"I Found Someone" by Laura Branigan

Song#:  2639
Date:  03/01/1986
Debut:  92
Peak:  90
Weeks:  6
Genre:  Pop, Adult Contemporary



Pop Bits:  Branigan's fourth album, Hold Me, wasn't being fully embraced. It's first single, "Spanish Eddie," stalled at a low #40 while a follow-up couldn't even crack the top half of the Pop chart. Her label then decided to push out this third single, which was co-written by soon-to-be mega star Michael Bolton. Branigan previously had good luck with another Bolton-penned track, the #12 "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You," so hopes were high that this tune would help turn things around. Sadly, it did not. It waffled around the bottom of the Pop chart for a few weeks and then disappeared. It got a little attention at AC getting to #25, but it wasn't enough. Hold Me would be Branigan's lowest peaking album to-date (#71) and it would be her first to not reach gold-level sales.

ReduxReview:  Well, Cher was certainly lucky that this didn't become a hit for Branigan (see below). Although I don't think this song had a shot to begin with for Branigan. You can hear a potential hit with the material and Branigan sounds pretty good, but it just lacked when it came to the arrangement and production. It's a power ballad and it needed some real muscle to sell it. I think had it been done in a more rocked up arrangement, Branigan would have sold it even better and it might have had a chance. As-is, it was just a good album track. In fact, it didn't leave much of an impression on me because when Cher's version came out, I had totally forgotten about Branigan's version. There's just no comparison. Bolton's production combined with Cher's delivery really made the song a hit. Plus it helped that Cher was extra hot at the time and her return to music was a really big deal. I like Branigan's take, but Cher really knocked it out of the park..

ReduxRating:  5/10

Trivia:  As mentioned above, this song was co-written by Michael Bolton along with Mark Mangold. By this point in time, Bolton had released four rock-oriented solo albums in addition to two with his band Blackjack. Nothing much came from any of them. However, he was having some success as a songwriter. While this particular one wasn't a hit for Branigan, it would be picked up a year later by Cher, who was recording her first album in five years and her first after becoming a film star. Bolton also produced Cher's version, which got issued out as the LP's first single. It became Cher's first Top 10 (#10) hit since 1979. After becoming a successful solo artist himself, Bolton recorded his own version of the song for his 1995 hits collection Greatest Hits (1985-1985).

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