"I Will Never Let You Down" is a song by English singer

Rita Ora Rita Sahatçiu Ora (; born Rita Sahatçiu; 26 November 1990) is a British singer-songwriter, television personality, and actress. Born in Pristina, modern-day Kosovo, she rose to prominence when she featured on DJ Fresh's 2012 single, "Hot Rig ...

. Produced by Scottish DJ & producer

Calvin Harris Adam Richard Wiles (born 17 January 1984), known professionally as Calvin Harris (and sometimes under the stage name Love Regenerator), is a Scottish DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter. His debut studio album, ''I Created Disco'' (2007 ...

, the song was released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

for digital download and

streaming Streaming media refers to multimedia delivered through a network for playback using a media player. Media is transferred in a ''stream'' of packets from a server to a client and is rendered in real-time; this contrasts with file downl ...

by Columbia and

Roc Nation Roc Nation is an American entertainment company founded by Jay-Z in 2008. Headquartered in New York City, the company is a successor to his previous Roc-A-Fella Records label, with additional offices in Los Angeles and London. It serves as a re ...

in various countries on 31 March 2014. The upbeat

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

love song A love song is a song about love, falling in love, heartbreak after a breakup, and the feelings that these experiences bring. Love songs can be found in a variety of different music genres. They can come in various formats, from sad and emotion ...

with

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

and EDM influences opens with a

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

beat and transitions into a

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 ...

and dance party. The singer conveys an empowering and optimistic message through her lyrics as she promises her love interest that she will never let him down. Upon its release, the song received critical acclaim 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 ...

, many of whom applauded the song's music, sound and lyrics as well as Ora's vocal delivery. "I Will Never Let You Down" reached the number one position in the United Kingdom, becoming Ora's fourth number-one single on the UK Singles Chart. It further entered the top 50 in 15 other countries, including Australia, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Germany, Ireland, New Zealand and Switzerland. The song also reached number 77 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number one on the

Dance Club Songs The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...

chart as well as number 62 on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...

. The song received gold

certifications Certification is part of testing, inspection and certification and the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestatio ...

in four countries as well as platinum from the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...

(ARIA) in Australia and the

British Phonographic Industry BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...

(BPI) in the UK. The official

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 "I Will Never Let You Down", containing sequences of Ora depicted in several settings that alternate between black-and-white and colour shots, premiered on Ora's

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 31 March 2014. The video attracted praise for its theme as well as Ora's appearance, fashion and clothes. To further promote the song, the singer performed it at a number of televised events, among others at the

Bambi Award The Bambi, often called the Bambi Award and stylised as BAMBI, is a German award presented annually by Hubert Burda Media to recognize excellence in international media and television to personalities in the media, arts, culture, sports, and oth ...

BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend (R1BW) (previously known as One Big Weekend, for 2012 as Radio 1's Hackney Weekend, and for 2018 as BBC Music's Biggest Weekend) is a British music festival run by BBC Radio 1. It is held once a year, in a different l ...

, '' Germany's Next Topmodel'' and ''

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by actor and comedian Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It i ...

''.

Background and composition

Whitney Houston Welcome Home Heroes 1 cropped

Prior to its release, Ora started to tease "I Will Never Let You Down" in mid-March 2014, uploading the single's cover art and a preview of the

. The song was written by Scottish disc jockey

and intended for her second studio album. Produced and written by him, Harris explained that the song was reminiscent of American singer

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...

and singer

Pink Pink is a pale tint of red, the color of the Dianthus plumarius, pink flower. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, p ...

. ''Note: Click on the three dots on the right of the track to display the credits.'' Ora further stated, "I'm in a very good place and I really wanted people to see how I felt and how I want other people to feel when they listen to ithappy!" The album was scheduled to be released in the summer of 2014 but was postponed. In her 2015 lawsuit against Roc Nation, Ora stated that the record label had delayed her second album. "I Will Never Let You Down" was released as a

for digital download and

by Columbia and

on 31 March 2014. Ora's vocals in the song span from a low note of B₃ to a high note of E₅. It was composed in time and the key of

E major E major is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps. Its relative minor is C-sharp minor and its parallel minor is E minor. Its enharmonic equivalent, F-flat maj ...

with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

of 128 beats per minute and a

chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural, or simply changes) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from ...

of E–B–Cm-Gm-A. Musically, "I Will Never Let You Down" is an upbeat 80's-sounding

, incorporating a

production and EDM elements. The song begins with an intro utilising guitars and

synths 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 an ...

as well as

beats, which progresses into a

and dance-described party. Featuring an empowering and optimistic message, Ora lyrically promises her love interest that she will never let him down even when he feels like giving up. On the chorus, she sings, "When you're feeling low on love / I'll be what you're dreaming of / Oh, oh, I will never let you down."

Reception

Upon release, "I Will Never Let You Down" was met with critical acclaim from

. Writing for ''

Teen Vogue ''Teen Vogue'' is an American progressive online publication, formerly in print, launched in January 2003, as a sister publication to '' Vogue'', targeted at teenage girls and young women. Like ''Vogue'', it included stories about fashion and ...

'', Phillip Picardi proclaimed the song as "the feel-good anthem you need to cure your Monday blues", while Casey Lewis of the same magazine felt that " tis one of those tracks that makes an enormous head-bobbin', toe-tappin' impression just a few seconds in, and then halfway through you already can't wait to start it over again". While Devin from ''

Rap-Up ''Rap-Up'' is a magazine launched in 2001 by founder Devin Lazerine. The publication was originally a website devoted to hip hop, until Lazerine decided to pitch the possibility of a magazine to several publishers. The magazine is focused on the ...

'' characterised the song as "uplifting", Matthew Anness for ''Urbanology'' named the song as "radio-friendly". Jason Lipshutz of ''

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 ...

'' complimented the song as a "stylish spring jam", labelling it a "contented grin of a single". Lindsey Weber from ''

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to Nort ...

'' commended the song as "extremely catchy", writing that one should "beware of nearworm". Liza Darwin for ''

Nylon Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers characterised by amide linkages, typically connecting aliphatic or Polyamide#Classification, semi-aromatic groups. Nylons are generally brownish in color and can possess a soft texture, with some varieti ...

'' elaborated, "if your Monday is in dire need of a dance party, then Rita Ora is here to help." Kelsey McKinney of '' Vox'' stated that "it showcases her voice better and gives a slower take on her skills between How We Do (Party)' 2012"> How We Do (Party)' 2012and ['Black Widow (Iggy Azalea song)">Black Widow' 2014">How_We_Do_(Party).html" ;"title="How We Do (Party)">How We Do (Party)' 2012and ['Black Widow (Iggy Azalea song)">Black Widow' 2014. ''Renowned for Sound's'' David Whiteway further highlighted the collaboration between Ora and Harris, concluding that "[she] isn't shying away from that fact that she has and intends to continue to develop [...] Ora has definitely found clarity and direction." "I Will Never Let You Down" debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart issue dated 24 May 2014, marking Ora's fourth chart-topping single in the United Kingdom, after her 2012 singles "

Hot Right Now "Hot Right Now" is a single by English drum and bass producer DJ Fresh featuring English singer Rita Ora, released on 13 February 2012 as the second single from his third studio album, '' Nextlevelism'' (2012), before later being included as ...

", "

How We Do (Party) "How We Do (Party)" is a song by English singer Rita Ora from her debut studio album, '' Ora'' (2012). The song was written by Andrew Harr, Bonnie McKee, Christopher Wallace, Hal Davis, Jermaine Jackson, Willie Hutch and seven others, and prod ...

" and " R.I.P.". In 2016, the song received a platinum

certification Certification is part of testing, inspection and certification and the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestatio ...

from the

(BPI) for shifting more than 1,000,000 units in the UK. It further topped the

Scottish Singles Chart The Scottish Albums Chart is a chart compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) which is based on how physical and digital sales towards the UK Albums Chart fare in Scotland. The official singles chart for Scotland, the Scottish Singles Chart, ...

and reached the top 10 on the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...

. Elsewhere in Europe, the song reached number 12 in Switzerland, number 15 in Austria, number 18 in Romania, number 23 in Germany, and number 79 in Italy. It further earned gold certifications by the

Bundesverband Musikindustrie The ( English: Federal Music Industry Association), or simply BVMI, represents the music industry in Germany. The association represents the interests of nearly 280 labels and music industry related enterprises, which comprise 90% of the music i ...

(BVMI) in Germany,

Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana The Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI) or the Federation of the Italian Music Industry is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy. It was established in 1992, when ...

(FIMI) in Italy and

IFPI Danmark IFPI Denmark is the Danish branch of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwi ...

in Denmark. In Australia, "I Will Never Let You Down" peaked at number five on the

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

and reached number nine on the

New Zealand Singles Chart The Official Aotearoa Music Charts, formerly the Official New Zealand Music Chart (), is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The M ...

in New Zealand. The song attained a platinum certification from the

Recorded Music New Zealand Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded Mus ...

(RMNZ) in New Zealand and from the

(ARIA) in Australia for selling more than 15,000 and 70,000 units, respectively. In the United States, "I Will Never Let You Down" entered the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 99 and rose to number 77 on 6 September 2014. The song also topped the

chart and reached number 22 on the

Mainstream Top 40 Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/contemporary hit radio, CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played o ...

ranking. In Canada, the song peaked at number 62 on the

issue dated 30 August 2014 and entered the top 50 on the

CHR/Top 40 Contemporary hit radio (CHR, also known as contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top ...

and

Hot AC 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 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, ...

, respectively.

Promotion

The music video for "I Will Never Let You Down" was uploaded to Ora's official

channel on 31 March 2014. Behind-the-scenes footage from various stages of filming the video was published on the platform on 16 April. Taking place in Los Angeles, the three-minute and 27-second video was directed by Italian director

Francesco Carrozzini Francesco Carrozzini (born September 9, 1982) is an Italian-born director and photographer based in the United States. In 2016, he made his feature directorial debut at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival with the documentary '' Fran ...

and displays several sequences of Ora, alternating between black-and-white and color segments. The attires worn by the singer in the video included designs by

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...

Chanel Chanel ( , ) is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. It is privately owned by French brothers, Alain and Gérard Wertheimer, through the holding company Chanel Limited, established in 2018 and headquarte ...

, Hervé Leger and

Moschino Moschino () is an Italian Luxury goods, luxury fashion house founded in 1983 by Franco Moschino in Milan known for over-the-top, Camp (style), campy designs. The company specializes in ready-to-wear, handbags, and fashion accessories. Moschino's ...

. The video opens with a sequence of a camera panning over several black-and-white photographs of Ora in a vessel filled with water. The camera then focuses on one of the photographs, which starts to transform into an animated picture, displaying the singer singing in a darkly lit surrounding. Next, a close-up segment shows her in an outdoor-setting walking and dancing in the camera's direction, before being accompanied by two backup dancers Polly and Sophie Duniam. Both black-and-white and colorful sequences of Ora are interspersed throughout the video, with her dancing in the aforementioned settings, in front of a pink setting and in a bright hallway. Edwin Oritz from ''

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

'' labeled the video as "sweet and sexy", writing that " tshow off ra'splayful side". Christina Garibaldi for

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

noted the video's '80s theme, feeling "like a high-fashion photo shoot as it fully encompasses the fun vibe of the song". Marissa G. Muller of the latter publication commended Ora's "killer" clothes, commenting: "We're left wanting to see more, which—hey—is the mark of a great video." Lewis from ''Teen Vogue'' described the video as a "masterpiece on its own", applauding the singer's appearance and fashion as a "'90s extravagance". Lipshutz for ''Billboard'' likewise praised her presence in the video, adding that " tre-imagines the carefree rabble-rouser from the 'How We Do (Party)' clip as an elegant model". Ora performed "I Will Never Let You Down" for the first time in the first season of the American talk show ''

'' on 22 April 2014. In May, the singer appeared to perform the song at the ninth season final of German reality show '' Germany's Next Topmodel'' as well as at

in Glasgow. On 24 June 2014, she performed at

Capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

Summertime Ball Capital's Summertime Ball is a mini-festival in London, usually held on either first or second Saturday or Sunday of June by the radio station Capital (radio network), Capital. The first ball was at Emirates Stadium in 2009, and it has since b ...

in London and finished her performance with it. On 12 November 2015, Ora sang the song as a medley with her single " Body on Me" (2015) at the

s in Berlin. Other performances of it took place at the Summertime Ball in 2015, 2018 and 2019 as well as at the

Jingle Bell Ball The Jingle Bell Ball is a concert held annually in December since 2008 (except for 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic), by the radio station Capital (radio network), Capital FM at The O2 Arena. Various notable artists have headlined the con ...

in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Several remixes, including ones done by Digital Dog,

Gregor Salto Gregor van Offeren (born 21 April 1979 in Haarlem, Netherlands), better known as Gregor Salto, is a Dutch DJ and record producer. Discography Albums * 2014: ''Gregor Salto Ultimate Miami 2'' -REX Music EPs * 2016: ''Para Você EP'' PRS Chart ...

, R3hab and WestFunk, accompanied the single's release on 11 May. Ahead of the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

, another remix of "I Will Never Let You Down" created by English songwriter

Switch In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type o ...

followed on 10 June, as part of American company

Pepsi Pepsi is a Carbonated water, carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor, manufactured by PepsiCo which serves as its flagship product. In 2023, Pepsi was the second most valuable soft drink brand worldwide behind Coca-Cola; the two share a long ...

's compilation album '' Pepsi Beats of the Beautiful Game''.

Track listing

*Digital download and streaming #"I Will Never Let You Down"3:23 *Digital download and streamingRemixes #"I Will Never Let You Down" ( R3hab Remix)4:11 #"I Will Never Let You Down" (

Vegas Remix)6:17 #"I Will Never Let You Down" (Gregor Salto Radio Remix)3:41 #"I Will Never Let You Down" (Gregor Salto Radio Instrumental)3:42 #"I Will Never Let You Down" (Steve Smart and WestFunk Club Mix)4:51 #"I Will Never Let You Down" (Steve Smart and WestFunk Radio Edit)3:08 #"I Will Never Let You Down" (DJ Escape and Tony Coluccio Main Mix)7:41 #"I Will Never Let You Down" (DJ Escape and Tony Coluccio Radio Mix)4:38 #"I Will Never Let You Down" (DJ Escape and Tony Coluccio Dub)6:41 #"I Will Never Let You Down" (Digital Dog Remix)5:52 #"I Will Never Let You Down" (Digital Dog Radio Edit)4:00

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2014 singles 2014 songs Rita Ora songs Songs written by Calvin Harris Columbia Records singles Number-one singles in Scotland Roc Nation singles UK singles chart number-one singles