Originally recorded by Phil Collins, Mariah included a cover of “Against All Odds” on her 1999 Rainbow album. “I decided to do the cover on the way to the ‘Heartbreaker’ video shoot,” she explained. “‘Against All Odds’ reminded me of specific memories of growing up and the park where I used to hang out. When I spoke to Jimmy [Jam] and Terry [Lewis] about it they thought it was a great idea and we all thought we should keep it pretty close to the original.”
“Against All Odds” was originally released as a single in Europe on May 29, 2000, peaking at number twenty on the official Dutch charts. It was later re-released as a duet with Irish boy band Westlife. “I thought it would just be a cool thing to do, to kind of turn it into a duet and combine what they do with what I do,” Mariah told MTV. “They stack a lot of harmonies, so we made the song kind of a different thing. But it was an easy process. It wasn't like some difficult drama.”
“Everybody used to say to me, ‘Who would you like to do a duet with?’ or ‘Who would you like to sing with out of everybody in the world?’ and I was always like, ‘Mariah Carey.’ ” Westlife's Mark Feehily said. “Today, now, we're in a recording studio doing a duet with her, and you could never imagine how much it means to me.”
“Against All Odds” was released in the United Kingdom on September 18, 2000. The duet became Mariah's second number-one single in the United Kingdom, spending two weeks atop the Official Singles Chart, and was certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry on January 1, 2016.
The album version of “Against All Odds” was remixed by the Pound Boys.
| Song | Remix | Run time |
|---|---|---|
| Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now) | Pound Boys Main Mix
Produced by DJ Craig C., DJ Dealer. |
9:09 |
| Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now) | Pound Boys Radio Edit
Produced by DJ Craig C., DJ Dealer. |
3:32 |
| Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now) | Pound Boys Dub
Produced by DJ Craig C., DJ Dealer. |
6:58 |
| Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now) | Pound Boys Deep Dub
Produced by DJ Craig C., DJ Dealer. |
8:12 |
| Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now) | Duet with Westlife
Produced by Mariah Carey, Steve Mac. |
3:21 |
| Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now) | Duet with Westlife - Mariah Only Version
Produced by Mariah Carey, Steve Mac. |
3:21 |
| Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now) | Duet with Westlife - Westlife Only Version
Produced by Mariah Carey, Steve Mac. |
3:21 |
| Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now) | Duet with Westlife - Instrumental
Produced by Mariah Carey, Steve Mac. |
3:21 |
The live version of the “Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)” music video combines footage from several stops of Mariah's Rainbow Tour as well as clips from Mariah Carey's Homecoming Special.
The music video for the Westlife duet version of “Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)” was filmed in Capri and premiered on MTV UK's Making The Video on August 5, 2000.
Mariah's cover of “Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)” was released in Europe on May 29, 2000. The CD single features “Crybaby” as the B-side, while the Maxi Single also includes the StarGate Radio Edit of “Thank God I Found You” and the Morales Club Mix Edit of “Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme).” The duet version of “Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)” with Westlife was later released on CD single, including the Rainbow album version of the song. The duet Maxi Single has an extra track: the Pound Boys Main Mix of the solo version of the song.
In the United Kingdom, only the duet version of “Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)” saw a physical release. Both maxi singles were released with additional multimedia content and include the duet with Westlife and two bonus tracks: CD 1 includes the Pound Boys Main Mix of Mariah's cover of the song, the Mariah-only version of the duet, and a video interview with Westlife; CD 2 includes the Pound Boys Deep Dub of Mariah's version of “Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now),” the Westlife-only version of the duet and the music video. A Cassette Single was also released, including their duet and the Pound Boys Radio Edit of Mariah's cover of the song.
Australia saw the release of the same “Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)” Maxi Single available in Europe, including the duet, the Rainbow album version and the Pound Boys Main Mix.
The Japanese “Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)” CD Maxi Single includes the Rainbow album version and its Pound Boys Radio Edit remix plus the main and instrumental versions of the duet with Westlife.
How can I just let you walk away
Just let you leave without a trace
When I stand here taking every breath with you
You're the only one who really knew me at all
How can you just walk away from me
When all I can do is watch you leave
Cause we've shared the laughter and the pain
And even shared the tears
You're the only one who really knew me at all
So take a look at me now
Cause there's just an empty space
There's nothing left here to remind me
Just the memory of your face
So take a look at me now
Oh there's just an empty space
And you coming back to me is against all odds
And that's what I've got to face
I wish I could just make you turn around
Turn around and see me cry
There's so much I need to say to you
So many reasons why
You're the only one who really knew me at all
So take a look at me now
Oh there's just an empty space
There's nothing left here to remind me
Just the memory of your face
So take a look at me now
See there's just an empty space
But to wait for you is all I can do
And that's what I've got to face
Take a good look at me now
Cause I'll still be standing here
And you coming back to me is against all odds
That's the chance I've got to take
Take a look at me now
Written by Phil Collins.
Produced by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis and Mariah Carey.
![Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now) [Duet with Westlife] Music Video by Bill Boatman](/images/music/singles/video/captures/aao-westlife/aao-westlife-1.jpg)
