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The double A-side "Better in Time" and "Footprints in the Sand" debuted at number 74 on the
"Better in Time" is a song recorded by English singer
"Better in Time" received generally positive reviews from music critics. In his review of the album, Chung Ah-young of ''
's reviewer Fraser McAlpine gave "Better in Time" three stars out of five commenting that "The tune's quite nice, fairly hummable without ever actually going anywhere and despite the floaty, Mariah-esque qualities of Leona's vocals, it never goes completely mental in the throat-breakdancing department".
Chuck Taylor of '' Billboard'' gave a positive review, stating that the song is of "equal caliber to its predecessor Bleeding_Love".html" ;"title="Bleeding_Love.html" ;"title="Bleeding Love">Bleeding Love"">Bleeding_Love.html" ;"title="Bleeding Love">Bleeding Love" with a one-listen hook, elegant chug-along melody, a lyric about healing and Lewis' unquestionably emotive vocal versatility". Sarah Rodman of ''The Boston Globe'' called it a "love takes time' rumination", and along with another song of the album ("I Will Be (song), I Will Be"), described it as "predictable". Sean Fennessey for ''Vibe (magazine), Vibe'' noted that the track "is the best thing n the album is mannered and takes nearly three minutes to get off the ground". It ranked at number four on the "10 Best Singles of 2008" list by American magazine ''Leona Lewis
Leona Louise Lewis (born 3 April 1985) is a British singer, songwriter, actress and activist. Born and raised in the London Borough of Islington, she attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. Lewis achieved nationa ...
for her debut studio album ''Spirit'' (2007). It was written by J. R. Rotem
Jonathan Reuven Rotem is a South African-born record producer, songwriter and music publisher.
Biography
Early life
Rotem was born in South Africa to Jewish Israeli people, Israeli immigrant parents. He moved to Canada at the age of two an ...
and Andrea Martin
Andrea Louise Martin (born January 15, 1947) is an American-Canadian actress, singer, and comedian, best known for her work in the television series '' SCTV'' and ''Great News''. She has appeared in films such as '' Black Christmas'' (1974), ''W ...
and was produced by Rotem. Lyrically, the song tells the story of a woman who cannot forget her ex-partner, and who knows that "it will all get better in time". It was released as the second single from ''Spirit'' on 10 March 2008, as a double A-side with " Footprints in the Sand", by Syco Music
Syco Music is a defunct division of Syco Entertainment founded by British entrepreneur and record executive Simon Cowell. Originally founded as S Records, the label launched while Cowell was still employed by BMG, the label oversaw music relea ...
and J Records
J Records was an American record label owned and operated by Bertelsmann Music Group until it was transferred to Sony Music Entertainment when they acquired all of BMG’s record labels in late 2008. It was distributed through the RCA Music Gro ...
.
Critically acclaimed, "Better in Time" was nominated for the Brit Award for British Single
The Brit Award for Song of the Year is an award given by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), an organisation which represents record companies and artists in the United Kingdom. The accolade is presented at the Brit Awards, an annual celebra ...
. It peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
, reaching the top ten in Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Italy and New Zealand. Lewis promoted the song on several live television programmes, such as '' Good Morning America'', ''Live with Regis and Kelly
''Live with Kelly and Ryan'' (or simply ''Live'') is an American syndicated morning talk show hosted by Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest. Executive produced by Michael Gelman, the ''Live with...'' show formula has aired under various hosts since ...
'', and on the 2008 American Music Awards, also being included on the set list of her debut concert tour The Labyrinth (2010). The song's accompanying music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...
was directed by Sophie Muller
Sophie Luise Elisabeth Muller (born 31 January 1962) is a British music video director who has directed more than 300 music videos. She won a Grammy Award for Annie Lennox's 1992 '' Diva'' video album, and an MTV Video Music Award for Lennox's so ...
at the Hampton Court House School in London in February 2008, and shows Lewis performing in front of several photographic set-ups and events behind the scenes.
Composition and release
"Better in Time" is a pop and R&B song set incommon time
The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note val ...
composed in a moderate tempo
In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...
of eighty beats per minute,Sheet music for "Better in Time". Sony BMG Music Entertainment Publishing (2008). in the key of G flat major with a vocal range from the tone of C4 to the note of B5. The song has a sequence of G–Bm–Em–G/D–C as its chord progression. Lyrically the song talks about someone who cannot forget her ex-partner, and at the end the protagonist knows that "it will all get better in time". Andrea Martin
Andrea Louise Martin (born January 15, 1947) is an American-Canadian actress, singer, and comedian, best known for her work in the television series '' SCTV'' and ''Great News''. She has appeared in films such as '' Black Christmas'' (1974), ''W ...
and J. R. Rotem
Jonathan Reuven Rotem is a South African-born record producer, songwriter and music publisher.
Biography
Early life
Rotem was born in South Africa to Jewish Israeli people, Israeli immigrant parents. He moved to Canada at the age of two an ...
wrote the song, and Rotem composed and produced it. On 29 January 2008, Lewis announced on her website that "Better in Time", along with " Footprints in the Sand", would be released as a double A-side single on 10 March 2008, as her third single in the United Kingdom, with 2008 Sport Relief
''Sport Relief'' was a biennial charity event from Comic Relief, in association with BBC Sport, established in 2002.
It was the idea of Kevin Cahill, CBE, who had joined Comic Relief in 1991 to establish a new department as Director of Educat ...
, a biennial charity organised by Comic Relief
Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.
Definition
Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic epis ...
and BBC Sport
BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC television, radio and online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside flag ...
, selecting "Footprints in the Sand" as their official single. It was also her second international single. A new remix of the song was created for the single release. The double A-side was released with another song, "You Bring Me Down", as a B-side.
Critical reception
"Better in Time" received generally positive reviews from music critics. In his review of the album, Chung Ah-young of ''The Korea Times
''The Korea Times'' is the oldest of three English-language newspapers published daily in South Korea. It is a sister paper of the '' Hankook Ilbo'', a major Korean language daily; both are owned by Dongwha Enterprise, a wood-based manufacture ...
'' described the single as "one of the best tracks n the albumwith impressive piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
sounds harmonized with ewis An electrical wiring interconnect system (EWIS) is the wiring system and components (such as bundle clamps, wire splices, etc.) for a complex system. The term originated in the aviation industry but was originally designated as Electrical Intercon ...
powerful vocals". Alex Fletcher from Digital Spy gave a mixed review to the double A-side. He called the single a "placid affair" with "its plinky-plonky piano and R&B groove resting uncomfortably next to Lewis's creamy vocal style". The BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...
''. "Better in Time" was nominated at the 2009 BRIT Awards
Brit Awards 2009 was the 29th edition of the British Phonographic Industry's annual Brit Awards. The awards ceremony was held at Earls Court in London, and was broadcast live on ITV on 18 February at 8pm (GMT). Duffy became the first female ar ...
in the category of Best British Single, and later the song was included on the awards' compilation album.
Chart performance
The double A-side "Better in Time" and "Footprints in the Sand" debuted at number 74 on the UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
on 1 March 2008; rising 36 places, it debuted in the top 40 the following week, at number 38. On its fourth week, the song reached its peak position at number two, selling 40,476 copies and being beaten to the number one spot by Duffy's "Mercy
Mercy (Middle English, from Anglo-French ''merci'', from Medieval Latin ''merced-'', ''merces'', from Latin, "price paid, wages", from ''merc-'', ''merxi'' "merchandise") is benevolence, forgiveness, and kindness in a variety of ethical, relig ...
". With this it became the third single by Lewis to reach the top five in the country. "Better in Time" and "Footprints in the Sand" was certified as silver by the British Phonographic Industry
British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with ...
(BPI). In the Australian charts, "Better in Time" debuted at number 32 on 27 April 2008, reaching the top ten two weeks later, her second single to achieve this feat. On 25 May 2008 the single reached its peak position, at number six, and remained within the top fifty for eighteen weeks. The song was later certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing ...
(ARIA). It debuted at number 34 on New Zealand's RIANZ
Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded Mus ...
Chart on 17 March 2008, eventually reaching number nine after five weeks, and by its seventh week had climbed to number six, thereby becoming her second consecutive top ten hit in the country. "Better in Time" and "Footprints in the Sand" debuted in the German charts
The GfK Entertainment charts are the official music charts in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindust ...
on 16 June 2008 at number five. Although it fell out the top ten the following week, it managed to reach the top five in the issue ending 27 July 2010, and rose to its peak position, at number two, in subsequent days. "Better in Time" entered the German chart on 22 February 2009 at number seventy-nine, where it stayed for three weeks. It achieved a gold certification by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie
The Bundesverband Musikindustrie (English: Federal Music Industry Association), or simply BVMI, represents the music industry in Germany. The association represents the interests of nearly 280 labels and music industry related enterprises, which ...
(BVMI). In Denmark
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"Better in Time" entered the charts at number twenty-nine on 9 May 2008, and managed to rise twenty-three places in the next two weeks. On 6 June 2008 the single reached its peak position, number three. Next week, it fell out two places, but it retook its peak the following issue, and the song continued in this position for three weeks.
"Better in Time" and "Footprints in the Sand" debuted and peaked at number eight on the European Hot 100 Singles in the issue ending 29 March 2008, becoming the highest debut of the week. Moreover, "Better in Time" was also a success in the chart, the single eventually reached number seven on the chart in the week ending 2 August 2008. In Switzerland, the single entered at number thirteen, becoming the highest release of the week. On 27 July 2008, its ninth week, it reached its peak position at number five, becoming Lewis's second top five in the country. It managed to stay within the top ten for eleven weeks and it was last seen in the chart on 22 March 2009, forty-two weeks after its debut. In the week ending 26 April 2008, "Better in Time" debuted at number sixty-two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, in the same week that her previous single, "Bleeding Love", topped the chart. Next week it dropped out of the chart but later re-entered the Hot 100 at number seventy-five, becoming the best comeback of the week. The song reached its peak position at number eleven on its fourteenth week, where it stayed for another week. In other charts of the United States, "Better in Time" peaked at number four on the Adult Top 40
The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems ...
, ninety-nine on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...
, three at the Mainstream Top 40, and at number four on the Adult Contemporary chart
The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by sta ...
, where it spent fifty-two weeks on the chart. The single became the seventeenth best-selling single of 2008 in Austria, as well as the twenty-second in Germany and Switzerland, the thirty-sixth in New Zealand, the thirty-seventh in the UK, the fifty-fifth of Australia, the sixty-fourth in the Netherlands, and the seventy-second in Flanders, a region in Belgium.
Music video and promotion
Themusic video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...
was filmed at Hampton Court House School in London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
by the British director Sophie Muller
Sophie Luise Elisabeth Muller (born 31 January 1962) is a British music video director who has directed more than 300 music videos. She won a Grammy Award for Annie Lennox's 1992 '' Diva'' video album, and an MTV Video Music Award for Lennox's so ...
in February 2008, and was released at the end of the same month. The video is inspired by fashion design, with Lewis performing in front of "unrelated photographic set-ups", and shows what goes on behind the scenes. In some parts of the video Lewis is shown with a horse
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...
.
Lewis first performed the song live on the television programme '' Dancing on Ice'' on 9 March 2008. Lewis also performed both sides of the single on BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
's Sport Relief on 14 March 2008, '' Good Morning America'' on 4 April 2008, and on the '' Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' show along with "Bleeding Love". On 3 September 2008 Lewis performed the song on ''Live with Regis and Kelly
''Live with Kelly and Ryan'' (or simply ''Live'') is an American syndicated morning talk show hosted by Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest. Executive produced by Michael Gelman, the ''Live with...'' show formula has aired under various hosts since ...
'', and on 1 October 2008 on the season finale of '' America's Got Talent''. The song was featured in the '' 90210'' episode "Lucky Strike", originally aired on 9 September 2008. On 24 November 2008, Lewis performed the song at the 2008 American Music Awards. In May 2010, the song was added to the setlist of her The Labyrinth tour, performed as the fourth song of the show. "Better in Time" was included on the tour's live album and Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...
''The Labyrinth Tour Live from The O2'', released on 29 November 2010. In 2011, Lewis performed a reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
version of the song at BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
segment Live Lounge
The Live Lounge is a segment on the British radio stations BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra. It was originally hosted by Simon Mayo, and later by Jo Whiley on her weekday mid-morning, and later weekend lunchtime radio shows, then by Fearne Cotton ...
, where she mashed up the single with " Man Down", a song by Rihanna. It is also one of thirty-eight songs included on the benefit album ''Songs for Japan
''Songs for Japan'' is a charity compilation album created to benefit relief efforts for the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. A collaborative project between the music industry's "big four" record labels ( EMI, Sony, Universal, and Warner), ...
'', a compilation album released in response to the aftermath of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Tōhoku, Japan), released on 25 March 2011. "Better in Time" was used in the American television series ''Pretty Little Liars'', for the second season finale "unmAsked", in the masquerade ball scene. In 2013, Lewis performed the song along with "Man Down" during her Glassheart Tour.
Track listings and formats
Australian Maxi single and UK Sport Relief CD single #"Better in Time" – 3:55 #"Footprints in the Sand" – 4:09 #"You Bring Me Down" – 3:54 CD single (Syco), CD single (RCA
The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...
), Maxi single, and Swiss CD single
#"Better in Time" (Single Mix) – 3:55
#"Footprints in the Sand" (Single Mix) – 3:58
German Premium single
#"Better in Time" (Single Mix) – 3:55
#"Footprints in the Sand" (Single Mix) – 3:58
#"Bleeding Love" (Moto Blanco Remix Radio Edit) – 3:40
#"Better in Time" (Video) – 3:58
Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professiona ...
single; Swiss Maxi single
#"Better in Time" (Single Mix) – 3:55
#"Footprints in the Sand" (Single Mix) – 3:58
#"Bleeding Love" (Moto Blanco Remix Radio Edit) – 3:40
Credits and personnel
"Better in Time" *Leona Lewis – vocals *J. R. Rotem – instruments, musical arranger, writer and producer *Greg Ogan – recorder *Andrea Martin – writer *Vlado Meller
Vlado Meller is a Slovak audio mastering engineer, currently with Vlado Meller Mastering in Charleston, South Carolina. Meller works across many genres of music, with credits on rock, hip-hop, pop, jazz, metal, dance, opera, Broadway, and classic ...
– mastering
*Serban Ghenea – mixer
*Lyndell Fraser – Pro–tools engineer
*Tim Roberts – Pro–tools engineer assistant
"You Bring Me Down"
*Leona Lewis – vocals, writer
*Salaam Remi – bass, piano, drums, writer
*Vincent Henry – saxophone, flute, clarinet
*Bruce Purse – trumpet, bass trumpet
The bass trumpet is a type of low trumpet which was first developed during the 1820s in Germany. It is usually pitched in 8' C or 9' B today, but is sometimes built in E and is treated as a transposing instrument sounding either an octave, a sixt ...
, flugelhorn
*Vlado Meller – mastering
*Manny Marroquin
Manny Marroquin (born September 21, 1971) is an American mixing engineer.Daley, Dan (May 2005).Manny Marroquin. ''Sound on Sound''. Retrieved February 10, 2007 He has received ten Grammy awards for his professional audio work.
Life and career
...
– mixer
*Taj Jackson – vocal producer, writer
*Gleyder "Gee" Disla – recorder
*Franklin "Esoses" Socorro – recorder
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
References
Notes
*External links
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Better In Time 2000s ballads 2007 songs 2008 singles Charity singles Leona Lewis songs Music videos directed by Sophie Muller Pop ballads Contemporary R&B ballads Song recordings produced by J. R. Rotem Songs written by Andrea Martin (musician) Songs written by J. R. Rotem Comic Relief singles Number-one singles in Scotland Syco Music singles J Records singles