"This Time" is a song by British singer Dina Carroll, released as her fourth single on 15 February 1993. The song features strings by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and peaked at number 23 on the UK Singles Chart. On the Eurochart Hot 100, it went to number 78. A black-and-white music video was shot to accompany the song, directed by Michael Geoghegan.[2]
Pan-European magazine Music & Media stated that Carroll is "more than just a dance diva with catchy repertoire. She can actually sing. The best way to prove that is always the ballad test, and she succeeds hands down."[3] Alan Jones from Music Week gave the song four out of five, describing it as a "torchy ballad" and a "pretty and expensively produced song, [where] Carroll takes advantage of a lush, spacious mix to show her pedigree to fine effect."[4]James Hamilton from the magazine's RM Dance Update called it a "smash-bound" and "gorgeous" ballad.[5] Pop Rescue said that "musically and vocally [it's] a really nice warm song – with plenty of space for Dina to show off her vocal diversity."[6]
Phil Shanklin of ReviewsRevues complimented the "strong interplay" between her and the background vocalists, who would later be singing in the British R&B girl group Eternal. He commented, "This backing vocal/lead vocal combination are a feature of this CD as well as the big cavernous, echoing sound which turns this track into a real power-house and emphasises the quality of Dina’s vocals."[7]Tony Mortimer from East 17 reviewed the song for Smash Hits, stating, "This girl's gonna be massive". He added that "Gladys Knight probably inspired her somewhere along the line. I'd really like this to be a hit, it's slow and smoochy. Brilliant."[8]
^Hamilton, James (13 February 1993). "Djdirectory"(PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). p. 7. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
