All I Ask of You

Critically, the song has generally been regarded as one of the finest cuts made for The Phantom of the Opera. It was released as a single by Polydor Records on 26 September 1986 on 7-inch and 12-inch, performed by Brightman and Cliff Richard. The song achieved commercial success in several territories, including in Ireland and South Africa, where it topped the charts and the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number three. It was later certified Silver in the latter country for shipments of 250,000 copies. "All I Ask of You" has been covered by multiple artists, including The Shadows, Lloyd Webber's brother Julian, Elaine Paige, and Jackie Evancho. Susan Boyle and Donny Osmond, Josh Groban and Kelly Clarkson, and Marina Prior and Mark Vincent have also continued with duet versions of the song.


A notable cover of "All I Ask of You" was recorded by Barbra Streisand for her studio album Till I Loved You (1988). It was released as the record's second single on 15 December 1988 by Columbia Records as a 7-inch, 12-inch, and CD. It was generally noted as a standout track on Till I Loved You and was commercially successful, entering the charts in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and on the United States' Adult Contemporary chart.

Reception

Author and music historian Ethan Mordden stated that the song contains "lyrical magnificence" and noted that its brilliance helped it "accomplish wonderful things" on stage.^[15] The song was described as one of the biggest and most commercially successful hits from The Phantom of the Opera by the staff at Show Music.^[16]


"All I Ask of You" was commercially successful in several territories internationally. In the United Kingdom, it became Richard's 52nd top ten single by peaking at number three on 4 October 1986.^[17] Its success allowed it to be listed on the year-end chart in that country, where it was ranked at number 31.^[18] The song was later certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry on 1 October 1986 for shipments of 250,000 physical copies.^[17] It topped the Irish Singles Chart for one week, replacing Status Quo's cover of "In the Army Now" (1986).^[19] The song reached the same peak in South Africa on the country's Springbok Radio chart,^[20] while in Australia, it peaked at number 24, according to the Kent Music Report.^[21]

Cover versions

Several musicians have created their own versions of "All I Ask of You". The Shadows created an instrumental version of the song in 1989 for their covers album, Steppin' to the Shadows.^[23] As a duet, Stephanie Lawrence and Carl Wayne included it on The Andrew Lloyd Webber Collection in 1991.^[24] It is covered by Webber's younger brother and cello player Julian on the 2001 album, Lloyd Webber Plays Lloyd Webber.^[25] A separate choral arrangement of "All I Ask of You" appears on The King's Singers's Chanson d'Amour (1992).^[26] Elaine Paige released a solo version for Essential Musicals in 2006.^[27] American vocalist Jackie Evancho's version of "All I Ask of You" was included on her 2011 studio album Dream with Me and peaked at number four on Billboard's Classical Digital Songs component chart following its release.^[28][29]


On Susan Boyle's album Standing Ovation: The Greatest Songs from the Stage (2012), she and featured artist Donny Osmond recorded a cover of "All I Ask of You"; in addition, Boyle also recorded two other Lloyd Webber compositions.^[30] American singers Josh Groban and Kelly Clarkson performed the duet for the former's musical-influenced seventh studio album, Stages (2015).^[31][32] After its release, it entered and peaked on the Pop Digital Songs in the United States at number 32.^[33] Groban had previously performed "All I Ask of You" to David Foster during an audition to sing "The Prayer" live at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards with Celine Dion.^[34] Marina Prior and Mark Vincent, both Australian vocalists, covered it for their 2016 collaborative effort, Together.^[35]