Impossible (Captain Hollywood Project song)

"Impossible" is a song by German musician Captain Hollywood Project. It was released in October 1993 by labels Blow Up and Intercord as the fourth single from his debut album, Love Is Not Sex (1993), and features vocals by American singer Kim Sanders. The song was co-written by Nosie Katzmann and Tony Dawson-Harrison (real name of Captain Hollywood), and became a notable hit in several countries. But like "All I Want", it achieved moderate success in comparison with the two previous Captain Hollywood Project's singles, "More and More" and "Only with You". A music video was produced to promote the single, featuring Petra Spiegl instead of Sanders.

Critical reception
In his review of the Love Is Not Sex album, Larry Flick from Billboard wrote that "Impossible" "is another study in contrasts, as [Captain] Hollywood ponders the darkness of greed and power, amid a flurry of active, rave-flavored synth-beats. It is during this particular track that he best exhibits the poise and command of rhyme needed to resurrect the dormant hip-house movement." In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton described it as "Euro-disco in the Culture Beat mould".

James Hamilton from Music Week's RM Dance Update viewed it as a "girl wailed gruffy rapped cheesy typical German techno-pop bounder". Tony Cross from Smash Hits praised the track, giving it four out of five. He wrote, "Front man Tony Dawson-Harrison [...] has come up with a monster dance hit that's impossible not to shake down to. It has the Euro flavour of hits like Culture Beat's "Mr Vain" (which Tony had a hand in) with a powered-up rap beginning. Then it grows to its hypnotic vocal chant — "I find you're a little impossible" - which is packed full of attitude. Expect it to chart very high."

Chart performance
"Impossible" was a notable hit on the charts in Europe, entering the top 10 in Denmark (9), Finland (6), Portugal (3), Spain (9), and Sweden (4), as well as on MTV's European Top 20. Additionally, the single was a top-20 hit in Austria (15), Germany (12), Lithuania, the Netherlands (14) and Switzerland (18). On the Eurochart Hot 100, "Impossible" debuted at number 37 in November 1993, after charting in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland. It peaked at number 20 in December, as well as number three on the European Dance Radio Chart. In the United Kingdom, the single reached number 29 in its first week at the UK Singles Chart, on 6 February, but fared better on the UK Music Week Dance Singles chart, peaking at number 14. Outside Europe, "Impossible" was a top-10 hit in Israel, peaking at number nine.

Music video
The music video for "Impossible" was directed by Apollon and did for unknown reasons not feature Kim Sanders, but German singer Petra Spiegl. The video was later made available on Altra Moda Music's official YouTube channel in 2017, having generated almost ten million views as of early 2024.

Track listings

 * 12-inch single (1993)
 * 1) "Impossible" (New Extended Version) – 6:10
 * 2) "Impossible" (Bumpy Version) – 7:56


 * CD single (1993)
 * 1) "Impossible" (Radio Edit) – 4:14
 * 2) "Impossible" (New Extended Version) – 6:10


 * CD maxi 1 (September 1993)
 * 1) "Impossible" (Radio Edit) – 4:14
 * 2) "Impossible" (New Extended Version) – 6:10
 * 3) "Impossible" (Bumpy Version) – 7:56


 * CD maxi 2 (January 1994)
 * 1) "Impossible" (Red Jerry Mix) – 6:49
 * 2) "Impossible" (Red Jerry Dub) – 6:09
 * 3) "Impossible" (Kamo Flage Mix) – 6:22
 * 4) "All I Want" ('94 Club Mix) – 5:56