Believe (Elton John song)

"Believe"
Single by Elton John
from the album Made in England
B-side	"Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" (live) "The One" (live)
Released	20 February 1995 (1995-02-20)
Length	4:51
Label	Rocket Mercury
Composer	Elton John
Lyricist	Bernie Taupin
Producers	Greg Penny Elton John
Elton John singles chronology
"Circle of Life" (1994) "Believe" (1995) "Made in England" (1995)
Music video
"Believe" on YouTube

"Believe" is a song by British musician Elton John and lyricist Bernie Taupin, performed by John. It was the first single from his 24th studio album, Made in England (1995), and was released on 20 February 1995. Several versions of the single were released, featuring B-sides such as "Circle of Life" from The Lion King and live versions of tracks including "The One," "The Last Song," "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word," and "Believe," which were recorded at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.

"Believe" reached number one in Iceland, Italy and Canada, becoming John's 18th number-one single in the latter country. In the United States, "Believe" became John's 15th number one on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart ^[1] and peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100; it gave him a third straight top-20 single in the US. In Europe, it was a top-20 hit in France, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the Wallonia region of Belgium.

The accompanying music video for the song, directed by Marcus Nispel, was entirely in black-and-white and shot in London.

Critical reception

Dave Sholin from the Gavin Report wrote, "Elton John debuts his resurrected Rocket label with a ballad as compelling as any he's ever recorded. Go directly to the air studio, place in deck, hit play. End of story." ^[2] Chuck Campbell from Knoxville News Sentinel viewed it as a "plodding single," saying, "This is the formula stuff John's been getting away with for years." ^[3] Music Week gave the song four out of five, describing it as "a fab, pompous and brooding 'I believe in love' stomper. Thankfully, he's ditched the frothy pop for a quite majestic song that would no doubt get an approving nod from a certain Freddie Mercury." ^[4] Music Week editor Alan Jones felt the song "is clearly destined to be massive. The big ballad, cleverly marketed over two CD singles, augers well for his upcoming album Made in England." ^[5]

Pan-European magazine Music & Media named 'Believe' a "grand ballad". ^[6] Paul Moody from NME wrote that the "belting comeback single" "is probably the best thing Elt's come up with since his last career revival in the mid-'80s, being a booming epic not dissimilar in mood to Duran's marvellous 'Ordinary World'." ^[7] A reviewer from People Magazine described it as "a power ballad that hints at John Lennon during his pop-obsessed Double Fantasy era." ^[8] Also Tony Cross from Smash Hits gave 'Believe' four out of five, writing that "it's a rock opera of Freddy [ sic ] Mercury proportions that proves the wee wiggy grandpa can keep coming up with the goods. Everything crumbles for love... he croons above the usual helpings of slush, violins, that piano and those specs... It proves Elton's still got the ability to hit where it hurts the most — in the heart." ^[9] Another Smash Hits editor, Mark Sutherland, named it a "superior smoocher". ^[10]

Music video

In the accompanying black-and-white music video for "Believe" directed by German film director and producer Marcus Nispel, Elton John travels around the world in a Zeppelin. Some behind the scenes footage of the video was used for the 1997 documentary Elton John: Tantrums & Tiaras.

Accolades

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
1996	"Believe"	Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance [11]	Nominated

Track listings

• 7-inch

1. "Believe" – 4:51
2. "The One" (live) – 6:32

• Europe CD maxi

1. "Believe" – 4:51
2. "Believe" (live) – 4:43
3. "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" (live) – 3:52

• US CD maxi

1. "Believe" – 4:51
2. "The One" (live) – 6:32
3. "Believe" (live) – 4:43

Personnel

• Elton John – vocals, piano, keyboards
• Guy Babylon – keyboards, programming
• Bob Birch – bass
• Paul Buckmaster – orchestra arrangement, conducting
• Ray Cooper – percussion
• Davey Johnstone – guitars
• Charlie Morgan – drums

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1995) Peak position Australia (ARIA) [12] 23 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [13] 21 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [14] 38 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) [15] 8 Canada Retail Singles ( The Record ) [16] 2 Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [17] 1 Canada Adult Contemporary ( RPM ) [18] 1 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) [19] 18 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) [20] 19 France (SNEP) [21] 13 Germany (GfK) [22] 56 Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40) [23] 1 Ireland (IRMA) [24] 24 Italy ( Musica e dischi ) [25] 1 Italy Airplay ( Music & Media ) [26] 4 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade) [27] 6 Netherlands (Single Top 100) [28] 47 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [29] 43 Scotland (OCC) [30] 17 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) [31] 25 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [32] 20 UK Singles (OCC) [33] 15 US Billboard Hot 100 [34] 13 US Adult Contemporary ( Billboard ) [35] 1 US Adult Pop Airplay ( Billboard ) [36] 31 US Pop Airplay ( Billboard ) [37] 21

Year-end charts Chart (1995) Position Canada Top Singles (RPM) [38] 9 Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM) [39] 2 France (SNEP) [40] 73 Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40) [41] 6 US Billboard Hot 100 [42] 59 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard) [43] 11

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United Kingdom	20 February 1995	CD1 cassette	Rocket Mercury	[44]
Japan	25 February 1995	CD		[45]
Australia	27 February 1995	CD cassette		[46]
United Kingdom		CD2		[47]

References

1. Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–2001. Record Research. p. 129.
2. Sholin, Dave (17 February 1995). "Gavin Picks: Singles" (PDF). Gavin Report . p. 94. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
3. Campbell, Chuck (31 March 1995). "Traci Lords' Passion Turns To Techno Music". Knoxville News Sentinel .
4. "Reviews: Singles" (PDF). Music Week . 11 February 1995. p. 10. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
5. Jones, Alan (25 February 1995). "Talking Music" (PDF). Music Week . p. 16. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
6. "New Releases: Albums" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 12, no. 13. 1 April 1995. p. 9. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
7. Moody, Paul (25 March 1995). "Long Play". NME . p. 41. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
8. "Picks and Pans Review: Made in England". People . 24 April 1995. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
9. Cross, Tony (15 February 1995). "New Singles". Smash Hits . p. 49. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
10. Sutherland, Mark (15 March 1995). "New Albums". Smash Hits . p. 55. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
11. "THE 38TH ANNUAL GRAMMY NOMINATIONS : The Complete List of Nominees". Los Angeles Times . 5 January 1996.
12. "Elton John – Believe". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
13. "Elton John – Believe" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
14. "Elton John – Believe" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
15. "Elton John – Believe" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
16. "Hits of the World: Canada" (PDF). Billboard . 24 June 1995. p. 52. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
17. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 6889." RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
18. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 9167." RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
19. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 12, no. 12. 25 March 1995. p. 15. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
20. Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Elton John". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 117. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
21. "Elton John – Believe" (in French). Le classement de singles. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
22. "Elton John – Believe" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
23. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (8.4. '95 – 14.4. '95)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 8 April 1995. p. 50. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
24. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Believe". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
25. "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 12. 25 March 1995. p. 17. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
26. "Major Market Airplay: Italy" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 12, no. 12. 25 March 1995. p. 27.
27. "Tipparade-lijst van week 13, 1995" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 . Retrieved 20 March 2023.
28. "Elton John – Believe" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
29. "Elton John – Believe". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
30. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
31. "Elton John – Believe". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
32. "Elton John – Believe". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
33. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
34. "Elton John Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
35. "Elton John Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
36. "Elton John Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
37. "Elton John Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
38. "RPM Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1995". RPM . Retrieved 5 April 2018– via Library and Archives Canada.
39. "RPM Top 100 Adult Contemporary Tracks of 1995". RPM. Retrieved 5 April 2018– via Library and Archives Canada.
40. "Tops de L'année | Top Singles 1995" (in French). SNEP . Retrieved 25 September 2020.
41. "Árslistinn 1995". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 2 January 1996. p. 16. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
42. "Billboard Top 100 – 1995". Archived from the original on 15 August 2009. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
43. "1995 The Year in Music" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 51. 23 December 1995. p. YE-80. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
44. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week . 18 February 1995. p. 31. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
45. "エルトン・ジョン | ビリーブ" [Elton John | Believe] (in Japanese). Oricon . Retrieved 10 October 2025.
46. "New Releases – Product Available from : 27/2/95: Singles". The ARIA Report . No. 263. 26 February 1995. p. 21.
47. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 25 February 1995. p. 43.