"Tears Always Win" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

for her fifth studio album, '' Girl on Fire'' (2012). It was written by Keys, along with

Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for his stage performances, retro showmanship, and for performing in a wide range of musical ...

Jeff Bhasker Jeff Bhasker (born March 4, 1974) is an American record producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist based in Los Angeles. He was awarded the Grammy Award for Producer of the Year in 2016 and nominated in 2013. An accomplished producer, he ...

and Phillip Lawrence, and produced by Keys and Bhasker. It was digitally released on May 7, 2013, as the fifth single from ''Girl on Fire''. Keys debuted the single during a performance on ''

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'' on May 9, 2013. The song had positive critical reaction. Keys included the song in the setlist for her fifth concert tour, the Set the World on Fire Tour. It is being released as the second Top 40/Mainstream single following the lead single " Girl on Fire". Keys also performed the song on the May 9, 2013 episode of ''

''.

Background and release

''Girl on Fire'' is Keys' fifth studio album and a follow-up to ''

The Element of Freedom ''The Element of Freedom'' is the fourth studio album by American singer and songwriter Alicia Keys, released on December 11, 2009, by J Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during May to September 2009 at the Oven Studios in Long ...

'' (2009). It is her first release under

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

, after a re-organization at parent company

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...

led to her previous label

J Records J Records was an American record label owned and operated by Bertelsmann Music Group until it was transferred to Sony Music Entertainment when they acquired all of BMG’s record labels in late 2008. It was distributed through the RCA Music Gro ...

roster being absorbed into RCA. After 2009, Keys married record producer and rapper

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, became a mother, began co-managing her own career, produced and directed both a Broadway Play and short film, in addition to designing a line of

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for

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. Keys revealed the inspiration behind the song during one of her live performances while on tour, stating, "Some things don't always work out the way that you wish that they would, but ..you have to give it a try, and at the very least, I have a song for that too." It was digitally released on May 7, 2013, through the

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and serves as the fifth single from ''Girl on Fire''. Keys officially debuted the single during her performance of the song on ''

'' on May 9, 2013. The single was supposed to impact Top 40/Mainstream radio in the U.S. on July 1, 2013, however, its release was scrapped at the last minute. This is the third push back of the song to radio, it previously had two impact dates: May 21, 2013 and June 11, 2013.

Critical reception

The song was met with general critical acclaim. While

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

did not name it one of the standout tracks on the album, they reacted positively to it. '' Billboard'' said of the song, "In Keys' hands alone, this missing-my-baby ballad might have fallen victim to overly sappy platitudes about life on the road without her man by her side. But with a little help from Bhasker and songwriting partners Bruno Mars and The Smeezingtons, "Tears Always Win" becomes an anthemic, soaring winner worthy of Keys' heroes

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and Stevie Wonder." '' Rap-Up'' also reacted positively to the track and deemed it a highlight of the album. The co-writing credits shared partially by Bruno Mars and Philip Lawrence was met positively, with some critics,

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...

in particular, saying, "this song has a nice doo-wop touch, a welcome turn with the album sometimes threatening to veer towards Alicia's middle-of-the-road R&B comfort zone."

Chart performance

Upon release the album ''Girl on Fire'', "Tears Always Win" debuted at the top of the South Korean Gaon Chart for international singles with 56,340 sold. That same week, every song on the album charted in South Korea. The following week it remained at number one with 62,799 units sold. In its third week, it dropped to number two with 46,212 sold and to number three in its fourth week with sales of 40,825. In 2013, "Tears Always Win" charted for a further 24 weeks on the South Korean Gaon International Download chart, * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * selling 285,213 units. Between 2012 and 2013, "Tears Always Win" sold 531,161 units in South Korea. Following Keys' announcement that the song would be a single and its debut live performance on season twelve of ''

'', "Tears Always Win" sold 15,000 copies in the United States.

Music video

The official video for "Tears Always Win" was filmed in May 2013 by director

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. The video was released June 13, 2013.

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2010s ballads Alicia Keys songs Songs written by Alicia Keys Songs written by Jeff Bhasker Songs written by Bruno Mars RCA Records singles Pop ballads Contemporary R&B ballads 2013 singles