Synopsis

Bette Midler performs "To Deserve You" in an elegant, studio-based video built around mood and visual texture rather than a conventional storyline. Wearing a flowing white dress, she poses and moves beneath bright lights while the camera cuts between her performance and stylized images of flowers, paper lanterns, wedding rings, and disembodied hands playing rock-paper-scissors. The romantic imagery mirrors the song's emotional tension, presenting love as both beautiful and intimidating while Midler projects vulnerability, glamour, and theatrical presence.

Factoids & Trivia

• "To Deserve You" was released in 1995 as the lead single from Midler's album *Bette of Roses*. The song was written by Maria McKee and produced by Arif Mardin.

• The video was released alongside the single and was later re-edited for the dance-remix version.

• The original album recording was a country-leaning ballad, while the single version used a 123 BPM house-style production. The video therefore circulated in more than one musical form without requiring an entirely new visual concept.

• The imagery includes paper lanterns, floral arrangements, wedding rings, and hands playing rock-paper-scissors, giving the performance a deliberately symbolic and slightly surreal atmosphere.

• Midler's white costume and the video's bright, almost spotlight-like lighting reinforce the song's focus on idealized love and feelings of personal inadequacy.

• The dance remix became a major club success, reaching No. 2 on the US Dance Club Songs chart and helping turn the song into one of Midler's most notable 1990s dance releases.

• Midler performed "To Deserve You" at the 1995 VH1 Honors ceremony, supporting the song's transition from an adult-pop ballad into a dance-oriented release.