"Someday" is a song from Disney's 1996 animated feature film The Hunchback of Notre Dame. It was written by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz and originally recorded by American singer and actress Heidi Mollenhauer in her film role as the singing voice of Esmeralda. It was one of three recordings, along with "In a Place of Miracles" and "As Long as There's a Moon", that were discarded during the storyboarding process to be replaced by "God Help the Outcasts." The codirectors Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise both desired a quieter song for Esmeralda's scene inside the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral.
Selected as the lead single from the film's soundtrack in 1996, "Someday" was recorded by all–male R&B group All-4-One for the North American release, while British female R&B trio Eternal recorded their own version for the British English version of the song that received international release throughout Europe and Oceania. Mexican singer Luis Miguel recorded a Spanish version for the Latin American market, retitled "Sueña", which became a major hit. The French version was recorded by Ophélie Winter, retitled "Un Jour". The Italian version was recorded by Neri per Caso, retitled "Quando". The youngest Celtic Woman member Chloë Agnew covered this song for her solo album called Walking in the Air and her first Celtic Woman album. Jackie Evancho covered this song for the Target deluxe version of her album Dream With Me.[1] The Korean version was recorded by R&B trio Solid, which was released in Korea as a bonus track of the original soundtrack album.[2] In 2016, the song was included in the musical version of the film as performed by Ciara Renée and Andrew Samonsky as Esmeralda and Phoebus.
Usage in The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Within the film itself, the only complete version of "Someday" is the All-4-One version that plays over the closing credits. Several lines of the song are also heard over the opening title. This version is sung in Latin in the style of a Gregorian chant and is titled "Olim", meaning "once", on the soundtrack of the stage musical. Within the body of the film, the melody of "Someday" is heard several times as an instrumental, particularly during moments between Quasimodo and Esmeralda, such as when Esmeralda comes onto the pillory, when she reads Quasimodo's palms, and when Quasimodo thinks that Esmeralda is dead. These are on the film soundtrack as "Humiliation (Score)", "The Bell Tower (Score)", and "And He Shall Smite the Wicked (Score)".[3]
For the American music market, Disney enlisted R&B band All-4-One to record their own rendition of "Someday" for the film's accompanying soundtrack. While the album version of their recording was produced and arranged by William Ross, songwriter Walter Afanasieff was consulted to produce a radio mix of the song that was released by Walt Disney Records and Atlantic Records as the set's first single to US radios on June 10, 1996.[4] The band premiered the song at the New Orleans premiere of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.[4]
Larry Flick from Billboard viewed the song as a "sweet power ballad". He added, "The touch of producer Walter Afanasieff is unmistakable, as the act is surrounded by glistening synths and a slaw finger-snappin' rhythm that may remind some of his work with Mariah Carey. A lovely effort that deserves a fair shake at both AC and top 40 stations."[5] Peter Miro from Cash Box wrote, "Crescendos mount on this banging performance by All-4-One. The quartet makes evocative use of a full orchestra, from a simple overture, building to a resounding climax. Which is how Disney likes to tie up its movies."[6]
In the United Kingdom, all-female trio Eternal lent their vocals to a second version of "Someday". Produced by Simon Climie, it was first released through 1st Avenue Records on August 5, 1996, in the UK.[15] English musician Eric Clapton plays guitar on this version, and the UK cassette single includes a rendition of the song performed by him.[16][17] In 1997, it appeared on Eternal's third studio album, Before the Rain.
"Someday" became Eternal's eighth top-10 entry on the UK Singles Chart, where it peaked at number four; this made them the first female group to accumulate 10 consecutive top-20 hits in the UK.[18] "Someday" also reached the top 30 in Australia and Ireland. As of 2019, it has sold 130,000 copies in the United Kingdom.[19] The band performed the song for the first time in over a decade for a one-off concert put together as part of the second season of the TV series The Big Reunion.
Critical reception
British magazine Music Week rated the song four out of five, writing, "Judging by the early enthusiasm for Disney's Hunchback Of Notre Dame movie, this dramatic ballad in the vein of Elton's Circle Of Life outing should be a huge hit."[20]
For the Latin American music market, Disney enlisted Mexican singer Luis Miguel to record the Spanish-language rendition of "Someday" for the Latin American soundtrack. It was adapted into Spanish by Renato López, Kiko Cibrian and Gerardo Flores.[29] Luis Miguel's version was included on his eleventh studio album Nada Es Igual... released in the same year.[30] The cover peaked at number 3 on the Hot Latin Songs chart and became his fourth number one song on the Latin Pop Songs chart.[31][32] A music video was filmed for Luis Miguel's version.
