"The Real Thing" is a song recorded by British singer Lisa Stansfield for her 1997 eponymous album. It was released as the first proper single from Lisa Stansfield in Europe, Australia and Japan on 10 March 1997, after "People Hold On" (The Bootleg Mixes).

The song, written by Stansfield and Ian Devaney and produced by Devaney and Peter Mokran, received positive reviews from music critics who noted that Stansfield "belts her heart out in a voice that's smooth and pliant." An accompanying music video, directed by Michael Geoghegan, was also released. The CD single included remixes created by prominent US and UK producers: Mark Picchiotti, K-Klass and the Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. "The Real Thing" reached number four in Italy and number nine on the UK Singles Chart. In August 1997, it was featured on the Money Talks soundtrack. Later, it was included on The Remix Album (1998) and Biography: The Greatest Hits (2003).

In 2014, remixes of "The Real Thing" were included on the deluxe 2CD + DVD re-release of Lisa Stansfield. Additional remixes were featured on People Hold On ... The Remix Anthology (2014). The previously unreleased remix, Silk's Real House Thang was also included. All was included on The Collection 1989–2003.

European CD single

Australian/European/Japanese/UK CD maxi-single

Australian/UK CD maxi-single #2

European/UK 12" single

Japanese promotional CD single

UK promotional 12" single

Other remixes

...
Wikipedia