Picture of You (Boyzone song)

"Picture of You" is a song by Irish boy band Boyzone, released as the first single from their third studio album, Where We Belong (1998). Written by frontman Ronan Keating, Eliot Kennedy, and producers Absolute, the song peaked at No. 2 in both Ireland and the United Kingdom. As of February 2025, it is the group's most-streamed single in the UK, at 36 million streams.^[1]

"Picture of You"
Single by Boyzone
from the album Where We Belong and Bean: The Album
B-side	"Let the Message Run Free" "I've Got You"
Released	21 July 1997 (1997-07-21)
Length	3:28
Label	Polydor
Songwriter(s)	Andrew Watkins Paul Wilson Eliot Kennedy Ronan Keating
Producer(s)	Absolute
Boyzone singles chronology
"Isn't It a Wonder" (1997) "Picture of You" (1997) "Baby Can I Hold You" / "Shooting Star" (1997)
Music video
"Picture of You" on YouTube

"Picture of You" served as the main theme for the film Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie, for which Rowan Atkinson appeared as his character with the band on both the single cover and in the music video. Its appearance in the film allowed the song to win the Ivor Novello Award for Best Original Song for a Film or Broadcast at the 1998 ceremony.^[2]

Critical reception

Larry Flick from Billboard wrote, "This videogenic boy group continues in its quest to win the hearts of stateside teens with a cute confection that borrows heavily from the vintage Motown sound of the Temptations and the Four Tops. Unfortunately, their vocals are not nearly as soulful, even though their harmonies are note-perfect. Still, there should certainly be more than a handful of kiddie-driven top 40 stations that will find this track useful. Also, Polydor would be wise to court the mature ears of AC radio listeners, who will get a nostalgic charge out of this 'Picture'."^[3] A reviewer from Music Week rated it four out of five, describing it as a "catchy pop/soul song".^[4]

Track listings

UK and European CD1[5] "Picture of You" – 3:28 "Let the Message Run Free" – 5:08 "Words" (Spanglish version) – 4:02 UK and European CD2[6] "Picture of You" – 3:28 "Picture of You" (extended mix) – 5:54 "I've Got You" – 3:45

UK cassette single[7] "Picture of You" – 3:28 "Picture of You" (extended mix) – 5:54 Japanese CD single[8] "Picture of You" "Let the Message Run Free" "Shooting Star" "Baby Can I Hold You" (7-inch edit)

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1997) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[9] 39 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[10] 23 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[11] 30 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[12] 19 Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[13] 27 Canada CHR/Top 40 (BDS)[13] 26 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[14] 12 Europe (European Hit Radio)[15] 6 France (SNEP)[16] 15 Germany (GfK)[17] 32 Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[18] 38 Ireland (IRMA)[19] 2 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[20] 25 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[21] 27 Poland (Music & Media)[22] 10 Scotland (OCC)[23] 1 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[24] 22 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[25] 23 Taiwan (IFPI)[26] 9 UK Singles (OCC)[27] 2

Year-end charts Chart (1997) Position Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[28] 95 Europe (European Hit Radio)[29] 25 France (SNEP)[30] 91 Romania (Romanian Top 100)[31] 43 UK Singles (OCC)[32] 48

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ)[33]	Gold	15,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[34]	Platinum	600,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United Kingdom	21 July 1997	CD cassette	Polydor	[35]
Japan	1 March 1998	CD		[36]