"Something to Believe In" is a song by American

glam metal Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal that features pop-influenced hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat rock anthems, and slow power ballads. It borrows heavily from the fashion and image of 1970s glam r ...

band

Poison Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

, released as the second single from their third studio album, '' Flesh & Blood'' (1990). "Something to Believe In" was also released on the ''

Best of Ballads & Blues ''Best of Ballads & Blues'' is a greatest hits compilation album from the American hard rock band Poison. It was released August 5, 2003 on Capitol Records. Content Unlike '' Poison's Greatest Hits: 1986-1996'', this compilation focuses on th ...

'' album in 2003, with alternate lyrics (part 2). The

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

peaked at number four on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, number five on the Album Rock Tracks chart, number 35 in the United Kingdom, and number 44 in Australia. It was Poison's last top-10 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Background

This song was dedicated to

James Kimo Maano James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

, a security guard and best friend of

Bret Michaels Bret Michael Sychak (born March 15, 1963), known professionally as Bret Michaels, is an American singer and musician. He gained fame as the frontman of rock band Poison who has sold over 50 million albums worldwide and 15 million records in the U ...

who had died some time earlier. The cover art for the single depicts a

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, and/or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several Process of tatt ...

on Michaels' arm of a cross with the words "Something to Believe In". The tattoo artist, according to Michaels, had been drinking and spelled "believe" incorrectly putting the "e" before the "i". It was attempted to be corrected by adding a rose to the cross that covered the misspelling, but Michaels was never satisfied with the results. In the first season of the

reality show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

Rock of Love ''Rock of Love with Bret Michaels'' is an American reality television dating game show. It stars Bret Michaels, the lead singer from the band Poison. The show closely resembles the show ''Flavor of Love''. The first season featured 25 women com ...

'', Michaels goes to a tattoo shop where the tattoo artist properly touches up the tattoo.

Music video

During the filming of the video, unbeknownst to Michaels, the director had inserted footage of James Kimo Maano which was playing on a screen in front of Bret. This was done to try to draw an emotional reaction from Michaels. It worked so well that Michaels lost his composure and had to leave the set for several hours. On the final cut of the video, during the second verse, Michaels can be seen visually holding back tears as he momentarily stops singing.

Reception

"Something to Believe In" is widely regarded as one of Poison's best songs. In 2017, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' and ''

OC Weekly ''OC Weekly'' was a free alternative weekly paper distributed in Orange County and Long Beach, California. OC Weekly was founded in September 1995 by Will Swaim, who acted as editor and publisher until 2007. The paper was distributed at coffee ...

'' ranked the song number four and number one, respectively, on their lists of the 10 greatest Poison songs.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* All Music Guide (2/5) link {{Authority control 1990 songs 1990 singles Poison (American band) songs Anti-war songs Capitol Records singles Commemoration songs Glam metal ballads Song recordings produced by Bruce Fairbairn Songs critical of religion Songs written by Bobby Dall Songs written by Bret Michaels Songs written by C.C. DeVille Songs written by Rikki Rockett