"Better Now" is a song by American alternative rock band

Collective Soul Collective Soul is an American rock band originally from Stockbridge, Georgia. Now based in Atlanta, the group consists of lead vocalist Ed Roland, rhythm guitarist Dean Roland, bassist Will Turpin, drummer Johnny Rabb, and lead guitarist Jes ...

, released as the second single off their sixth studio album, ''

Youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. You ...

'' (2004), on January 24, 2005. It was written by singer-guitarist

Ed Roland Edgar Eugene Roland, Jr. (born August 3, 1963) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the lead vocalist and primary songwriter of the rock band Collective Soul. He is also active with his side project ...

and producer Dexter Green. The coda features a

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series * Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''S ...

. In concert, this is replaced with a

guitar solo A guitar solo is a melodic passage, instrumental section, or entire piece of music, pre-written (or improvised) to be played on a classical guitar, electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. In 20th and 21st century traditional music and popular m ...

. The

radio edit In music, a radio edit or radio mix is a modification, typically truncated or censored, intended to make a song more suitable for airplay, whether it be adjusted for length, profanity, subject matter, instrumentation, or form. Radio edits may als ...

version also includes a guitar solo. Jason Damas of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' described the song as "a big, energetic pop hook set to a Cars-ish, robotic grind, and is spiked with a colorful layer of horns for color." "Better Now" failed to chart on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 but peaked at number 117 on the

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

chart.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

In popular culture

* The Blue Chip Casino in

Michigan City, Indiana Michigan City is a city in LaPorte County, Indiana, United States. It is one of the two principal cities of the Michigan City-La Porte, Indiana Metropolitan statistical area, which is included in the Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City Combined sta ...

uses the song in recent television and radio ads. * The

Kellogg Company The Kellogg Company, doing business as Kellogg's, is an American multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. Kellogg's produces cereal and convenience foods, including crackers and toas ...

used it in an ad for its

Special K Special K is an American brand of breakfast cereal and meal bars manufactured by Kellogg's. The cereal was introduced to the United States in 1955. It is made primarily from grains such as lightly toasted rice, wheat and barley. Special K used ...

cereal, "feeling better now" in this instance being used to denote a woman's feeling healthier after going on their "Special K diet." * For the 2008 Canadian election, Conservative prime minister

Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...

used the song as his intro music when he entered his party HQ for a victory speech. The song was similarly used in the 2011 Conservative federal election campaign. The song was once again featured heavily by the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

during the 2015 federal election campaign. * The ending of the film '' Cursed''. It is also featured on the soundtrack to the film. * The band performed the song in the ''

Charmed ''Charmed'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Constance M. Burge and produced by Aaron Spelling and his production company Spelling Television, with Brad Kern serving as showrunner. The series was originally broadcast ...

'' episode "Scry Hard". * The trailer for the 2007 film '' Wild Hogs'' features the song.

References

External links

* 2004 songs 2005 singles Collective Soul songs Songs written by Ed Roland {{2000s-rock-single-stub