"Winner" is a song by English

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

duo

Pet Shop Boys The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo i ...

, released as the lead single from their eleventh studio album, ''

Elysium Elysium (, ), otherwise known as the Elysian Fields ( grc, Ἠλύσιον πεδίον, ''Ēlýsion pedíon'') or Elysian Plains, is a conception of the afterlife that developed over time and was maintained by some Greek religious and philos ...

'' (2012). It received its UK radio premiere on ''The

Ken Bruce Kenneth Robertson Bruce (born 2 February 1951) is a British broadcaster who is best known for hosting his long-running weekday mid-morning show on BBC Radio 2 from 1986 to 1990, and then again since 1992. Early life and career Bruce was born a ...

Show'' on

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on 2 July 2012. The following day, it was made available for download, followed by a

CD single A CD single (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any si ...

and two digital bundles on 6 August 2012. The track was featured as BBC Radio 2's "Record of the Week" for the second week of July 2012 and added to the B-list of BBC Radio 2's playlists for three weeks.

Background

Neil Tennant Neil Francis Tennant (born 10 July 1954) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and music journalist, and co-founder of the synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, which he formed with Chris Lowe in 1981. He was a journalist for ''Smash Hits'', and a ...

commented that the song "is called 'Winner' and superficially it's a sort of '

We Are the Champions "We Are the Champions" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released from the band's sixth album ''News of the World'' (1977). Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, it remains among rock's most recognisable anthems.

' song but actually it's not. It's really about that moment...and really what's important is the camaraderie of everything that got you there. Enjoy the moment, enjoy the memory 'cause it's just a little moment."

Reception

"Winner" was received generally well. ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' stated, "Pet Shop Boys have released one of the most uplifting songs in the history of their songs." ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' said the song was patently timed to match the Olympic mood and "triumphant, low key; a very English take on things".

Popjustice Popjustice is a music website founded in 2000 by UK freelance music journalist Peter Robinson, who has worked for ''NME'', ''The Guardian'', ''Attitude'' and many others. It is composed of the work of editor Robinson, features editor Michael Cra ...

commented that the song "kind of works in the context of all the sport in the air at the moment, but as the lead single from a

album it's probably the worst since '

Before Before is the opposite of after, and may refer to: * ''Before'' (Gold Panda EP), 2009 * ''Before'' (James Blake EP), 2020 * "Before" (song), a 1996 song by the Pet Shop Boys * "Before", a song by the Empire of the Sun from ''Two Vines'' * "Befo ...

'", also stating that the three b-sides eclipse the lead song. ''

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

'' stated that the single reminds us the pop icons "... do gently persuasive feelgood with panache". ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' commented "the Pet Shop Boys kicked that idea round the studio and thought better of it". '' Daily Star'' gave the song 9 out of 10 and commented, "deserving a gold medal for cashing in on Olympics fever, the duo's first taste of their new album is a gorgeous epic", and added the song is "such a lovely tune nobody can begrudge them their chance" and it is "a champion performance".

Music video

The music video for "Winner" was directed by Surrender Monkeys and the features the

London Rollergirls London Roller Derby is a flat track roller derby league and a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). The league were founding members of the United Kingdom Roller Derby Association (UKRDA). The league has four travel teams ...

, a

roller derby Roller derby is a roller skating contact sport played by two teams of fifteen members. Roller derby is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leagues worldwide, mostly in the United States. Game play consists of a series of short scrimmages (jam ...

team, and their new rookie, Dirty Diana, who is

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

. The story highlights the inclusive message of the song and the Rollergirls, an all-women roller derby league that promote charity, teamwork and confidence in women by embracing everyone regardless of body shape, occupations, sexual orientation, race or nationality. Conservative US gay commentator

Andrew Sullivan Andrew Michael Sullivan (born 10 August 1963) is a British-American author, editor, and blogger. Sullivan is a political commentator, a former editor of ''The New Republic'', and the author or editor of six books. He started a political blog, ' ...

, said it is "one of the very few videos I've seen that actually celebrates the life of the transgender person". There was positive reception to the video. Film-news.co.uk commented the video is touching.

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...

described the video as "an inspirational sports montage of sorts, but the inspiration doesn't come from any athletic feats; it comes from the whole community-building side effect". The Pet Shop Boys received a letter which thanked them for positively showing the transgender community.

Track listings

Charts

References

{{Pet Shop Boys singles 2012 singles Pet Shop Boys songs Songs written by Neil Tennant Songs written by Chris Lowe Synth-pop ballads 2012 songs Parlophone singles LGBT-related songs