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Believe (Elton John song)
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox song
| name = Believe
| cover = Believe_(Elton_John).jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Elton John
| album = Made in England
| B-side =
| released =
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| genre =
* Symphonic music
* soft rock
| length = 4:51
| label = Rocket
| composer = Elton John
| lyricist = Bernie Taupin
| producer =
* Elton John
* Greg Penny
| prev_title = Circle of Life
| prev_year = 1994
| next_title = Made in England
| next_year = 1995
| misc =
}}
"'Believe'" is a song by English musician Elton John. It was the first single from his twenty-fourth studio album, 'Made in England' (1995), and was released on 20 February 1995. Several versions of the single were released, featuring B-sides such as "Circle of Life" from 'The Lion King' and live versions of tracks including "The One", "The Last Song", "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" and "Believe", which were recorded at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.
"Believe" reached number one in Iceland, Italy and Canada, becoming John's 18th number-one single in the latter country. In the United States, "Believe" became John's 15th number one on the 'Billboard' Adult Contemporary chart and peaked at number 13 on the 'Billboard' Hot 100; it gave him his third straight top-20 single in the US. In Europe, it was a top-20 hit in France, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the Wallonia region of Belgium.
The accompanying music video for the song was entirely in black-and-white and shot in London, featuring shots of the title screen in the beginning and end of the video.
Critical reception
British magazine 'Music Week' rated the song four out of five, describing it as "a fab, pompous and brooding "I believe in love" stomper. Thankfully, he's ditched the frothy pop for a quite majestic song that would no doubt get an approving nod from a certain Freddie Mercury." Editor Alan Jones stated that "Believe" "is clearly destined to be massive. The big ballad, cleverly marketed over two CD singles, augers well for his upcoming album 'Made in England'." A reviewer from 'People Magazine' described it as "a power ballad that hints at John Lennon during his pop-obsessed "'Double Fantasy'" era."
Music video
In the black and white music video for "Believe", directed by Marcus Nispel, Elton John travels around the world in a zeppelin close to the roofs of New York City and London in the middle of one day. Some behind the scenes footage for the video was used for the 1996 documentary 'Elton John: Tantrums & Tiaras.'
Accolades
|-
|1996 || "Believe" || Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance ||
|-
Track listings
* '7-inch'
# "Believe" 4:51
# "The One" (live) 6:32
* 'Europe CD maxi'
# "Believe" 4:51
# "Believe" (live) 4:43
# "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" (live) 3:52
* 'US CD maxi'
# "Believe" 4:51
# "The One" (live) 6:32
# "Believe" (live) 4:43
Personnel
* Elton John vocals, piano, keyboards
* Guy Babylon keyboards, programming
* Bob Birch bass
* Paul Buckmaster Orchestra Arrangement, Conductor
* Ray Cooper percussion
* Davey Johnstone guitars
* Charlie Morgan drums
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"!Chart (1995)
!Position
|-
!scope="row"|Canada Top Singles ('RPM')
|9
|-
!scope="row"|Canada Adult Contemporary ('RPM')
|2
|-
!scope="row"|France (SNEP)
|align="center"|73
|-
!scope="row"|Iceland (slenski Listinn Topp 40)
|6
|-
!scope="row"|US 'Billboard' Hot 100
|59
|-
!scope="row"|US Adult Contemporary ('Billboard')
|11
|}
References
Category:1994 songs
Category:1995 singles
Category:Elton John songs
Category:Music videos directed by Marcus Nispel
Category:Number-one singles in Iceland
Category:Number-one singles in Italy
Category:RPM Top Singles number-one singles
Category:Songs with lyrics by Bernie Taupin
Category:Songs with music by Elton John
Category:Rock ballads
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