"Give Me One Reason" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter

Tracy Chapman Tracy Chapman (born March 30, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. Chapman is best known for her hit singles "Fast Car" and " Give Me One Reason". Chapman was signed to Elektra Records by Bob Krasnow in 1987. The following year she released ...

. It was included on her fourth studio album, '' New Beginning'' (1995), and was released as a single in various territories between November 1995 and March 1997. The song is Chapman's biggest US hit to date, reaching number three on the ''Billboard''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

. It is also her biggest hit in Australia, where it reached number three as well, and it topped the charts of Canada and Iceland. Elsewhere, the song reached number 16 in New Zealand, but it underperformed in the United Kingdom, peaking at number 95 in March 1997. Chapman first performed "Give Me One Reason" during her 1988 tour, seven years before its release. She also performed the song on the December 16, 1989, episode of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves ...

''. Chapman earned the

Grammy Award for Best Rock Song The Grammy Award for Best Rock Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rock music genre. Honors in several ...

for the track, and it was also nominated for

Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...

, Song of the Year, and

Best Female Rock Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance was an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to female recording artists for works (songs or albums) conta ...

at the

Grammy Awards of 1997 The 39th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 26, 1997, at Madison Square Garden, New York City. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Babyface was the night's biggest winner, with 3 awards. Celine Dion, Toni ...

. A version of this song featuring

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list o ...

was included on the 1999 compilation album '' A Very Special Christmas Live''. A music video was released to promote the single.

Critical reception

Alan Jones from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' wrote, "Less intense and somewhat looser than her benchmark hit

Fast Car "Fast Car" is a song by American singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman. It was released on April 6, 1988, as the lead single from her 1988 self-titled debut studio album. Chapman's appearance on the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute helped the s ...

, it perfectly mixes her folksy style with traditional R&B qualities, intelligent lyrics and that edgy distinctive voice. Compelling listening." ''

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'' said the song was, "strutting along a plucked, head-nodding guitar melody and Chapman’s grainy alto. Centering on an imbalanced relationship, each verse grows more frustrated from a lack of reciprocity; then the band kicks in and the pleading in her voice becomes cathartic, begging for a reason to stay while knowing it won’t come."

Track listings

* US CD and cassette single # "Give Me One Reason" – 4:31 # "The Rape of the World" – 7:07 * UK CD single # "Give Me One Reason" (radio edit) – 4:08 # "

Talkin' 'bout a Revolution "Talkin' 'bout a Revolution" is the second single from American singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman's self-titled debut album. The politically aware song peaked at 75 in the United States as opposed to its predecessor, "Fast Car" which reached No. ...

" (LP version) – 2:38 # "All That You Have Is Your Soul" (LP version) – 5:16 # "

" (LP version) – 4:58 * European and Australian CD single # "Give Me One Reason" (single edit) – 3:59 # "The Rape of the World" (LP version) – 7:07 # "House of the Rising Sun" – 2:00 * Australian cassette single # "Give Me One Reason" (single edit) – 3:59 # "House of the Rising Sun" – 2:00

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Cover versions

In 2015,

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first season of '' American Idol'' in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA. Her de ...

covered the song for

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, garnering over 2.5 million views. She again covered the song for her talk show, '' The Kelly Clarkson Show'', in 2021. The band

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covered the song on their 2009 digitally released ''The Covers EP''. In 2021,

Black Stone Cherry Black Stone Cherry is an American rock band, formed in 2001 in Edmonton, Kentucky. They were signed to Roadrunner Records until 2015; the band is now signed to Mascot Label Group. The band consists of Chris Robertson (lead vocals, lead guitar), B ...

released two versions of the song on the deluxe edition of their album ''

The Human Condition ''The Human Condition'', first published in 1958, is Hannah Arendt's account of how "human activities" should be and have been understood throughout Western history. Arendt is interested in the ''vita activa'' (active life) as contrasted with t ...

''. Their versions peaked at No. 25 on ''Billboard's'' Mainstream Rock Airplay chart.

References

{{Authority control 1995 singles 1995 songs Elektra Records singles Number-one singles in Iceland Grammy Award for Best Rock Song RPM Top Singles number-one singles Song recordings produced by Don Gehman Songs written by Tracy Chapman Tracy Chapman songs