# Believe (Elton John song)

"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 by Rocket. 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 a 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, directed by Marcus Nispel, was entirely in black-and-white and shot in London.

## Critical reception

Dave Sholin from the Gavin Report wrote, "Elton John debuts his resurrected Rocket label with a ballad as compelling as any he's ever recorded. Go directly to the air studio, place in deck, hit play. End of story." Chuck Campbell from Knoxville News Sentinel viewed it as a "plodding single," saying, "This is the formula stuff John's been getting away with for years." Music Week gave 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." Music Week editor Alan Jones felt the song "is clearly destined to be massive. The big ballad, cleverly marketed over two CD singles, augers well for his upcoming album Made in England."
Pan-European magazine Music & Media named 'Believe' a "grand ballad". Paul Moody from NME wrote that the "belting comeback single" "is probably the best thing Elt's come up with since his last career revival in the mid-'80s, being a booming epic not dissimilar in mood to Duran's marvellous 'Ordinary World'." A reviewer from People Magazine described it as "a power ballad that hints at John Lennon during his pop-obsessed Double Fantasy era." Also Tony Cross from Smash Hits gave 'Believe' four out of five, writing that "it's a rock opera of Freddy Mercury proportions that proves the wee wiggy grandpa can keep coming up with the goods. Everything crumbles for love... he croons above the usual helpings of slush, violins, that piano and those specs... It proves Elton's still got the ability to hit where it hurts the most — in the heart." Another Smash Hits editor, Mark Sutherland, named it a "superior smoocher".

## Music video

In the accompanying black-and-white music video for "Believe" directed by German film director and producer Marcus Nispel, Elton John travels around the world in a zeppelin. Some behind the scenes footage of the video was used for the 1997 documentary Elton John: Tantrums & Tiaras.

## Accolades

| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
| 1996 | "Believe" | Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance | Nominated |

## 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, conducting
* Ray Cooper – percussion
* Davey Johnstone – guitars
* Charlie Morgan – drums