Just Give Me A Reason
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"Just Give Me a Reason" is a song recorded by American 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 ...
featuring
Nate Ruess Nathaniel Joseph Ruess (pronounced ; born February 26, 1982) is an American singer and songwriter. He formed the indie rock band The Format in 2002, and later went on to form the band fun. in 2008. He emerged as a solo act with his guest per ...
of the band
Fun Fun is defined by the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' as "light-hearted pleasure, enjoyment, or amusement; boisterous joviality or merrymaking; entertainment". Etymology and usage The word ''fun'' is associated with sports, entertaining medi ...
. The song was chosen as the third single from Pink's sixth studio album, '' The Truth About Love'' (2012). Written By Pink and Reuss alongside producer
Jeff Bhasker Jeffrey Nath Bhasker (born March 4, 1974) is an American record producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist based in Los Angeles. He won the Grammy Award for Producer of the Year in 2016 and was nominated for the award in 2013. Bhasker cam ...
, the song is a
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 ...
ballad about the desire to hold on to a relationship even when it appears to be breaking down. The song received critical acclaim, with many critics deeming the song as the best track on the album. Prior to its release, the song charted in many regions due to strong digital sales, which was the reason for its release. The song attained worldwide success, topping the charts in twenty-one countries including the United States, Austria, Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Iceland, Ireland, Lebanon, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, Slovakia, Sweden, as well as peaking within the top five in more than ten countries as United Kingdom, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, France, Israel, Norway, Switzerland and Spain. In the US, it became Pink's fourth number-one single on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It also became her third number-one on the ''Billboard'' Digital Songs chart after "
So What So What may refer to: Law *Demurrer, colloquially called a "So what?" pleading Music Albums * So What (Anti-Nowhere League album), ''So What'' (Anti-Nowhere League album) or the 1981 title song (see below), 2000 * ''So What?: Early Demos and L ...
" (2008) and " Raise Your Glass" (2010). "Just Give Me a Reason" has sold more than 4 million digital downloads in the United States. "Just Give Me a Reason" won the ''Billboard'' Mid-Year Award for Favorite Hot 100 No. Single, and garnered two
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
nominations for
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance The Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 63rd Grammy Awards category rules, "this categ ...
and Song of the Year at the 2014 Grammy Awards, where Pink and Nate Ruess performed the song after a trapeze-accompanied rendition of "Try". The music video for "Just Give Me a Reason" featured Nate Ruess as well as Pink's husband, off-road truck and former
motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...
racer Carey Hart, in a romantic setting which resembles an artificial marsh. The video won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Collaboration in
2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
.


Background

"Just Give Me a Reason" features Nate Ruess from the American band Fun. Originally, it was just a songwriting session but Pink realized that she needed someone else to sing the song with her because she thought that it was more of a conversation than a one-perspective song. She asked Ruess to sing the song with her as a duet.
Pink said "I was like, 'no, this is a story, this is a conversation this song' - it needs the other perspective whether it's a guy and a girl, or two girls or two guys. 'I came in and tried to convince him that this was how the conversation was going to go and it was interesting you know, he was like 'I'll just do the demo cos I don't know about duets' and I totally tricked him into doing it, and I am so glad I was able to. 'I think now he's very happy that he did it, I think it's a beautiful song and I'm really, really proud of it. Nate Ruess told MTV News: "Writing the song was a whole different learning experience and was really fueled by the fact that Alecia ink's real name is Alecia Mooreis so strong and independent and so very much herself. At the end of the day it's so hard to argue against her because what she does is always so great.
The song is about the desire to hold on to a relationship even when it appears to be breaking down.


Composition

"Just Give Me a Reason" is a
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 ...
ballad written by both artists and produced by
Jeff Bhasker Jeffrey Nath Bhasker (born March 4, 1974) is an American record producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist based in Los Angeles. He won the Grammy Award for Producer of the Year in 2016 and was nominated for the award in 2013. Bhasker cam ...
, who was also the lead producer for '' Some Nights'', the second album from Ruess' band, fun. "Just Give Me a Reason" starts off with a simple melody played on the piano, as Pink starts to sing the first stanza and chorus, the latter of which introduces drum machines and bass. The second stanza is then sung by Ruess, and the rest of the song is sung as a duet. The song ends with a piano solo, similar to the intro. It has a duration of four minutes and two seconds. Musicnotes.com published this song in the key of
G major G major is a major scale based on G (musical note), G, with the pitches G, A (musical note), A, B (musical note), B, C (musical note), C, D (musical note), D, E (musical note), E, and F♯ (musical note), F. Its key signature has one sharp (music ...
with a moderate tempo of 95
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 ...
. Pink and Ruess' vocals span two octaves in the song, from G3 to G5. The verses of the song follow the chord progression G-C-Em-C-G, the chorus is G-D7/F#-Em-Bm D7, while the pre-chorus, the intro, and the outro follow the progression of Em-A/C#-D repeated three times before C-G/B-Am, and with a variation into the second chorus.


Critical reception

The song received acclaim from contemporary critics. Jody Rosen from ''
Rolling Stone ''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 fo ...
'' referred positively to "Just Give Me a Reason" as the best track within the album, "in which Pink dials back the drama, letting the melody and sentiments do their work". Sharing the same opinion, Amy Sciaretto from ''PopCrush'' said she liked the "soft" side of Pink and that she and Nate Ruess "fit like a jigsaw puzzle, a lovely
yin and yang Originating in Chinese philosophy, yin and yang (, ), also yinyang or yin-yang, is the concept of opposite cosmic principles or forces that interact, interconnect, and perpetuate each other. Yin and yang can be thought of as complementary an ...
." Bill Lamb from ''
About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly The Mining Company, About.com and Dotdash) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, hom ...
'' said: "The genius behind 'Just Give Me a Reason' is that it is a powerful, well written song that is allowed to shine by a simple, spare Jeff Bhasker production and straightforward vocals from Pink and Nate Ruess of the group Fun. The song lays out the emotions behind a wish for reconciliation in a relationship but doesn't provide easy answers. The simple piano based production ensures that every word is clear and the emotional tone of the voices is heard." Lewis Corner from ''
Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its initial launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television pro ...
'' said: "As her latest single 'Just Give Me a Reason' demonstrates, Pink isn't afraid to band with pop's current flavour - and in this case it's Fun.'s Nate Ruess. "I let you see the parts of me/ That weren't all that pretty/ And with every touch you fixed them," Pink reveals over a folksy piano line, before she bursts into a heart-warbling chorus. The final result may echo fun.'s own anthemic hits, but Pink never fails to make a song her own, even when sharing the spotlight." ''
MusicOMH ''MusicOMH'' (stylized as ''musicOMH'') is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History ''MusicOMH'' was founded an ...
'' said that "Pink's other side – the impassioned songwriter – is showcased on Try, which demonstrates that she has a voice that not enough people give her credit for. Similar territory is trodden in Just Give Me a Reason, a duet with fun.'s lead singer Nate Ruess (which sounds more like a fun. song than a Pink song, funnily enough), but it’s these moments that show Pink at her most formulaic." '' Common Sense Media (CSM)'' said, "Pink, singer from band fun. team up in sweet love tune." ''
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 ...
'' also gave a positive review of the song saying this duet with the band's lead singer Nate Ruess (produced by "We Are Young" helmer Jeff Bhasker) would fit right at home on "Some Nights": "Although it's a little jarring to hear Pink's raw, live vocals paired with Ruess' Auto-Tune, it's ultimately a less-schmaltzy version of those male/female duets found at the end credits of every 80s movie." ''
HitFix HitFix, or HitFix.com, was an entertainment news website that launched in December 2008 specializing in breaking entertainment news, insider information, and reviews and critiques of film, music, and television. In mid-2010 HitFix crossed the 1,00 ...
'' said One of the highlights is her duet with fun.'s Nate Ruess, who co-wrote "Just Give Me a Reason".


Chart performance

In the United States, "Just Give Me a Reason" topped the iTunes chart on March 19, 2013, and remained atop the list for more than 10 consecutive days, becoming Pink's third
Digital Songs The Digital Song Sales (previously named Digital Songs and Hot Digital Songs) ranks the best-selling digital songs in the United States, as compiled by Luminate and published by '' Billboard'' magazine. Although it originally started tracking ...
number-one hit. In early April, it fell to the runner-up position to
Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is known for his three-octave tenor vocal range, live performances, R ...
's "
When I Was Your Man "When I Was Your Man" is a song by American singer and songwriter Bruno Mars from his second studio album, ''Unorthodox Jukebox'' (2012). Atlantic Records released the song as the third promotional single and as the second official single, take ...
" only to return to the top two days later and stayed there for the entire month of April 2013. Its success in the digital market was reflected on its Hot 100 position, making it Pink's fourteenth Top 10 hit in the USA during the charting week ending March 30, 2013, then pushing it further to the top to #5 and then to #3, and finally to the top of the chart. The song spent 15 weeks in the top 10. ''The Truth About Love'' is, therefore, Pink's first set to achieve more than two Top 10 hits since ''
Missundaztood ''Missundaztood'' (stylized as ''M!ssundaztood'') is the second studio album by American singer Pink. It was released on November 20, 2001, by Arista Records. After the success of her debut album '' Can't Take Me Home'' (2000), Pink became dis ...
''. On the issue dated April 27, 2013, it reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming Pink's fourth chart-topper and Nate Ruess' second overall, after "
We Are Young "We Are Young" is a song recorded by American pop rock band Fun, featuring American singer Janelle Monáe. It is the third track on the group's second studio album, '' Some Nights'' (2012). The song was released on September 20, 2011, as th ...
" with his band
Fun Fun is defined by the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' as "light-hearted pleasure, enjoyment, or amusement; boisterous joviality or merrymaking; entertainment". Etymology and usage The word ''fun'' is associated with sports, entertaining medi ...
. It also was Pink's longest time spent as a lead artist at number one, as it ruled for three consecutive weeks. The song is the seventh best-selling song of 2013 with 4,321,000 download copies sold in the United States for the year. As of January 2014, the song has sold a total of 4,405,000 downloads in the US. With "Just Give Me a Reason" soaring to number one on the
Adult Top 40 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 Syste ...
chart, it became Pink's eighth number one song there and her tenth top ten overall. Pink currently ties the record for most number ones on that chart, with
Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists in hist ...
and
Maroon 5 Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Levine, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine (musician), James Valentine, d ...
each having eight. "Just Give Me a Reason" also reached number one on both the US
Pop Songs Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/ CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations in the U ...
,
Adult Pop Songs 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 Syste ...
,
Adult contemporary chart 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 stati ...
and
Digital Songs The Digital Song Sales (previously named Digital Songs and Hot Digital Songs) ranks the best-selling digital songs in the United States, as compiled by Luminate and published by '' Billboard'' magazine. Although it originally started tracking ...
. In
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the song debuted at number one, it has been certified 3× Platinum, denoting sales of almost 180,000 copies in the country. The song attained worldwide success, topping the charts in 20 countries including the United States, Austria, Czech Republic, Iceland, Ireland, Lebanon, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, Slovakia, Sweden, Australia, Canada as well as peaking within the top five in more than ten countries as United Kingdom, Belgium (Flandes)(Volonia), Brazil, Denmark, Finland, France, Israel, Norway, Switzerland and Spain. On the week of October 6, 2012, "Just Give Me a Reason" debuted at number 106 in the US and at number 75 in Canada. That was the same week that the second single of the album (" Try") debuted at number 56. "Just Give Me a Reason" has also debuted at 65 in Switzerland and 168 in France. In the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
"Just Give Me a Reason" stayed in the Top 10 for 11 weeks. It has been certified 3× Platinum by 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 ...
, with sales of almost 800,000 copies in 2013 making it the eighth best-selling song of the year. In Australia, the song debuted at number six on the week of February 17, 2013, before peaking at one the following week. This makes ''The Truth About Love'' Pink's first album to score two number-one singles in the country, the first single being " Blow Me (One Last Kiss)". This is also Nate Ruess's first number-one song but third overall since his band
Fun Fun is defined by the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' as "light-hearted pleasure, enjoyment, or amusement; boisterous joviality or merrymaking; entertainment". Etymology and usage The word ''fun'' is associated with sports, entertaining medi ...
had two songs that went number one. In the Netherlands, the song went to number one on February 23, 2013, marking it Pink's very first Dutch number-one song in her 13-year career. In France, the song went to number seven in March 2013, making "Just Give Me a Reason" Pink's third top-ten song in the country and has sold a total of 119.000 downloads. In Canada, the song went to number one on April 13, 2013, making Pink's second number-one single in the country after "
So What So What may refer to: Law *Demurrer, colloquially called a "So what?" pleading Music Albums * So What (Anti-Nowhere League album), ''So What'' (Anti-Nowhere League album) or the 1981 title song (see below), 2000 * ''So What?: Early Demos and L ...
". It has spent seven consecutive weeks at number one 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 ...
, becoming her longest-reigning number-one single. It was the third best-selling song of 2013 in Canada with 499,000 copies sold. According to the IFPI, by the end of the year, the single had sold 9.9 million copies. The song was the 4th best-selling song of 2013.


Music video


Background and release

The video was directed by
Diane Martel Diane Martel (also known as Bucky Chrome and Diamond Martel) is an American music video director and choreographer. As a music video director, she has worked with Beyonce, Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera, Sting and Jennifer Lopez. One of her ...
and photographed by
Jeff Cronenweth Jeffrey Scott Cronenweth, (born January 14, 1962) is an American cinematographer based in Los Angeles, California who is known for his role as the director of photography on the David Fincher films '' Fight Club'', ''The Social Network'', '' The ...
. It was filmed in November 2012. Pictures from the video were posted on
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. In the pictures, Pink is lying in bed with her husband Carey Hart. Pink was extremely disappointed by the leak, so the photos were deleted immediately after. The official video was released on February 5, 2013. A behind the scenes video was later added to Pink's VEVO channel, where Pink confirms that the video was shot in a Los Angeles swimming pool. The video won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Collaboration in 2013. The video was nominated for Video of the Year on the People's Choice Awards 2014. As of August 2024, it has received over 1.7 billion views on YouTube.


Synopsis

The video shows Pink lying on a mattress in the middle of an artificial marsh, with
fog Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus and is heavily influenc ...
surrounding the set and a star-studded background. The video is highly symbolic and its storyline is indirect, with references supporting the song's theme, including a teddy bear, a TV floating on the surface of the water, the water itself and a wall made of wood in the background. The scenes include Pink's solo mattress scene, another with Nate Ruess shows the two singers singing the song in a white, blank set, and a third scene showing Pink and her husband Carey Hart embracing and diving.


Lyric video

An official lyric video was published on Pink's official VEVO account in September 2012. It features stars that sparkle in the background. The lyrics shown are sung by both Pink and Ruess.


Credits and personnel

*Pink – songwriter, vocals *Nate Ruess – songwriter, vocals *Jeff Bhasker – songwriter, producer, keyboards, synthesizer and music programmer *Anders Mouridsen – guitars *John X. Volaitis – recording at Earthstar Creation Center, Venice, California *Tony Maserati – mixer *Justin Hergett – assistant mixer *James Krausse – assistant mixer Credits adapted from ''The Truth About Love'' album liner notes.


Track listing

* Digital download # "Just Give Me a Reason" – 4:02 * German CD single # "Just Give Me a Reason" – 4:02 # "Are We All We Are" (Live from Los Angeles) – 3:32


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Decade-end charts


All-time charts


Certifications


Release history


See also

*
List of best-selling singles This is a compendium of the best-selling single (music), music singles. The criterion for inclusion is to sell at least ten million copies worldwide. The singles listed here were cited by reliable sources from various media, such as digital j ...
*
List of best-selling singles in the United States This list compiles the best-selling singles in the United States, based on reported sales figures. Some of the singles have been certified by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In music, a single is a song considered commerciall ...
* List of Dutch Top 40 number-one singles of 2013 *
List of highest-certified singles in Australia This is a list of highest-certified singles in Australia according to the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Since 1983, ARIA certifies a single Platinum for shipment of 70,000 copies across Australia. Single figures can include "qu ...
*
List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 2013 (Canada) This is a list of the Canadian ''Billboard magazine, Billboard'' magazine Canadian Hot 100 number-ones of 2013. Note that ''Billboard'' publishes charts with an issue date approximately 7–10 days in advance. Chart history See also *L ...
* List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 2013 (U.S.) *
List of number-one singles of 2013 (Australia) The ARIA Charts, ARIA Singles Chart ranks the best-performing singles in Australia. Its data, published by the Australian Recording Industry Association, is based collectively on each single's weekly CD single, physical and Digital distributi ...
*
List of number-one hits of 2013 (Germany) The Media Control charts are record charts compiled by Media Control on behalf of the German record industry. They include the "Single Top 100" and the "Album Top 100" chart. The chart week runs from Friday to Thursday, and the chart compilatio ...
* List of number-one hits of 2013 (Sweden) * List of number-one hits of 2013 (Switzerland) * List of Billboard Adult Contemporary number ones of 2013


References

{{authority control 2012 songs 2013 singles Pink (singer) songs Song recordings produced by Jeff Bhasker Songs written by Jeff Bhasker Songs written by Pink (singer) Male–female vocal duets Music videos directed by Diane Martel RCA Records singles Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in Germany Number-one singles in Italy Number-one singles in Lebanon Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Scotland Number-one singles in Sweden Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Pop ballads Songs written by Nate Ruess 2010s ballads Breakup songs