"Different" is a song by English singer-songwriter

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...

, taken from his ninth studio album, '' Take the Crown''. It was released as the album's second single on 17 December 2012. The song was written by Williams,

Gary Barlow Gary Barlow (born 20 January 1971) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He is the lead singer of the British pop group Take That. Barlow is one of the United Kingdom's most successful songwriters, havi ...

and

Jacknife Lee Garret "Jacknife" Lee is an Irish music producer and mixer. He has worked with a variety of artists, including the Cars, U2, R.E.M., the Killers, Robbie Williams, Snow Patrol, Bloc Party, Two Door Cinema Club, AFI, the Hives, Weezer, One Dir ...

. The single was accompanied by four extra tracks: "On My Own", a duet with Tom Jones, "Soul Transmission", "White Man in Hanoi", a cut from ''Take the Crown'', and "The Promise", a cover from singer songwriter Paul Freeman (Robbie's Christmas song).

Background

"Different" was produced by

, who said of the track: "I think when Robbie gets a song right, it's the vulnerability mixed with the bravado that makes it so compelling", to which Robbie replied, "It's the great hope of the second single variety. A lot of effort went into this song, which is a very personal statement". Williams also commented on the number of B-sides released with the single: "I write so many songs and I love all of them, but they don't all make it onto a record. Some of my favourite songs have never been heard. I wanted to put out an EP so a few more could be heard. Check out the legend that is Tom Jones on 'On My Own'. 'The Promise' is my Christmas song." Digital versions of the single available in Germany contain a bonus live recording of "Different", featuring vocals from co-songwriter

, who performed the track live with Williams on 23 November 2012, at the O2 Arena in London.

Music video

The music video for the track premiered on 27 November 2012, via Williams' official VEVO account on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

, at a total length of five minutes and seven seconds. Directed by

W.I.Z. Andrew John "W.I.Z." Whiston (born 4 January 1964) is an English director of films and music videos. Career W.I.Z. has directed a number of high-concept videos for major music artists from the United Kingdom and the United States, including Ma ...

, the video features Williams dressed as an orchestra conductor, who is conducting an orchestra playing music for a film that also features Williams as the lead role, a gangster character struggling to prevent his strained relationship with wife boiling over and affecting his job. He is seen arguing with his wife, wasting a pint of milk she had especially bought for him. Williams said of the video: "It was a real fun one to film. It took around three days to film each of the separate sequences, but the supporting cast were exceptionally great. I would love to make videos like this all the time."

Track listing

Charts

Release history

References

{{authority control 2012 singles 2012 songs Robbie Williams songs Songs written by Robbie Williams Songs written by Gary Barlow Song recordings produced by Jacknife Lee Island Records singles Songs written by Jacknife Lee