Million Reasons

"Million Reasons"
The singer lies in a field of grass in this black and white photograph.
Single by Lady Gaga
from the album Joanne
Released November 8, 2016 (2016-11-08)
Format Digital download
Recorded Shangri-La Studios, Gypsy Palace Studios
(Malibu, California)
Electric Lady Studios
(New York)
Genre Pop
Length 3:25
Label Interscope
Writer(s)
Producer(s)
Lady Gaga singles chronology
"Perfect Illusion"
(2016)		 "Million Reasons"
(2016)

"Million Reasons" is a song recorded by American singer Lady Gaga for her fifth studio album, Joanne (2016). Initially released as a promotional single, it was released to radio stations on November 8, 2016, as the album's second single. The track was written by Gaga, Hillary Lindsey and Mark Ronson, and produced by Ronson, Gaga and BloodPop. A pop song with country influences, backed by guitar and piano, "Million Reasons" lyrically delves on "heartbreak and hope" during a relationship.

In order to promote "Million Reasons", the singer performed it on several concert venues of her Dive Bar Tour (2016), and an additional promotional video premiered. Commercially, the recording already reached several charts during its promotional release, and has since peaked within the top 60 in most of the territories it charted, including number 57 on the United States' Billboard Hot 100.

Background and release

Following the release of lead single "Perfect Illusion" on September 9, 2016, Lady Gaga announced the Dive Bar Tour (2016), a promotional concert series where the singer performed at various dive bars in the United States.[1] However, the venues for the concert series remained undisclosed to fulfill a more intimate approach.[2] The campaign was sponsored by Bud Light, and premiered on October 5. Simultaneously, a live broadcast of the event was live streamed on Bud Light's official Facebook page.[3] On October 2, 2016, several publications claimed that during the first show of the tour, a new song titled "Million Reasons" would be performed, in addition to "Perfect Illusion".[4][5]

"Million Reasons" was made available as a promotional digital download to listeners who pre-ordered Joanne through iTunes on October 6, 2016.[6] However, following the song's commercial surge when Gaga appeared on the Carpool Karaoke segment of The Late Late Show with James Corden, "Million Reasons" was selected as the second single from Joanne.[7] It was released to American contemporary hit radio stations on November 8, 2016.[8]

Composition and lyrics

Hillary Lindsey, 2011

Gaga co-wrote and co-produced "Million Reasons" alongside Mark Ronson, while musicians Hillary Lindsey and BloodPop provided additional songwriting and production, respectively.[9] According to Emily Mackay of NME, "Million Reasons" serves as a "potent, sky-clutching reminder of Gaga's way with a bare-bone ballad".[10] Idolator's Patrick Bowman agreed and described it as a "country-tinged [...] quiet ballad" while Stephen L. Betts from Rolling Stone called it a pop song which had a country music appeal, similar to singer Beyoncé's "Daddy Lessons".[11][12] Michael Cragg from The Guardian found this reminiscent of Carrie Underwood's characteristic style, which he called country balladry.[13] Lyndsey Parker from Yahoo! Music joked that it was obviously written by country music artists.[14] In the composition, the singer's vocals are layered among "faintly strummed guitars" and varying degrees of percussion.[15] The singer spoke regarding the genre of the single:

"Million Reasons" is a country song mixed with funk and rock 'n' roll. You would never imagine it would sound that way... the feeling underneath the record is it's almost got like a little bit of a hip-hop feeling. But at the same time, it's not a hip-hop song. It's kind of like I just had no boundaries making music — and neither do any of the other people we were working with. It was kind of like what feels right, what hits the best, what’s going to get everybody in their stomach and their heart.[16]

"Million Reasons" is written in the key of C major with a tempo of approximately 64 beats per minute, and is accompanied by piano and guitar. Her vocals span from G3 to D5 in the song, which in common time, follows a progression of A♯m–B♭–Dmaj2–E♭m3–F♭m–G♯–Eadd7.[17] During the song's chorus, Gaga croons "You're giving me a million reasons to let you go / You're giving me a million reasons to quit the show".[18] Its discussion of heartbreak and hope, as described by International Business Times's Nicholas Mojica, was guaranteed to "resonate with [the] listeners" of the record.[19]

Critical reception

Cady Lang, writing for Time appreciated the touching quality of the recording's nature, which she described as heartbreaking.[20] Craig Jenkins of Vulture compared its potential appeal to Beyoncé's 2016 song "Daddy Lessons" and felt they both shared a "big left-field bid for country-radio airplay".[15] Mojica ranked "Million Reasons" at number six on his list of the best songs from Joanne; he acclaimed its lyrics and noted the contributions made by Lindsey.[19]

The staff at Idolator selected "Million Reasons" to review as part of their 'Rated & Reviewed' column series. Robbie Daw from the publication congratulated the singer for creating a "super-produced" country version of her 2011 single "You and I". Rachel Sonis agreed and claimed that it is simple and sweet, awarding it 8.5/10. However, both Carl Williott and Mike Wass were disappointed, with the latter claiming: "this era is shaping up to be even worse than I imagined." It ultimately received an average score of 6.1/10 from the writers.[21] Similarly, Bowman from the same website called it one of Joanne's "more forgettable tracks".[11] Although The Atlantic's Spencer Kornhaber found it to be a "sturdily crafted" single, he found Gaga to be neglectful of the song's details and claimed that American singer Taylor Swift could excel exceptionally better at the same craft.[22]

Chart performance

Given its original announcement as Joanne's first promotional single, "Million Reasons" entered several record charts. In the United States, it debuted at number 76 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her 24th career entry and second from Joanne.[23] It later peaked at number 57 on the Hot 100.[24] Its entry was accompanied by sales of 15,000 digital downloads, which allowed it to enter the Digital Songs component chart at number 38.[25] Following the release of Joanne, "Million Reasons" was offered at a discount of 69 cents through the iTunes Store.[26]

The song debuted at number 14 in Scotland and number 48 in the United Kingdom, in charts compiled and published by the Official Charts Company.[27][28] In France, it debuted at number 107 according to the National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing,[29] and was the ninth highest entry for the week of October 8, 2016.[30] The following week, it peaked at number 29 and became the chart's highest moving entry, jumping a total of 76 positions.[31] Elsewhere, it peaked at number 37 in Australia and number 39 in Switzerland.[32][33]

Live performances

The song was performed live for the first time on the Dive Bar Tour, on October 5, 2016.[34] The performance occurred at a Nashville bar as planned for the tour. She was joined by songwriter Lindsey for the rendition, which was considered heartfelt by Brittany Spanos of Rolling Stone.[18] Additional songs sung included the album tracks "Sinner's Prayer" and "A-Yo".[18] The footage was later pieced together in a promotional video, where she can be seen playing the piano while singing the song's lyrics.[16] She performed "A-Yo" and "Million Reasons" on Saturday Night Live on October 22, 2016. A toned down performance for the latter had the singer sitting at the piano belting out the song, backed by vocals from co-writer Lindsey.[35] Paste's Chris White called Gaga an "incredible performer and vocalist" based on the performances, adding "Gaga understands the stagecraft of playing live music on [the SNL stage]".[36] An isolated mic feed from the performances was also highly praised for Gaga's vocal prowess.[37][38]

At the American Music Awards of 2016 she sang "Million Reasons" while playing a guitar, with the set resembling a camp ground.[39] It received unanimous praise with Hilton Dresden from Out calling it a "heart-wrenching" rendition,[40] while The Huffington Post's Cole Delbyck described it as "stirring" and "emotional".[41] Billboard listed it as the third best performance of the night calling it a "resounding performance".[42] A few days later Gaga visited the Ali Forney LGBT community centre and performed an acoustic version of "Million Reasons", seated atop a piano wearing a t-shirt that read "Be Brave". She started the performance by clarifying that she wanted to be present at the center and "to affect other people around the world, and to remind them that when they are kind, it not only makes the other person feel good, but it makes me feel good too".[43]

The next performance of the song happened at the 2016 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in Paris. Prior to the actual performance onstage, Gaga sang along backstage with some of the models from the show.[44] During the show, "Million Reasons" was performed at the "Mountain Romance" section. Gaga wore a black dress with fish-tail train, printed with red roses, high neck and long sleeves. According to Bethan Holt of The Daily Telegraph, the look was a contrast to the scantily dressed models who walked past her waving. Once the performance was finished, Gaga as helped off stage and paused to take off her high-heeled shoes before scuttling off down a side exit.[45] Cole Delbyck from The Huffington Post found that Gaga sounded "off" during the performance, and noted her "awkward" interaction with the models. He also opined that songs from Joanne were not the best set list for the Victoria's Secret show.[46] She then traveled to the United Kingdom, beginning her promotion of Joanne with a surprise intimate gig at London's Shepherd's Bush Westfield shopping center, performing "Million Reasons" on piano.[47][48]

Cover versions

Country singer Kelsea Ballerini recorded an unplugged version of "Million Reasons" and uploaded on her Instagram account with the caption, "Gaga over this new Gaga, and as always, bowing down to Hillary Lindsey writing the best songs".[12] Billboard theorized that it was recorded in Ballerini's dressing room.[49] Isis Briones from Vogue praised the cover saying that Ballerini "stripped the track all the way down with just a guitar in hand and delivered an incredibly moving performance in just a few seconds. Not only will you want to replay this clip, but her voice on the song will get you to see in a completely different light."[50] The Voice contestant Christian Cuevas performed a cover of the song during the eleventh season of the show. The performance was appreciated with the judges complimenting it for creating an "inccredible moment" for the show. Gaga also tweeted her approval of Cuevas' singing prowess.[51]

Credits and personnel

Management

Personnel

Credits adapted from Joanne liner notes.[9]

Charts

Chart (2016) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[32] 37
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[52] 52
Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[53] 14
Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)[54] 43
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[55] 40
Canada AC (Billboard)[56] 30
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[57] 48
Euro Digital Songs (Billboard)[58] 19
France (SNEP)[29] 29
Germany (Official German Charts)[59] 85
Hungary (Single Top 40)[60] 10
Ireland (IRMA)[61] 58
Italy (FIMI)[62] 71
New Zealand Heatseekers (RMNZ)[63] 2
Portugal (AFP)[64] 74
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[27] 14
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[65] 22
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[66] 23
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[67] 71
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[33] 7
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[28] 48
US Billboard Hot 100[23] 57
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[68] 39

Release history

Country Date Format Label Ref.
Worldwide October 6, 2016 Digital download (promotional single) [69]
United States November 8, 2016 Contemporary hit radio [8]

References

  1. ↑ "Watch Lady Gaga Tease Upcoming Dive Bar Tour as Part of Bud Light Campaign". Billboard. October 2, 2016. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
  2. ↑ Nolfi, Joey (October 2, 2016). "Lady Gaga to debut new song 'Million Reasons' on 3-date Dive Bar Tour". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Lady Gaga to Debut 'Joanne' Songs on Dive Bar Mini-Tour". Rolling Stone. October 2, 2016. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
  4. ↑ Gaca. Anna (October 2, 2016). "Lady Gaga Will Debut 'Million Reasons' at a Dive Bar on Wednesday". Spin. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
  5. ↑ Lozano, Kevin (October 2, 2016). "Lady Gaga Will Debut New Song 'Million Reasons' at a Dive Bar". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
  6. ↑ Kaufman, Gil (October 6, 2016). "Stream the Heartbreaking New Lady Gaga Ballad 'Million Reasons'". Billboard. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  7. ↑ Noefi, Joel (October 31, 2016). "Lady Gaga earns fourth No. 1 album with Joanne". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  8. 1 2 "Top 40/M Future Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on November 2, 2016. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  9. 1 2 Joanne (CD). Lady Gaga. United States: Streamline/Interscope Records. 2016. 2580102.
  10. ↑ Mackay, Emily (October 24, 2016). "Lady Gaga – 'Joanne' Review". NME. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  11. 1 2 Bowman, Patrick (October 21, 2016). "Lady Gaga's 'Joanne': Album Review". Idolator. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  12. 1 2 Betts, Stephen (November 7, 2016). "See Kelsea Ballerini's Earnest Cover of Lady Gaga's 'Million Reasons'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  13. ↑ Cragg, Michael (October 23, 2016). "Lady Gaga: Joann review – a career-extending curio". The Guardian. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  14. ↑ Parker, Lyndsey (October 5, 2016). "Exclusive: Lady Gaga Previews 'Million Reasons' Song in Bud Light Dive Bar Tour Spot". Yahoo! Music. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  15. 1 2 Jenkins, Craig (October 20, 2016). "Lady Gaga's Joanne Is a Slightly Frustrating Mix of Country and EDM, But It's Fun When It Gels". Vulture. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  16. 1 2 Nolfi, Joey (October 5, 2016). "Hear the chorus of Lady Gaga's 'Million Reasons' in new 'Dive Bar Tour trailer". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  17. ↑ Germanotta, Stefani; Lindsey, Hillary; Ronson, Mark. "Lady Gaga 'Million Reasons' Sheet Music in C Major (transposable) - Download & Print". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved 2016-10-12. (subscription required (help)).
  18. 1 2 3 Spanos, Brittany (October 5, 2016). "Watch Lady Gaga Perform Heartfelt New Song 'Million Reasons'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  19. 1 2 Mojica, Nicholas (October 21, 2016). "Lady Gaga 'Joanne' Album Review: 6 Best Songs From Her New Album". International Business Times. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  20. ↑ Lang, Cady (October 6, 2016). "Listen to Lady Gaga's Heartbreaking New Song 'Million Reasons'". Time. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  21. ↑ Daw, Robbie; Sonis, Rachel; Williott, Carl; Wass, Mike. "Pop Perspective: Lady Gaga's "Million Reasons" Rated & Reviewed". Idolator. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  22. ↑ Kornhaber, Spencer (October 21, 2016). "Lady Gaga's Joanne Has More Gimmicks Than Guts". The Atlantic. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  23. 1 2 "Lady Gaga – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Lady Gaga. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
  24. ↑ "The Chainsmokers' 'Closer' Rules Hot 100, Zay Hilfigerrr & Zayion McCall's 'Juju' Jumps to Top 100". Billboard. October 31, 2016. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
  25. ↑ Zellner, Xander (October 11, 2016). "Bruno Mars' '24K Magic' & Lady Gaga's 'Million Reasons' Debut in Top 5 on Billboard + Twitter Top Tracks Chart". Billboard. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  26. ↑ Daw, Robbie (October 28, 2016). "Lady Gaga's "Million Reasons" Just Shot To #1 On The iTunes Chart". Idolator. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  27. 1 2 "Archive Chart: 2016-10-14". Scottish Singles Top 40. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
  28. 1 2 "Lady Gaga: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
  29. 1 2 "Lescharts.com – Lady Gaga – Million Reasons" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
  30. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Single Top 100 – 08/10/2016" (in French). Les classement single. October 8, 2016. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
  31. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Single Top 100 – 15/10/2016" (in French). Les classement single. October 15, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  32. 1 2 "Australian-charts.com – Lady Gaga – Million Reasons". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
  33. 1 2 "Swisscharts.com – Lady Gaga – Million Reasons". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  34. ↑ "Hear the chorus of Lady Gaga's 'Million Reasons' in new Dive Bar Tour trailer". Entertainment Weekly. October 5, 2016. Retrieved October 5, 2016.
  35. ↑ Kreps, Daniel (October 23, 2016). "Watch Lady Gaga Bring 'A-Yo,' 'Million Reasons,' Mark Ronson to 'SNL'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  36. ↑ White, Chris (October 23, 2016). "Saturday Night Live Review: 'Tom Hanks/Lady Gaga'". Paste. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  37. ↑ Hooton, Christopher (October 31, 2016). "Lady Gaga's 'Million Reasons' raw mic feed from SNL is absolutely flawless". The Independent. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  38. ↑ Viswanath, Jake (October 27, 2016). "Lady Gaga's Isolated 'SNL' Vocals Surface for Our Listening Pleasure". V. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  39. ↑ Nolfi, Joey (November 20, 2016). "Lady Gaga performs soaring rendition of 'Million Reasons' at the AMAs". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  40. ↑ Dresden, Hilton (November 20, 2016). "Lady Gaga Gave a Heart-Wrenching Performance of 'Million Reasons' at the AMAs". Out. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  41. ↑ Delbyck, Colby (November 20, 2016). "Lady Gaga Goes Barefoot To Slay 'Million Reasons' Performance At AMAs". The Huffington Post. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  42. ↑ Unterberger, Andrew (November 20, 2016). "Here Are All the 2016 AMAs Performances Ranked From Worst to Best". Billboard. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  43. ↑ Romano, Nick (November 26, 2016). "Lady Gaga performs 'Million Reasons' at LGBTQ homeless youth center". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  44. ↑ Robinson, Will (November 30, 2016). "Lady Gaga leads 'Million Reasons' sing-along with Victoria's Secret models". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
  45. ↑ Holt, Bethan (November 30, 2016). "Lady Gaga was the most conservatively dressed woman at the Victoria's Secret show". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
  46. ↑ Delbyck, Colby (November 30, 2016). "Something Was Off About Lady Gaga's Victoria's Secret Fashion Show Performance". The Huffington Post. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
  47. ↑ Powell, Emma (November 30, 2016). "Lady Gaga fans go wild as singer performs surprise gig at Westfield". Evening Standard. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  48. ↑ "Lady Gaga blasts money and fame at surprise shopping centre concert in London". The Daily Telegraph. November 30, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  49. ↑ "Kelsea Ballerini Crushed Lady Gaga's 'Million Reasons': Watch". Billboard. November 7, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  50. ↑ Briones, Isis (November 7, 2016). "Kelsea Ballerini Covers Lady Gaga's 'Million Reasons'". Vogue. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  51. ↑ Wright, Mary Ellen (November 29, 2016). "Christian Cuevas sings Lady Gaga song on 'The Voice' top-10 episode". Lancaster Online. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  52. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Lady Gaga – Million Reasons" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
  53. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Lady Gaga – Million Reasons" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  54. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Lady Gaga – Million Reasons" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  55. ↑ "Lady Gaga – Chart history" Canadian Hot 100 for Lady Gaga. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  56. ↑ "Lady Gaga – Chart history" Billboard Canada AC for Lady Gaga. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  57. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201644 into search. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  58. ↑ "Lady Gaga – Chart history". Billboard Euro Digital Songs for Lady Gaga. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
  59. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Lady Gaga – Million Reasons". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  60. ↑ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
  61. ↑ "Chart Track: Week 41, 2016". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  62. ↑ "Classifica settimanale WK 41" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
  63. ↑ "NZ Heatseekers Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. October 17, 2016. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  64. ↑ "Portuguesecharts.com – Lady Gaga – Million Reasons". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  65. ↑ "SNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201641 into search. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  66. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Lady Gaga – Million Reasons" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  67. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Lady Gaga – Million Reasons". Singles Top 100. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  68. ↑ "Lady Gaga – Chart history" Billboard Adult Pop Songs for Lady Gaga. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  69. ↑ Nolfi, Joey (October 5, 2016). "Lady Gaga drops Joanne track 'Million Reasons'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 6, 2016.

External links

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