Believe (Elton John song)

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"Believe"
File:Believe (Elton John).jpg
Single by Elton John
from the album Made in England
B-side
Released20 February 1995 (1995-02-20)[1]
Genre
Length4:51
LabelRocket
Composer(s)Elton John
Lyricist(s)Bernie Taupin
Producer(s)
Elton John singles chronology
"Circle of Life"
(1994) 		"Believe"
(1995) 		"Made in England"
(1995)
Music video
"Believe" on YouTube

"Believe" is a song by English musician Elton John. It was the first single from his twenty-fourth studio album, Made in England (1995), and was released on 20 February 1995. Several versions of the single were released, featuring B-sides such as "Circle of Life" from The Lion King and live versions of tracks including "The One", "The Last Song", "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" and "Believe", which were recorded at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.

"Believe" reached number one in Iceland, Italy and Canada, becoming John's 18th number-one single in the latter country. In the United States, "Believe" became John's 15th number one on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart[2] and peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100; it gave him his third straight top-20 single in the US. In Europe, it was a top-20 hit in France, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the Wallonia region of Belgium.

The accompanying music video for the song was entirely in black-and-white and shot in London, featuring shots of the title screen in the beginning and end of the video.

Critical reception

British magazine Music Week rated the song four out of five, describing it as "a fab, pompous and brooding "I believe in love" stomper. Thankfully, he's ditched the frothy pop for a quite majestic song that would no doubt get an approving nod from a certain Freddie Mercury."[3] Editor Alan Jones stated that "Believe" "is clearly destined to be massive. The big ballad, cleverly marketed over two CD singles, augers well for his upcoming album Made in England."[4] A reviewer from People Magazine described it as "a power ballad that hints at John Lennon during his pop-obsessed "Double Fantasy" era."[5]

Music video

In the black and white music video for "Believe", directed by Marcus Nispel, Elton John travels around the world in a zeppelin close to the roofs of New York City and London in the middle of one day. Some behind the scenes footage for the video was used for the 1997 documentary Elton John: Tantrums & Tiaras.

Accolades

Year Nominee / work Award Result
1996 "Believe" Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance[6] Nominated

Track listings

  • 7-inch
  1. "Believe" – 4:51
  2. "The One" (live) – 6:32
  • Europe CD maxi
  1. "Believe" – 4:51
  2. "Believe" (live) – 4:43
  3. "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" (live) – 3:52
  • US CD maxi
  1. "Believe" – 4:51
  2. "The One" (live) – 6:32
  3. "Believe" (live) – 4:43

Personnel

Charts

References

  1. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 18 February 1995. p. 31. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  2. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–2001. Record Research. p. 129.
  3. ^ "Reviews: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 11 February 1995. p. 10. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  4. ^ Jones, Alan (25 February 1995). "Talking Music" (PDF). Music Week. p. 16. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  5. ^ "Picks and Pans Review: Made in England". People. 24 April 1995. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  6. ^ "THE 38TH ANNUAL GRAMMY NOMINATIONS : The Complete List of Nominees". Los Angeles Times. 5 January 1996.
  7. ^ "Elton John – Believe". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  8. ^ "Elton John – Believe" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  9. ^ "Elton John – Believe" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  10. ^ "Elton John – Believe" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  11. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 6889." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  12. ^ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 9167." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  13. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 12. 25 March 1995. p. 15. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  14. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Elton John". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 117. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  15. ^ "Elton John – Believe" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  16. ^ "Elton John – Believe" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  17. ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (8.4. '95 – 14.4. '95)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 8 April 1995. p. 50. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  18. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Believe". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  19. ^ "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 12. 25 March 1995. p. 17. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  20. ^ "Elton John – Believe" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  21. ^ "Elton John – Believe". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  22. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  23. ^ "Elton John – Believe". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  24. ^ "Elton John – Believe". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  25. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  26. ^ "Elton John Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  27. ^ "Elton John Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  28. ^ "Elton John Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  29. ^ "Elton John Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  30. ^ "RPM Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1995". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  31. ^ "RPM Top 100 Adult Contemporary Tracks of 1995". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  32. ^ "Tops de L'année | Top Singles 1995" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  33. ^ "Árslistinn 1995". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 2 January 1996. p. 16. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  34. ^ "Billboard Top 100 – 1995". Archived from the original on 15 August 2009. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
  35. ^ "1995 The Year in Music" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 51. 23 December 1995. p. YE-80. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
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