"EveryTime I Cry" is a song by American singer

Ava Max Amanda Ava Koci (born Amanda Koçi; February 16, 1994), known professionally as Ava Max, is an American singer and songwriter. She signed with Atlantic Records in 2016, through which she released her breakthrough single " Sweet but Psycho" in ...

, released on June 8, 2021, through

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most ...

. The

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air ...

and

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a r ...

song was written by Max,

Caroline Pennell Caroline Pennell is an American singer-songwriter. She was a contestant on the The Voice (U.S. season 5), fifth season of the United States version of the reality singing competition ''The Voice (U.S. series), The Voice''. Since 2021, she has b ...

Lauren Aquilina Lauren Amber Aquilina (born 23 June 1995) is a Maltese-English singer and songwriter. Born in Bristol, she gained popularity by independently releasing a trilogy of EPs (''Fools'', ''Sinners'', and ''Liars'') whilst studying at school. Her debu ...

, and producers

Cirkut Henry Russell Walter (born April 23, 1986), known professionally as Cirkut, is a Canadian record producer and songwriter. He has co-produced and co-written for Dr. Luke, Katy Perry, Becky G, Ava Max, Nicki Minaj, R. City, The Weeknd, Kesha, Cia ...

and Sean Myer. It consists of a

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a musica ...

with

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis ...

s, and lyrics describing the effect of

women's empowerment Women's empowerment (or female empowerment) may be defined in several ways, including accepting women's viewpoints, making an effort to seek them and raising the status of women through education, awareness, literacy, and training.Kabeer, Naila ...

during difficult situations. "EveryTime I Cry" received generally favorable 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 upbeat production. The song peaked at number seven in Poland and at number 99 in the United Kingdom. An accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

was directed by Max and Charlotte Rutherford and depicts the singer on the desert which transforms into a lush landscape with her tears. It was compared to previous music videos by TLC and

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977), professionally known by the mononym Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the " Queen of Latin Music" and is ...

Background and release

On May 12, 2021, Max uploaded a portion of "EveryTime I Cry" on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

. She announced the release date and cover art of the song on June 3, 2021, and stated that it is a "continuation" of her debut studio album, '' Heaven & Hell'' (2020). However, she later declared that the song is "a bridge" between ''Heaven & Hell'' and her sophomore album, citing the growth of individuals through the difficulties of 2020. "EveryTime I Cry" was released on June 8, 2021, which was accompanied by a

lyric video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

. The song was written by Max,

, and producers

and Sean Myer.

Composition and critical reception

"EveryTime I Cry" is a

and

song. It opens with

s and uses a

. The

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

contains house elements and climaxes into a "groovy

beat Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ...

". The lyrics describe the impact of

during difficult situations, which consequently allows a person to courageously confront their emotions. Writing for

BroadwayWorld BroadwayWorld is a theatre news website based in New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , Ne ...

, Sarah Jae Leiber acknowledged that "EveryTime I Cry" is "an undisputed summer smash" and an "adrenaline-fueled track", opining that it is "pure electropop perfection". Carolyn Droke of

Uproxx ''Uproxx'' (stylized in all caps) is an entertainment and popular culture news website. It was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater, and acquired by Woven Digital (later renamed Uproxx Media Group) in 2014. The site's target audienc ...

considered the song to be "electrifying". ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' writer

Jon Caramanica Jon Caramanica (born 1975) is an American journalist and pop music critic who writes for ''The New York Times''. He is also known for writing about hip hop music. Biography Born in Brooklyn, New York, Caramanica received his bachelor's degree f ...

positively compared "EveryTime I Cry" to the discography of

Dua Lipa Dua Lipa ( , ; born ) is an English and Albanian singer and songwriter. Possessing a mezzo-soprano vocal range, she is known for her signature disco-pop sound. Lipa has received numerous accolades, including six Brit Awards, three Grammy ...

. Shaad D'Souza of ''

Paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, Textile, rags, poaceae, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre e ...

'' described the song as an "undeniably uplifting banger" and positively compared it to Max's 2020 song "

My Head & My Heart "My Head & My Heart" is a song by American singer Ava Max, released on November 19, 2020, through Atlantic Records, as the eighth single from Max's debut studio album, '' Heaven & Hell'' (2020). The song was included on the digital version of ...

Commercial performance

"EveryTime I Cry" peaked at number seven on the Polish Airplay Top 100 chart dated August 28, 2021. On the Norwegian

VG-lista VG-lista is a Norwegian record chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts ...

, the song peaked at number 39. In Germany, "EveryTime I Cry" debuted on the

Offizielle Deutsche Charts The GfK Entertainment charts are the official music charts in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustr ...

at number 90 on the chart dated August 6, 2021. It peaked at number 58 and remained on the chart for nine weeks. On the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

issued June 18, 2021, the song bowed at the number 99 peak and remained for one week.

Music video

An accompanying

was released on July 23, 2021, which was directed by Max and Charlotte Rutherford. It depicts Max awakening in an abandoned landscape while appearing injured. She is later seen on top of a tree above a waterfall covered with lily pads, as her tears form an ocean. Uproxx writer Rachel Brodsky compared the visual's

computer-generated imagery Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is the use of computer graphics to create or contribute to images in art, printed media, video games, simulators, and visual effects in films, television programs, shorts, commercials, and videos. The image ...

(CGI) landscapes to the music videos of TLC's 1995 song "

Waterfalls A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several w ...

" and

's 2001 song "

Whenever, Wherever "Whenever, Wherever" is a song by Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira from her fifth studio album and English-language debut, ''Laundry Service'' (2001). It was released on 2 October 2001 by Epic Records as the lead single from the album. The so ...

Track listing

Digital download /

streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content i ...

Releases for the single: * * * # "EveryTime I Cry" 2:57 Digital download / streamingReleases for the Pink Panda Remix: * * * # "EveryTime I Cry" (Pink Panda Remix) 2:27 Digital download / streamingReleases for the R3hab Remix: * * * # "EveryTime I Cry" (

R3hab Fadil El Ghoul ( ar, فضيل الغول; born 2 April 1986), performing under the stage name R3hab (stylized in all caps as R3HAB; pronounced "rehab"), is a Dutch-Moroccan disc jockey and music producer. Ranked at number 12 on the DJ Mag Top 1 ...

Remix) 3:11 Digital download / streamingReleases for the Sigala Remix: * * * # "EveryTime I Cry" (

Sigala Bruce Fielder, known professionally as Sigala, is a British DJ and music producer. He has had eight songs peak within the top ten of the UK Singles Chart, including his 2015 debut single " Easy Love", which samples " ABC" by the Jackson 5. C ...

Remix) 3:36

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from

Tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * Tidal (servic ...

. * Amanda Ava Koci vocals, songwriting *

Henry Walter Henry Walter (1611–1678?) was a Welsh Anglican priest who became a Puritan. Life Walter was born in the parish of St. Arvans, Monmouthshire, south Wales in 1611 and studied at the University of Oxford, matriculating as a member of Jesus ...

songwriting, production, instruments, programming * Sean Myer songwriting, production * Caroline Pennell songwriting * Lauren Aquilina songwriting *

Chris Gehringer Chris Gehringer (born May 27, 1962) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered recordings such as Gwen Stefani's '' Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'' (2004), Rihanna's '' Loud'' (2010), Lady Gaga's '' Born This Way'' (2011) and Drake' ...

mastering *

Serban Ghenea Șerban Ghenea (born October 13, 1969) is a Grammy award-winning Romanian-Canadian audio engineer and mixer. Early life and education Ghenea was born in Bucharest, Romania in 1969. In 1976 he moved to Montreal with his family. He later attende ...

mixing * John Hanes engineering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Ava Max 2021 singles 2021 songs Atlantic Records singles Ava Max songs Song recordings produced by Cirkut Songs with feminist themes Songs written by Ava Max Songs written by Caroline Pennell Songs written by Cirkut Songs written by Lauren Aquilina