A blast of Celtic pipes meets our ears, heralding the arrival of our next number one. Because heaven forbid we forget just for one second that B*Witched. Are. Irish!
To You I Belong, by B*Witched (their 3rd of four #1s)
1 week, from 13th – 20th December 1998
Girl group rules dictate that the 3rd single must be a ballad, especially if said single is being released at Christmas. So in some ways, ‘To You I Belong’ is a fairly predictable, low-tempo, pop smoocher (with a strangely old-fashioned sounding title, grammatically speaking). In other ways, though, it’s actually quite interesting.
For such a generic girl group ballad, there are plenty of touches that I wasn’t expecting. The tin whistles and strings give it a New Age feel, with hints of Enya even, and the girls’ floaty, trembly voices are quite soothing. Turns out that B*Witched could properly sing, something that was lost amongst all the bubble-gum silliness of their first two singles!
It’s unexpectedly classy, and even if I don’t automatically love all the Celtic flourishes at least it’s something a little different from what the other girl groups of the time were offering. I would say, though, that it could have done with a more stripped-back production – maybe just the girls’ voices and a couple of guitars – as all the layers of computer generated synths and tinkly bits make it sound cluttered.
Three #1s from their first three singles catapulted B*Witched into exalted company: Gerry & The Pacemakers, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Jive Bunny and The Spice Girls. And they’ll go one better than the first three of those acts, by making it four out of four. Speaking of The Spice Girls, B*Witched sensibly released ‘To You I Belong’ a week before the festive number one race, rather than going up against the Queens of Christmas. However, with this giving the Irish girls their third chart-topper of 1998, compared to the Spice Girls’ one (so far), it could be argued that at this point B*Witched were the bigger group…
Finally from a chart-geek angle, this record kicks off a run of ten one-week #1s in a row, through until late February 1999, as the chart-topping turnover continues to ramp up. (The previous longest run of one-weekers was five, in early 1997.)
The UK Number Ones Blog 
I really enjoyed this song. Really like the Celtic touches – makes it sound much more unique than your average teen pop ballad. I think the chorus is really well done in particular. I will say though, I kinda understand why B*Witched ran out of steam fast. While the vocals are good and are functional for their songs, the girls at least in their songs kinda lack personality and charisma when it comes to their vocals. More than Boyzone and Westlife (I still don’t understand how the latter have 14 #1s but that’s a topic for another time), but less than the Spice Girls or even Take That.
For me, sonically, it kinda reminds me of “My Heart Will Go On” by Celine Dione, but I think this is a better song.
Yes it has that same Celtic pipes thing going on in the intro. Not a sound that immediately draws me in, but I like this a lot better than My Heart Will Go On.
Maybe you’re right about personality. The success of a boy or girl group rests on people connecting with the members. My test is do I know their names? If I do, then they’ve really made it 😄 (I do not know B*Witched’s names…)
Havent heard this since 1999 I’m pretty sure. Very Celtic Clannad minus the haunting songs and harmony singing. I find this a bit weak in the lead vocal but it’s OK. It’s not annoying. So that’s a plus. I wouldn’t turn it off, but I wouldnt seek it out.
I don’t like it but I don’t hate it. It is likable and I like her nasally voice…I will give her that. Her voice sounds different than many of her peers.