"Cure for Me" is a song by Norwegian singer-songwriter
Aurora
An aurora ( aurorae or auroras),
also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...
for her fourth studio album, ''
The Gods We Can Touch
''The Gods We Can Touch'' is the fourth studio album by Norwegian singer-songwriter and record producer Aurora (singer), Aurora. It was released on 21 January 2022 by Decca Records, Decca and Glassnote Records. As in her other releases, Aurora w ...
'' (2022). It was released on 7 July 2021, through
Decca
Decca may refer to:
Music
* Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label
* Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group
* Decca Broadway, musical theater record label
* Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...
and
Glassnote, as the second single from the album. An
electropop
Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...
,
disco
Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...
,
Europop
Europop (also spelled Euro pop) is a style of pop music that originated in Europe during the mid-to-late 1960s and developed to today's form throughout the late 1970s. Europop topped the charts throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with revivals and ...
, and
dance-pop
Dance-pop is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit ra ...
song with elements of
EDM music, it interpolates "
Aquarela do Brasil
"Aquarela do Brasil" (; 'Watercolor of Brazil'), written by Ary Barroso in 1939 and known in the English-speaking world simply as "Brazil", is one of the most famous Brazilian songs.
Background and composition
Ary Barroso wrote "Aquarela do B ...
", written by Brazilian composer
Ary Barroso
Ary Evangelista de Resende Barroso (Portuguese pronunciation: ; 7 November 1903 – 9 February 1964) was a Brazilian composer, pianist, soccer commentator, and talent-show host on radio and TV. He was one of Brazil's most successful songwriters ...
. The song was inspired by
conversion therapy
Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, romantic orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. Methods that have ...
and the
LGBT community
The LGBTQ community (also known as the LGBT, LGBT+, LGBTQ+, LGBTQIA, LGBTQIA+, or queer community) comprises LGBTQ people, LGBTQ individuals united by LGBTQ culture, a common culture and LGBTQ movements, social movements. These Community, comm ...
, discussing how people "don't need a cure" for being themselves. Aurora and
Magnus Skylstad
Magnus Åserud Skylstad (born 17 June 1983) is a Norwegian musician and record producer from Bergen. He began playing drums at around the age of fifteen years old. He currently is an affiliate of fellow Norwegian and singer-songwriter Aurora
...
wrote and produced "Cure for Me".
"Cure for Me" received positive reviews from
music critics
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...
, who praised the song's empowering message and deemed the production as
carnivalesque
The Carnivalesque is a literary mode that subverts and liberates the assumptions of the dominant style or atmosphere through humor and chaos. It originated as "carnival" in Mikhail Bakhtin's ''Problems of Dostoevsky's Poetics'' and was further dev ...
. Some of them viewed it as a playful departure from Aurora's previous material and compared the song to the works of
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
. Commercially, the song reached minor chart placements, including the top 20 in Russia, Mexico, and the UK Physical Singles chart. It was certified platinum in Brazil by
Pro-Música Brasil
Pro-Música Brasil (PMB), previously Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos (ABPD) ( English: Brazilian Association of Record Producers), is an official representative body of the record labels in the Brazilian phonographic market.
H ...
.
Aurora directed the
music video
A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
for "Cure for Me" with Sigurd Fossen, in which the former performs a choreography with masked dancers. An acoustic version and Brazilian DJ
Vintage Culture
Lukas Rafael Ruiz Hespanhol (; born July 7, 1993), known as Vintage Culture, is a Brazilian disc jockey, DJ and record producer. He had a great ascent of releasing remixes of songs like "Blue Monday (New Order song), Blue Monday" by New Order (b ...
remixes were released on 6 and 27 August 2023, respectively. A live performance with Mexican musician
Silvana Estrada
Silvana Estrada (born April 15, 1997) is a Mexican musician and songwriter. She has released three albums, including two with collaboration from musician Charlie Hunter. Additionally, she has worked with artists like Natalia Lafourcade, Calonch ...
, recorded in November 2021 in Mexico City, was released for streaming on 21 June 2023.
Background and development
Aurora, a
bisexual
Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...
woman, has been a vocal supporter of
LGBT rights
Rights affecting lesbian, Gay men, gay, Bisexuality, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the Capital punishmen ...
. She first showed her support for the community with the release of her 2018 single "Queendom", an
empowerment
Empowerment is the degree of autonomy and self-determination in people and in communities. This enables them to represent their interests in a responsible and self-determined way, acting on their own authority. It is the process of becoming strong ...
song that was classified as a
queer anthem.
The song's music video, which was dedicated to her
LGBT
LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
fans, includes a scene where Aurora kisses one of her female dancers to convey that "every type of love is accepted and embraced" in her "queendom".
The song "Cure for Me" was written in Australia, during
Aurora's 2019 tour, before she thought of making music intended for her fourth studio album.
She rented a studio there with producer
Magnus Skylstad
Magnus Åserud Skylstad (born 17 June 1983) is a Norwegian musician and record producer from Bergen. He began playing drums at around the age of fifteen years old. He currently is an affiliate of fellow Norwegian and singer-songwriter Aurora
...
for the writing sessions.
The first song she finished writing from ''The Gods We Can Touch'', it was written before the singer figured out the concept for the album with the completion of the
lead single
A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date.
A similar term, "debut ...
"Exist for Love".
"Cure for Me", alongside the majority of the album, was recorded on
Barony Rosendal
Barony Rosendal (Norwegian: ''Baroniet Rosendal'') is a historic estate and manor house situated in Kvinnherad in Hordaland county, Norway. The barony was built in the 17th century by Danish noblemen on the old estate of the Norwegian noble Galt ...
, a
manor house
A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...
located in
Kvinnherad
Kvinnherad is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Sunnhordland, along the Hardangerfjorden. The municipality was the 5th in siz ...
, Norway.
The song was
mastered
Mastering is a form of audio post production which is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device called a master recording, the source from which all copies will be ...
by
Alex Wharton
Alex Wharton (born 1939), later also known as Alex Murray, was part of the singing duo the Most Brothers with Mickie Most, and later, co-manager and producer of the Moody Blues.
Singing and acting career
The Most Brothers worked in the 2i's Cof ...
and
mixed by Josh Gudwin.
In an interview with
Zane Lowe
Alexander Zane Reed Lowe (born 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence through pr ...
on
Apple Music 1
Apple Music 1, previously branded as Beats 1, is a 24/7 music radio station owned and operated by Apple Inc. It is accessible through iTunes or the Apple Music app on a computer, smartphone or tablet, smart speaker (such as the Apple HomePod), a ...
, Aurora revealed that they "had so much fun" when working on the song because she embraced "the playful part in making music," something she said that is not common to her because she considers her usual process of making music as "sad" and "serious".
Composition and lyrics
"Cure for Me" is an
electropop
Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...
,
disco
Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...
,
Europop
Europop (also spelled Euro pop) is a style of pop music that originated in Europe during the mid-to-late 1960s and developed to today's form throughout the late 1970s. Europop topped the charts throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with revivals and ...
, and
dance-pop
Dance-pop is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit ra ...
song
with elements of
EDM music. Its "theatrical" production includes an upbeat,
arcade
Arcade most often refers to:
* Arcade game, a coin-operated video, pinball, electro-mechanical, redemption, etc., game
** Arcade video game, a coin-operated video game
** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade video game's hardware
** Arcad ...
-sounding melody, featuring
synth
A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...
-driven
electronic
Electronic may refer to:
*Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductors
* ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal
*Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device
*Electronic c ...
beats.
"Cure for Me" interpolates the melody from "
Aquarela do Brasil
"Aquarela do Brasil" (; 'Watercolor of Brazil'), written by Ary Barroso in 1939 and known in the English-speaking world simply as "Brazil", is one of the most famous Brazilian songs.
Background and composition
Ary Barroso wrote "Aquarela do B ...
", written by Brazilian composer
Ary Barroso
Ary Evangelista de Resende Barroso (Portuguese pronunciation: ; 7 November 1903 – 9 February 1964) was a Brazilian composer, pianist, soccer commentator, and talent-show host on radio and TV. He was one of Brazil's most successful songwriters ...
; Aurora stated that she found inspiration from
Brazilian music
The music of Brazil encompasses various regional musical styles influenced by European, American, African and Amerindian forms. Brazilian music developed some unique and original styles such as forró, repente, coco de roda, axé, sertanejo ...
when composing the song as she has "a lot of gay fans" in the country.
The song is moderately fast at 119
beats per minute
Beat, beats, or beating may refer to:
Common uses
* Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact
* Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact
* Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of in ...
and is played in the key of
F minor
F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature consists of four flats. Its relative major is A-flat major and its parallel major is F major. Its enharmonic equivalent, E-sharp ...
. Aurora's vocals range between A
3 to C
5.
Nick Reilly of ''
Rolling Stone UK
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known f ...
'' noted that the song is "wrapped up in a dancefloor-primed banger." The song opens with the singer's "soft yet soaring" vocals as it develops to a
scale-spanning refrain backed by pulsing synthesizers, where she repeatedly sings "No, I don't need a cure for me".
Multiple critics noted that the song's
club-influenced production marked a significant departure from her previous musical style. Roman Gokhman from ''Riff Magazine'' described "Cure for Me" as a "
90s-era
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
-esque club banger."
Andrew Trendell of ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' also compared the song to Madonna's music, which he viewed as a stark contrast to the
folk-pop
Folk-pop is a broad Music genre#Subtypes, musical fusion genre that includes contemporary folk songs with pop music, pop arrangements, and pop songs with intimate, acoustic music, acoustic-based folk music, folk arrangements. Folk-pop has been ...
sound critics used to classify her third studio album ''
A Different Kind of Human (Step 2)
''A Different Kind of Human (Step 2)'' is the third studio album by Norwegian singer-songwriter and record producer Aurora. It was released on 7 June 2019 by Decca and Glassnote Records. It succeeds the album's first and previous chapter ''Infec ...
''.
Matt Hobbs of ''
God Is in the TV
''God Is in the TV'' is an independent music and culture online magazine founded by editor Bill Cummings in Cardiff in 2003. It publishes independent music reviews, features, interviews, podcasts and media. The webzine's coverage varies from uns ...
'' wrote that it was an unorthodox song for the singer, further describing it as "audaciously
flamenco
Flamenco () is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the Gitanos, gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and Region of Murcia, ...
-flavoured pop".
Aurora said that, while "Cure for Me" is stylistically different to the other songs of the album, she stated that they share in common the experimentation "with new things and new sides of me".
Described by critics as "introspective" and "inquisitive",
the song is heavily inspired by the pseudoscientific practice of
conversion therapy
Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, romantic orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. Methods that have ...
, used against LGBT individuals and the misconception that they need to "be cured".
When Aurora was writing the song, she was saddened by the fact that conversion therapy is still allowed in several countries, including Norway. Since Aurora thought the idea that people need to "be cured" because of their appearance, feelings, or
sexual orientation
Sexual orientation is an enduring personal pattern of romantic attraction or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. Patterns ar ...
as "pointless",
she wrote the song to challenge "those who inflict shame on people perceived to be different".
She also stated that, while "Cure for Me" is dedicated to the LGBT community, it is also directed to anyone that has felt excluded from others.
Although the singer admitted that she lacked a sense of belonging when growing up, she added that the support of her fans helped her feel closer to other people. Despite the dark nature of the song, she called it a "very fun little guy ".
As ''The Gods We Can Touch'' is heavily inspired by
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...
, Aurora said that she thought of
Panacea
In Greek mythology and religion, Panacea (Greek ''Πανάκεια'', Panakeia), a goddess of universal remedy, was the daughter of Asclepius and Epione.
Mythology
Panacea and her four sisters each performed a facet of Apollo's art:
* Panac ...
, the goddess of remedy, when writing the song.
Release and promotion
Following the release of "Exist for Love" in May 2020, Aurora planned to release another song but postponed it as she thought that "there were other voices that needed to be heard" at the time, referring to the
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a Decentralization, decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination and Racial inequality in the United States, racial inequality experienced by black people, and to pro ...
movement. After "Cure for Me" was recorded, Aurora's team noted the song's potential as a single and decided to release it.
It was scheduled for release on 16 April 2021 but was pushed back to July because of the unexpected success of Aurora's 2015 single "
Runaway" at that time. This led the singer to release a series of compilation EPs as the song received over 100 million streams in
Spotify
Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...
. Aurora officially announced the song's release on 30 June 2021 alongside the message "May there never be a cure for human nature." She also shared the cover art, which depicts her sitting "in a trippy, black-and-white-tiled room" while holding a
court jester
A jester, also known as joker, court jester, or fool, was a member of the household of a nobleman or a monarch kept to entertain guests at the royal court. Jesters were also travelling performers who entertained common folk at fairs and town ma ...
mask close to her face.
"Cure for Me" was released to
digital download and
streaming media
Streaming media refers to multimedia delivered through a Computer network, network for playback using a Media player (disambiguation), media player. Media is transferred in a ''stream'' of Network packet, packets from a Server (computing), ...
on 7 July 2021, as the second single from ''The Gods We Can Touch''.
The song was released on a limited edition
7-inch vinyl
In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standal ...
, along with the song "A Potion for Love" as the B-side on 9 July 2021, and was sold exclusively through her official store.
Additionally, it was serviced to Italian and French
radio airplay
Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...
on 16 and 18 July, respectively.
An acoustic version of "Cure for Me" was released on 6 August 2021, while two remixes by Brazilian DJ
Vintage Culture
Lukas Rafael Ruiz Hespanhol (; born July 7, 1993), known as Vintage Culture, is a Brazilian disc jockey, DJ and record producer. He had a great ascent of releasing remixes of songs like "Blue Monday (New Order song), Blue Monday" by New Order (b ...
followed on 27 August.
The former was later included as a bonus track on the Japanese editions of ''The Gods We Can Touch''. An
extended play
An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...
(EP), which includes the original song and its alternative versions, was released on 31 October and 11 November 2022.
A
video game
A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
was also released to promote the song. In it, the player controls Aurora, who must collect apples and avoid hitting masks to achieve a higher score. The gameplay clip for the game, which was first placed as a trailer for the music video for "Cure for Me", is currently used for a visualiser on
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
, released on 14 July 2021.
Two
lyrics videos, with one of them signed in
British Sign Language
British Sign Language (BSL) is a sign language used in the United Kingdom and is the first or preferred language among the Deafness in the United Kingdom, deaf community in the UK. While private correspondence from William Stokoe hinted at a f ...
, were released on 16 July 2021 and 13 August 2021, respectively.
Critical reception
"Cure for Me" was met with positive reviews from music critics. Cerys Kenneally writing for ''
The Line of Best Fit
''The Line of Best Fit'' is an independent online magazine based in London, concentrating on new music.
It publishes independent music reviews, features, interview, and media. Founded by Richard Thane in February 2007 and currently edited by P ...
'' described the song as "
carnivalesque
The Carnivalesque is a literary mode that subverts and liberates the assumptions of the dominant style or atmosphere through humor and chaos. It originated as "carnival" in Mikhail Bakhtin's ''Problems of Dostoevsky's Poetics'' and was further dev ...
". Jessica Fynn of ''
Clash'' deemed it "an exploration of sorts, a
Tiresian venture into the carnivalesque."
Finlay Holden, another writer of the magazine, said "Cure for Me" was "the crux of the album", viewing it as "dark" and "moody". Aleksandra Brzezicka perceived the song to be "a playful spin on a very serious subject."
Hayden Godfrey for ''
Under the Radar'' defined the song as a "dancy anthem that rails against conversion therapy,
..almost overshadowed by its catchy and agile melodies."
Steven Giles of ''
Renowned for Sound
''Renowned for Sound'' is an Australian online magazine
An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print ...
'' viewed it as "encouraging to see such a powerful message attached to a powerful, melodic euphoria."
"Cure for Me" appeared in an unranked list by
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
's Sheldon Pearce of songs that were released in 2021 but became popular in 2022.
Music video
A
music video
A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
for "Cure for Me" was released a day after the single.
The video was directed by Aurora and Sigurd Fossen. A
behind-the-scenes https://www Googlefinans.co=
In filmmaking, behind-the-scenes (BTS), also known as the making-of, the set, or on the set, is a documentary film that features the production of a film or television program. This is often referred to as the EPK ( ...
clip followed on 26 July 2021. It opens with Aurora retiring a mask from her face as she begins to dance with various masked dancers. In one of the scenes, she takes an apple, referencing
Eve
Eve is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Creation myths develop through oral traditions and there ...
and the
forbidden fruit
In Abrahamic religions, forbidden fruit is a name given to the fruit growing in the Garden of Eden that God commands mankind Taboo#In religion and mythology, not to eat. In the biblical story, Adam and Eve eat the fruit from the tree of the know ...
. The dance moves were inspired by the
1920s
File:1920s decade montage.png, From left, clockwise: Third Tipperary Brigade Flying Column No. 2 under Seán Hogan during the Irish War of Independence; Prohibition agents destroying barrels of alcohol in accordance to the Eighteenth Amendment to ...
and the Futterwacken, a dance taken from the 2010 film ''
Alice in Wonderland
''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English Children's literature, children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics university don, don at the University of Oxford. It details the story of a ...
''.
A dance tutorial video was uploaded to her
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
channel on 15 July 2021. On 22 September 2022,
Universal Music Korea uploaded a Korean-subtitled version of the music video that featured different opening sequences from the original one. To promote the music video, Aurora did a pre-premiere and a
YouTube Premium
YouTube Premium (formerly Music Key and YouTube Red) is a subscription service offered by the American video platform YouTube. The service provides ad-free access to content across the service, as well as access to premium YouTube Originals ...
-exclusive afterparty livestreams before and after its release, respectively. In late 2022, the clip's choreography went viral on
TikTok
TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...
, with users imitating the dance moves.
Describing the clip as "whimsical, masquerade-like", Marni Zipper of ''
Audacy
Audacy, previously known as Radio.com, is a free broadcast and Internet radio Computing platform, platform developed by the namesake company Audacy, Inc. (formerly known as Entercom). The Audacy platform functions as a Recommender system, mus ...
'' thought that it "gets the feeling that the singer is in on the inside joke".
The video has 121 million views on YouTube as of March 2024
Live performances and usage in media
Aurora performed "Cure for Me" for the first time at the
Splendour in the Grass
Splendour in the Grass (commonly referred to as Splendour) is an annual Australian music festival held at the North Byron Parklands in Yelgun, New South Wales. Since its inauguration, the festival has also been held in various locations near ...
festival on 24 July 2021. It was later uploaded to YouTube a month later. On 21 November 2021, the singer sang "Cure for Me" at the
2021 Corona Capital. She performed the song at the
2021 P3 Gull Awards on 27 November, accompanied by various dancers. On 24 February 2022, Aurora sang the song during a Tiktok live stream in collaboration with Groovy Gecko to celebrate
LGBT History Month
LGBTQ History Month is an annual month-long observance of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer history, and the history of the gay rights and related civil rights movements. It was founded in 1994 by Missouri high-school history teacher ...
in the United Kingdom. She included it in the
set list
A set list, or setlist, is typically a handwritten or printed document created as an ordered list of songs, jokes, stories and other elements an artist intends to present during a specific performance.
A setlist can be made of nearly any materi ...
of a 2022–2023 world tour in support of ''The Gods We Can Touch''.
During her stay in Mexico for Corona Capital 2021, Aurora performed a duet of the song with Mexican musician
Silvana Estrada
Silvana Estrada (born April 15, 1997) is a Mexican musician and songwriter. She has released three albums, including two with collaboration from musician Charlie Hunter. Additionally, she has worked with artists like Natalia Lafourcade, Calonch ...
at
Casa del Lago Juan José Arreola, Mexico City. Organized by the Music Tourism Office of the city, led by Renee Mooi, the collaboration was made possible as both artists are signed to Glassnote Records.
For this performance, Estrada translated part of the song to Spanish. The session was filmed and a video, directed by Darío Celestinos, was uploaded to Estrada's YouTube channel on 11 April 2023.
The clip begins with a behind-the-scenes where both performers practice the song before singing it to the public.
The duet with Estrada was released for streaming on 21 and 23 June 2023.
"Cure for Me" appears as part of the track list for ''
Just Dance 2024 Edition
''Just Dance 2024 Edition'' is a 2023 dance rhythm game developed and published by Ubisoft. It was unveiled on June 12, 2023 during the Ubisoft Forward June 2023 presentation as the fifteenth installment in the Just Dance (video game series), se ...
''. American singer
Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Brianne (born Kelly Brianne Clarkson, April 24, 1982), known professionally as Kelly Clarkson, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Rising to fame after winning the American Idol season 1, first season of ''Ameri ...
performed a live cover of the song on ''
The Kelly Clarkson Show
''The Kelly Clarkson Show'' is an American daytime television variety talk show hosted by Kelly Clarkson. It is produced and distributed by NBCUniversal Syndication Studios and features Clarkson interviewing celebrities and segments about "ev ...
'' on 23 January 2024. An emote based on the dance performed in the music video, including part of the song itself, was added to the game ''
Fortnite
''Fortnite'' is an online video game and game platform developed by Epic Games and released in 2017. It is available in seven distinct game mode versions that otherwise share the same general gameplay and game engine: '' Fortnite Battle Roy ...
'' on 13 February 2024.
Track listing
* Digital download / streaming
# "Cure for Me" – 3:21
* Digital download / streaming – Acoustic
# "Cure for Me" (Acoustic) – 3:33
* 7-inch single
# "Cure for Me" – 3:21
# "A Potion for Love" – 3:36
* Digital download / streaming –
Vintage Culture
Lukas Rafael Ruiz Hespanhol (; born July 7, 1993), known as Vintage Culture, is a Brazilian disc jockey, DJ and record producer. He had a great ascent of releasing remixes of songs like "Blue Monday (New Order song), Blue Monday" by New Order (b ...
Remix
# "Cure for Me" (Vintage Culture Remix) – 3:30
* Digital download / streaming – Vintage Culture Extended Remix
# "Runaway" (Vintage Culture Extended Remix) – 5:28
* Digital download / streaming – ''Cure for Me EP''
# "Cure for Me" – 3:21
# "Cure for Me" (Acoustic) – 3:33
# "Cure for Me" (Vintage Culture Remix) – 3:30
# "Cure for Me" (Vintage Culture Extended Remix) – 5:28
* Digital download / streaming – Live featuring
Silvana Estrada
Silvana Estrada (born April 15, 1997) is a Mexican musician and songwriter. She has released three albums, including two with collaboration from musician Charlie Hunter. Additionally, she has worked with artists like Natalia Lafourcade, Calonch ...
# "Cure for Me" (Live featuring Silvana Estrada) – 3:51
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''The Gods We Can Touch''.
*
Aurora Aksnesvocals, songwriting, organ, synthesizer, production
*
Magnus Åserud Skylstadsongwriting, bass, drums, synthesizer, production, programming, engineering
* Alexander von Mehrendrum machine
* Josh Gudwinmixing
*
Alex Wharton
Alex Wharton (born 1939), later also known as Alex Murray, was part of the singing duo the Most Brothers with Mickie Most, and later, co-manager and producer of the Moody Blues.
Singing and acting career
The Most Brothers worked in the 2i's Cof ...
mastering
Charts
Weekly charts
Monthly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
Notes
References
External links
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{{Aurora (singer)
2021 singles
2021 songs
Aurora (singer) songs
Conversion therapy
Disco songs
Electropop songs
Europop songs
LGBTQ-related songs
Songs written by Aurora (singer)
Songs written by Magnus Skylstad
Viral videos