"Believer" is a song by English

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

duo Goldfrapp from their fifth studio album, ''

Head First Head First or Headfirst may refer to: Music * ''Head First'' (The Babys album) (1979) * ''Head First'' (Badfinger album) (recorded 1974, released 2000) * ''Head First'' (Goldfrapp album) (2010), or its title track * ''Head First'' (Uriah Hee ...

'' (2010). The song was written and produced by

Alison Goldfrapp Alison Elizabeth Margaret Goldfrapp (born 13 May 1966) is an English musician and record producer, known as the vocalist of English electronic music duo Goldfrapp. Early life Goldfrapp was born on 13 May 1966, in Enfield, London, the youngest o ...

and Will Gregory, with additional production by

Pascal Gabriel Pascal Gabriel (born 15 December 1956) is a Belgian-born musician based in London, England and Paris, France. Background Pascal Gabriel's musical career began in 1977 in the punk rock band The Razors (bass guitar). He left Belgium for Londo ...

. It was released on 6 September 2010 as the album's third and final single.

Release

The single was confirmed in July 2010 in an email to fans, where it was also confirmed that Vince Clarke and Davide Rossi would remix the single, among others. Goldfrapp performed the song on '' Alan Carr: Chatty Man'' on 22 August 2010.

Critical reception

"Believer" received positive reviews from critics. In a review for ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...

'', Sal Cinquemani described the song as "a bit of new wave-inflected computer pop (think

B-52s B5, B05, B-5 may refer to: Biology * ATC code B05 (''Blood substitutes and perfusion solutions''), a therapeutic subgroup of the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System * Cytochrome ''b''5, ubiquitous electron transport hemoprotein ...

meets Erasure) that finds Alison's faith in

Cupid In classical mythology, Cupid (Latin Cupīdō , meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, lust, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus (mythology), Venus and the god of war Mar ...

restored." Ian Wade of BBC Music stated that "the stupendous 'Believer', with its stadium-sized chorus, appears like a turbo-charged

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...

." Heather Phares of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

commented that the song "sounds instantly familiar, but not tired or obvious", and ''

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...

'' reviewer Nick Levine wrote that "the synths on 'Believer' bounce along like vintage Erasure." ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

''s Andy Gill opined that the song, "with its childlike lyric ..set to a basic Eighties' synth riff, is exactly in step with retro-electropop fashion."

Music video

The music video for "Believer" was directed by Lisa Gunning and consists of live footage from the Head First World Tour. It premiered on

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on 11 August 2010.

Track listing

*Digital single #"Believer" – 3:44 #"Believer" (

Joris Voorn Joris Voorn (; born 25 February 1977 in Tilburg) is a Dutch DJ and record producer who lives in Amsterdam. Voorn is the co-owner of the Amsterdam-based labels Rejected (with Edwin Oosterwal) and Green. Biography A DJ competition in Enschede star ...

Remix) – 5:46 #"Believer" (Joris Voorn Dub) – 7:11 #"Believer" ( Vince Clarke Remix) – 5:42 #"Believer" (Vince Clarke Remix Edit) – 3:56 #"Believer" (Little Loud Remix) – 4:11 #"Believer" (Subway Remix) – 5:40 #"Believer" ( Davide Rossi Reinterpretation) – 3:59 *CD single #"Believer" (Album Version) – 3:43 #"Believer" (Joris Voorn Remix) – 5:47 #"Believer" (Vince Clarke Remix) – 5:42 #"Believer" (Subway Remix) – 5:41 #"Believer" (Davide Rossi Reinterpretation) – 3:59

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''

''.

Recording

* Mixed at The Mix Suite UK (London) * Mastered at

Sterling Sound George Marino (April 15, 1947 – June 4, 2012) was an American mastering engineer known for working on albums by rock bands starting in the late 1960s. Biography Marino was born on April 15, 1947, in the New York City borough The Bronx. He at ...

(New York City)

Personnel

– vocals, recording, production * Will Gregory – recording, production *

Mark "Spike" Stent Mark "Spike" Stent (born 3 August 1965) is an English record producer and mixing engineer who has worked with many international artists including Madonna, Marshmello, U2, Beyoncé, Björk, Depeche Mode, Echo & The Bunnymen, Grimes, Ed Sheeran ...

– mixing * Matty Green – mixing assistance *

– additional production * Bruno Ellingham – additional engineering *

Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' ''Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''. Biography Ted ...

– mastering

Charts

References

{{authority control 2010 singles 2010 songs Goldfrapp songs Mute Records singles Songs written by Alison Goldfrapp Songs written by Will Gregory