"Come Back to Me" is the second official single released from ''
American Idol
''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to A ...
''
season 7
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...
winner
David Cook's major label debut studio album, ''
David Cook'' (2008). It was released as a joint double-A single with "
Bar-ba-sol
"Come Back to Me" is the second official single released from '' American Idol'' season 7 winner David Cook's major label debut studio album, '' David Cook'' (2008). It was released as a joint double-A single with " Bar-ba-sol".
Song information ...
".
Song information
"Come Back to Me" was written by
Espionage
Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tang ...
, the Norwegian songwriting and music production team consisting of Amund Bjørklund and Espen Lind, along with Zac Maloy. The song was produced by
Grammy
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
winning producer
Rob Cavallo
Robert Siers Cavallo (born March 21, 1963) is an American record producer, musician, and record industry executive. He is among the biggest-selling producers in history, and has produced or had creative involvement in albums that have sold over ...
.
Cook described the song as being about "loving someone you can't be near."
Release
"Come Back to Me" was confirmed as a joint single with "
Bar-ba-sol
"Come Back to Me" is the second official single released from '' American Idol'' season 7 winner David Cook's major label debut studio album, '' David Cook'' (2008). It was released as a joint double-A single with " Bar-ba-sol".
Song information ...
" to be released in March 2009 in an ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cult ...
'' piece on February 27, 2009. Cook publicly debuted the song through a performance on ''American Idol'' on April 1, 2009.
Reception
''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
s Chris Williams review stated that "Cook gives an earnest, restrained vocal performance, reflective of the pensive lyric about letting a loved one go so that person can grow."
Acclaims
* May 18, 2010 - 2010 BMI Pop Awards Award-Winning Song
* Oct 5, 2010 - 2010 BMI London Pop Awards Award-Winning Song
Music video
The "Come Back to Me" music video was filmed at
Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...
on March 5, 2009 and was directed by Gavin Bowden. In the video,
Sarah Roemer plays Cook's girlfriend. After a bulletin sent by David Cook's official fan page, the video was released on April 1, 2009. First, it was released as a sneak peek on ''American Idol'' prior to Cook's performance of "Come Back to Me" and then it was released through AT&T later the same day. Cook stated that he had to learn to sing the song backwards.
It was similar to many past music videos, which were also shot backwards. Popular "The Scientist" by Coldplay has been a big comparison. Many similarities such as Cook jumping over the wall is seen in The Scientist as well, the main difference is when the music video ends with everything reversing and starts to move forward again, where this is not seen in The Scientist. Both singers had to learn the song backwards for the music videos.
The video was shot in a backward motion. It starts with Cook washing his face and singing to himself while looking into the mirror. He then walks backwards and enters a room where he plays the piano with his band. He then gets up and walks backwards through a parking lot and a forest, where he enters a taxi. He is then exits the taxi and walks backwards through the airport, where couples are embracing. He gets onto an escalator and heads to the terminal where he meets his love interest. They hug and kiss, and as they kiss, time stops and everyone is frozen except the two of them. As they finish their kiss, a tear is shown rolling into the girl's eye. At this point everything begins moving forward again. She walks away from Cook to her plane and he stares after her.
Chart performance
"Come Back to Me" debuted at number 49 on the ''Billboard''
Pop 100
The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009. It ranked songs based on airplay on Mainstream Top 40 radio stations, singles s ...
chart issued April 9, 2009. It also debuted and peaked at number 63 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 for the chart dated April 18, 2009 due to high digital downloads and airplay after David Cook performed the song on season 8 of
American Idol
''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to A ...
. The song has also reached number six on the Billboard
Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks
The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems ...
and number eleven on the ''Billboard''
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by st ...
charts.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Sales and certifications
Release history
Covers
*
Tim Urban
Timothy Joseph Urban (born May 1, 1989) is an American singer who was the seventh place finalist on the ninth season of '' American Idol''. Following his participation in the series, he released two EPs: '' Heart of Me'' in 2010 and ''New York ...
covered the song with an acoustic guitar as his first solo performance in Hollywood Week on the
ninth season of ''
American Idol
''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to A ...
.''
*
Daniel Evans, a finalist on
The X Factor (UK)
''The X Factor'' is a British reality television music competition, created by Simon Cowell. Premiering on 4 September 2004, it was produced by Fremantle's Thames and Cowell's production company Syco Entertainment for ITV, as well as simu ...
released a piano acoustic ballad version on his YouTube channel and subsequently included it on his self produced "Storm" EP.
Bar-ba-sol
"Spun Again" is a song written and recorded by American
hard rock band
Injected. David Cook recorded a cover version, titled "Bar-ba-sol", for his
eponymous
An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''.
Usage of the word
The term ''epon ...
debut studio album (2008). He is credited as a co-writer for the changes he made to the song. "Bar-ba-sol" was released in conjunction with "Come Back to Me" in March 2009 as the album's second single.
Release
"Bar-ba-sol" was released as a dual-A-side single with "Come Back to Me", being promoted to
mainstream rock
Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada.
Format background
Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...
and
modern rock
Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music.
Radio format
Mod ...
radio while the latter impacted the
mainstream
Mainstream may refer to:
Film
* ''Mainstream'' (film), a 2020 American film
Literature
* ''Mainstream'' (fanzine), a science fiction fanzine
* Mainstream Publishing, a Scottish publisher
* ''Mainstream'', a 1943 book by Hamilton Basso
...
,
hot adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...
, and
adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...
formats.
[
]
Reception
Reception of "Bar-ba-sol" was generally positive.
''Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cult ...
s Leah Greenblatt called "Bar-ba-sol" one of the more notable anthems on the album.
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 dat ...
's Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, oc ...
called "Bar-ba-sol" the hardest-rocking (and best) song of the album.
''Blender
A blender (sometimes called a mixer or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary blender consists of a blender container with a rotating me ...
'' magazine's Chuck Eddy
Chuck Eddy (born November 26, 1960) is an American music journalist.
Life and career
Chuck Eddy was born in Detroit, Michigan. After starting his journalism career with '' The Village Voice'' and '' Creem'', where he published one of the firs ...
, despite giving the full album a negative review, wrote that the "power-chorded "Bar-ba-Sol," ... is the only place Cook flexes any muscle"
''Newsday
''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and ...
'' magazine's Glenn Gamboa wrote that "He stretches boundaries creatively with the metallic, grinding "Bar-Ba-Sol" - part Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, ...
fist-pumper, part Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AIC) is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1987 by guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell and drummer Sean Kinney, who later recruited bassist Mike Starr and lead vocalist Layne ...
slither."Newsday review of "David Cook" album
/ref>
Release history
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Come Back To Me (David Cook Song)
2009 singles
David Cook (singer) songs
Rock ballads
Songs written by Espen Lind
Songs written by Amund Bjørklund
Song recordings produced by Rob Cavallo
Songs written by Zac Maloy
2008 songs
RCA Records singles