971) "Don't Let It Die" (1972) "Without You" (1973) "Daniel" (1974) "Streets of London"* (1975) "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" (1978) "Baker Street" (1979)
1980s	"The Logical Song" (1980) "Woman in Love" (1981) "Memory" (1982) "Have You Ever Been in Love" (1983) "Every Breath You Take" (1984) "Against All Odds" (1985) "Nikita" (1986) "Don't Give Up" (1987) "Something Inside So Strong" (1988) "They Dance Alone (Cueca Solo)" (1989)
1990s	"The Living Years" (1990) "Sacrifice" (1991) "The Whole of the Moon" (1992) "Why" (1993) "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You" (1994) "Think Twice" (1995) "Common People" (1996) "Too Much Love Will Kill You" (1997) "Paranoid Android" (1998) "Believe" (1999)
2000s	"Strong" (2000) "Babylon" (2001) "Walk On" (2002) "The Other Side" (2003) "Leave Right Now" (2004) "Dry Your Eyes" (2005) "Suddenly I See" (2006) "Elusive" (2007) "Love Is a Losing Game" (2008) "One Day Like This" (2009)
2010s	"The Fear" (2010) "Becoming a Jackal" (2011) "The A Team" (2012) "Next to Me" (2013) "Strong" (2014) "Take Me to Church" (2015) "Wasn't Expecting That" (2016) "Black Man in a White World" (2017) "Magnificent (She Says)" (2018) "Nica Libres at Dusk" (2019)
2020s	"Age of Anxiety" (2020) "God's Own Children" (2021) "Seventeen Going Under" (2022) "King" (2023)
*Awarded as The Best Song