Better in Time

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"Better in Time"
A brunette woman is standing in front of a beach. She is wearing a greenish dress and she grabs her neck with her left arm. Next to her image, the words "Leona Lewis" are written in black capital letters, and "Better in Time" in dark brown italics.
Single by Leona Lewis
from the album Spirit
A-side"Footprints in the Sand"
B-side"You Bring Me Down"
Released25 February 2008 (2008-02-25)
Recorded2007
StudioChalice (Los Angeles)
Genre
Length3:53
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)J. R. Rotem
Leona Lewis singles chronology
"Bleeding Love"
(2007) 		"Better in Time" / "Footprints in the Sand"
(2008) 		"Forgive Me"
(2008)
Music video
"Better in Time" on
YouTube

"Better in Time" is a song recorded by English singer Leona Lewis for her debut studio album Spirit (2007). It was written by J. R. Rotem and Andrea Martin and was produced by Rotem. Lyrically, the song tells the story of a woman who cannot forget her ex-partner, and who knows that "it will all get better in time". It was released as the second single from Spirit on 10 March 2008, as a double A-side with "Footprints in the Sand", by Syco Music and J Records.

Critically acclaimed, "Better in Time" was nominated for the

Live with Regis and Kelly, and on the 2008 American Music Awards, also being included on the set list of her debut concert tour The Labyrinth (2010). The song's accompanying music video was directed by Sophie Muller at the Hampton Court House School
in London in February 2008, and shows Lewis performing in front of several photographic set-ups and events behind the scenes.

Composition and release

"Better in Time"
A sample of "Better in Time", a pop and R&B song composed in G major, which was described as a song with piano sounds harmonised with Lewis' voice.[1]
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"Better in Time" is a

G flat major with a vocal range from the tone of C4 to the note of B5.[2][3] The song has a sequence of G–Bm–Em–G/D–C as its chord progression.[2][3] Lyrically the song talks about someone who cannot forget her ex-partner, and at the end the protagonist knows that "it will all get better in time".[4] Andrea Martin and J. R. Rotem wrote the song, and Rotem composed and produced it.[4] On 29 January 2008, Lewis announced on her website that "Better in Time", along with "Footprints in the Sand", would be released as a double A-side single on 10 March 2008, as her third single in the United Kingdom,[5] with 2008 Sport Relief, a biennial charity organised by Comic Relief and BBC Sport, selecting "Footprints in the Sand" as their official single.[6][7] It was also her second international single. A new remix of the song was created for the single release.[7] The double A-side was released with another song, "You Bring Me Down", as a B-side.[6]

Critical reception

Three women sing on stage. They wear similar outfit (a dark blouse and trousers).
Lewis performing "Better in Time"/"Man Down" at the Royal Albert Hall during her 2013 Glassheart Tour.

"Better in Time" received generally positive reviews from music critics. In his review of the album, Chung Ah-young of The Korea Times described the single as "one of the best tracks [on the album] with impressive piano sounds harmonized with [Lewis] powerful vocals".[1] Alex Fletcher from Digital Spy gave a mixed review to the double A-side. He called the single a "placid affair" with "its plinky-plonky piano and R&B groove resting uncomfortably next to Lewis's creamy vocal style".[8] The BBC's reviewer Fraser McAlpine gave "Better in Time" three stars out of five commenting that "The tune's quite nice, fairly hummable without ever actually going anywhere and despite the floaty, Mariah-esque qualities of Leona's vocals, it never goes completely mental in the throat-breakdancing department".[9]

Chuck Taylor of

2009 BRIT Awards in the category of Best British Single,[14] and later the song was included on the awards' compilation album.[15]

Chart performance

A woman is standing up. She is wearing a long pink dress with a black corset. She is holding her hands in front of her body.
Lewis on the red carpet of the 2009 VH1 Divas.

The double A-side "Better in Time" and "Footprints in the Sand" debuted at number 74 on the

Denmark "Better in Time" entered the charts at number twenty-nine on 9 May 2008, and managed to rise twenty-three places in the next two weeks. On 6 June 2008 the single reached its peak position, number three. Next week, it fell out two places, but it retook its peak the following issue, and the song continued in this position for three weeks.[27]

"Better in Time" and "Footprints in the Sand" debuted and peaked at number eight on the

Mainstream Top 40,[29] and at number four on the Adult Contemporary chart, where it spent fifty-two weeks on the chart.[29][36] The single became the seventeenth best-selling single of 2008 in Austria,[37] as well as the twenty-second in Germany and Switzerland,[38][39] the thirty-sixth in New Zealand,[40] the thirty-seventh in the UK,[20] the fifty-fifth of Australia,[41] the sixty-fourth in the Netherlands,[42] and the seventy-second in Flanders, a region in Belgium.[43]

Music video and promotion

The black-and-white portrait of a brunnete woman, who is sitting in a chair. She is wearing a black sweater and jeans. In front of her, two men, one standing up, and the second taking photos are observable.
The music video shows Lewis performing in front of several photographic sessions.

The music video was filmed at Hampton Court House School in London by the British director Sophie Muller in February 2008,[44] and was released at the end of the same month.[45] The video is inspired by fashion design, with Lewis performing in front of "unrelated photographic set-ups", and shows what goes on behind the scenes.[46] In some parts of the video Lewis is shown with a horse.[47]

Lewis first performed the song live on the television programme

second season finale "unmAsked", in the masquerade ball scene.[58] In 2013, Lewis performed the song along with "Man Down" during her Glassheart Tour.[59]

Track listings and formats

Credits and personnel

Charts

Certifications

Certifications and sales for "Better in Time"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[110] Gold 35,000^
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[111] Platinum 15,000^
Germany (BVMI)[112] Gold 150,000^
Italy — 56,405[113]
New Zealand (RMNZ)[114] Gold 7,500*
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[115] Gold 10,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[116] Platinum 600,000‡

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Better in Time"
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United Kingdom 25 February 2008 Digital download Syco
[117]
10 March 2008
[5][6]
Australia 19 April 2008 CD Sony BMG
[21]
Germany 9 May 2008 Digital download
Ariola
[118]
Switzerland 16 May 2008 Maxi CD Sony BMG
[64]
23 May 2008 CD
[61]
Germany 30 May 2008
  • CD
  • maxi CD
 Ariola
[62]
Australia 5 July 2008
  • Digital download (EP)
  • maxi CD
 Sony BMG
[60][119]
United States 15 July 2008 Contemporary hit radio
[120]

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Notes

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Better_in_Time&oldid=1219825384"