"Always" is a song written and recorded by American

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...

band Switchfoot. It was released with " Mess of Me" as one of two lead singles from their seventh studio album, ''

Hello Hurricane ''Hello Hurricane'' is the seventh studio album by American alternative rock band Switchfoot, released on November 10, 2009. It was co-produced by the band and Mike Elizondo, after initially self-producing their work, as well as test runs with pro ...

.'' While "Mess of Me" was worked to modern and mainstream rock formats, "Always" was worked to Christian AC/CHR by the band's CCM distributor,

Credential Recordings Credential Recordings is a pop and rock record label in Nashville, Tennessee. The label branched out after a distribution agreement with Lowercase People Records for Switchfoot singer Jon Foreman's solo EPs, which tend to be more folk-acoustic in ...

EMI CMG Capitol Christian Music Group (Capitol CMG) (formerly known as EMI Christian Music Group) is an American music group that, since 2013, is under the ownership of Universal Music Group. It is based in Brentwood, Tennessee. Capitol CMG is in the C ...

. It was also released as a single in Japan, while an accompanying music video was made available there.

Song history

"Always" was first played live on September 10, 2009, at the Culture Room in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. For its radio release, the band reworked a new version of the song with an added interlude guitar solo part, and a shortened bridge. On September 28,

Jon Foreman Jonathan Mark Foreman (born October 22, 1976) is an American musician, the lead singer, guitarist, main songwriter and co-founder of the alternative rock band Switchfoot. He started Switchfoot in 1996 with drummer Chad Butler and his brother Tim ...

announced via Twitter that he was "heading up with Tim to work with Rob Cavallo and Mike Elizondo on a song called 'Always' - excited to see where it heads!" On October 28, the radio edited version was debuted on AOL radio. On iTunes, an alternate acoustic version of the track is also available with purchase of ''Hello Hurricane''.

Remix

"Always" has been remixed by

Max Vangeli Maksim "Max" Vangeli (born 4 August 1985) is a Moldovan DJ and record producer based in San Francisco, United States. Vangeli is best known for his house music productions and collaboration with Swedish DJ and record producer Antoine Josefsson, ...

and AN21. It was released August 6, 2010 on Atlantic.

Live performance

Switchfoot performed "Always" live on ''

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Scottish actor and comedian Craig Ferguson. This was the third iteration of the ''Late Late Show'' franchise, airing from January 3, 2005, to December 19, 2 ...

'' on January 4, 2010.

In popular culture

*The song was featured in a February 18, 2010 episode of

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into s ...

. *It was later featured in a scene during an episode of The Hills on June 1, 2010. *It was used in the official video for the iPhone 5 by Apple in 2012.

Charts

Awards

In 2010, the song was nominated for a Dove Award for Rock/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year at the

41st GMA Dove Awards The 41st Annual GMA Dove Awards presentation was held on April 21, 2010 recognizing accomplishments of musicians for the year 2009. The show was held at The Opry Entertainment Complex in Nashville, Tennessee, and was hosted by Bart Millard. Nomi ...

.41st Annual GMA Dove Awards nominees announced
on

The Tennessean ''The Tennessean'' (known until 1972 as ''The Nashville Tennessean'') is a daily newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee. Its circulation area covers 39 counties in Middle Tennessee and eight counties in southern Kentucky. It is owned by Gannett, ...

(February 18, 2010)

References

{{authority control 2009 singles Switchfoot songs Songs written by Jon Foreman 2009 songs Song recordings produced by Mike Elizondo Song recordings produced by Rob Cavallo