"Adore You" is a song by American recording artist Miley Cyrus from her fourth studio album, Bangerz (2013). It was released on December 17, 2013 by RCA Records as the third single from the album. The song was written and produced by Oren Yoel, with additional songwriting provided by Stacy Barthe. "Adore You" is a pop and R&B ballad, in which Cyrus discusses her affections towards her boyfriend; the track was widely speculated to be addressing her relationship with her former fiancé Liam Hemsworth. Upon its release, "Adore You" received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who complimented its overall production and Cyrus' vocal delivery; it was further recognized as being among the more conservative offerings from the record. Prior to being officially released as a single, the track debuted at number 42 on the Billboard Hot 100; it has since peaked at number 21. The track performed moderately on national record charts throughout Europe and Oceania, although it was certified gold in Australia. Its accompanying music video was leaked on December 25, 2013, and was officially premiered through Vevo on December 26, 2013. It depicts Cyrus suggestively posing in a bed and a bathtub, and is interspersed with night vision footage that appears to simulate a sex tape. By comparison with Cyrus' previous singles "We Can't Stop" and "Wrecking Ball", the original version of "Adore You" under-performed on several national record charts. Consequently, she contacted French record producer Cedric Gervais over the possibility of remixing the song; his version of the track was premiered on February 13, 2014, and was officially released on Beatport by his record label Spinnin' Records on March 3.
Background and Composition
"Adore You" was written by Oren Yoel and Stacy Barthe, and produced by Yoel. Sean Tallman recorded the track at Glenwood Studios in Burbank, California, with help from Doron Dina and Todd Hurtt, and Manny Marroquin mixed it at Larrabee Studios in North Hollywood, Los Angeles with assistance from Chris Galland and Delbert Bowers. Paul Dateh was violinist on the track. It was further mastered by Dave Kutch at The Mastering Palace. The song is a pop and R&B ballad, which lasts for four minutes and 38 seconds. The song performs in common time, at a tempo of 60 beats per minute. Played in the key of C major, the chord structure of C—Fmaj7—Am is followed throughout, and Cyrus's vocal range spans from G3 to A4. Its lyrics discuss "power imbalance in love"; in the chorus, she states her affection towards her boyfriend through the lines "When you say you need me / Know I need you more / Boy, I adore you", although Kyle Fowle of Slant Magazine felt that Cyrus' reliance in her partner is admittedly detrimental to her personal well-being as the song continues.The track was widely speculated to be addressing Cyrus' relationship with her former fiancé Liam Hemsworth; a writer from Hollywood Life noted that its lyrics "[spell] out Miley's love for [Hemsworth] — as well as her fear that he might not love her back the same way."
Release
Distribution
In December 2013, Cyrus announced that "Adore You" would be serviced as the third single from her fourth studio album, Bangerz (2013). Its launch followed the tracks "We Can't Stop" and "Wrecking Ball", which were respectively released as the first and second singles from the record earlier that year. It was originally scheduled to impact mainstream radio stations in the United States on January 6, 2014, although it was released three weeks earlier on December 17. On December 18, Cyrus unveiled the official artwork for "Adore You" through her Instagram and Twitter accounts. It shows the lower half of Cyrus' face covered by a bouquet of roses, with the title "Adore You" stylized in an all-capitalized sans serif font. The artwork was described as being uncharacteristically conservative in comparison to her earlier projects, by this time having become associated with sexually provocative public image
Critical Reception
Upon its release, "Adore You" received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who complimented its overall production and Cyrus' vocal delivery. Heather Phares from AllMusic felt that opening Bangerz with an "unabashedly romantic slow song" was "almost as bold a move as the publicity events that preceded the album's release." Nick Catucci of Entertainment Weekly complimented the track for "[flaunting] a key facet of her versatile voice: the throaty diva swoon." Writing for Los Angeles Times, Mikael Wood opined that "Adore You" showcased vocals that "[throbed] with what feels like an embarrassment of emotion — even to someone who couldn't care less about the status of her real-life relationship with "Hunger Games" hunk Liam Hemsworth." Kitty Empire from The Guardian suggested that "Adore You" was one of the "least showy and most successful cuts" from Bangerz, while Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone called the track a "starkly beautiful album opener". Writing for Slant Magazine, Kyle Fowle appreciated the "careful balance of vulnerability and strength" for "[elevating the] potentially tired themes [of destructive dependence]". Jason Lipshutz of Billboard thought that the song was "emotionally mature but not overly provocative" and a "[wise]" choice for opening the album. However, in a more mixed review, Evan Sawdey from PopMatters felt that the track "[featured] almost zero rising action [and did] little to drive the point home."
Commercial performance
"Adore You" was the highest-charting non-single from Bangerz in the United States, having entered at number 42 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week that the record was released in October. In its second week, the track dropped to number 79 before completely falling off the following week. After its accompanying music video was released in December, "Adore You" re-entered the chart at its new peak position of number 22. It has since risen to number 21. Consequently, the track under-performed by comparison with "We Can't Stop" and "Wrecking Ball", which respectively peaked at numbers two and one after being serviced as the first and second singles from Bangerz. Elsewhere in North America, the song reached number 36 on the Canadian Hot 100.
"Adore You" charted moderately on national record charts throughout Europe. It respectively reached numbers 21 and 27 on the Scottish Singles Chart and the UK Singles Chart, both of which are managed by the Official Charts Company. The song additionally charted at number 24 on the Danish Tracklisten, number 44 on the Irish Singles Chart, and number 50 on the Spanish PROMUSICAE. The track peaked at number 143 on the French SNEP, and reached numbers 19 and 20 on the Belgian Ultratip charts in Flanders and Wallonia, respectively, which represent the songs that failed to enter the primary Ultratop chart. In Oceania, "Adore You" reached number 25 on the Australian ARIA Charts and number 15 on the Official New Zealand Music Chart; in the former country, the track was certified gold
Promotion
Music Video
The accompanying music video for "Adore You" was scheduled to be premiered through Vevo on December 26, 2013; in the days preceding its release, Cyrus uploaded two brief previews of the clip through her
A screenshot from the music video.
Instagram account. However, the final product was leaked on the evening of December 25, 2013, one day earlier than expected;this led to speculation that Cyrus intentionally leaked the video as a publicity stunt, although she later refuted the accusations through her Twitter account.
It depicts Cyrus suggestively posing in a bed and a bathtub, and is interspersed with night vision footage that appears to simulate a sex tape.Several critics discussed whether the music video for "Adore You" was more provocative than the visuals for Cyrus' previous single "Wrecking Ball". Noting the frequent sexually-explicit gestures seen throughout, a writer for Fox News Channel wondered if Cyrus had successfully created a music video "that's somehow more scandalous" for its predecessor, although suggested that its commercial success would suffer from its unauthorized release. Writing for MTV News, Gil Kaufman complimented Cyrus for not appearing particularly concerned with outdoing her previous controversies, and nonetheless felt that Cyrus "ups the ante even more" in the video; he noted the inclusion of "envelope-pushing imagery" often used by mainstream artists including Madonna, Lady Gaga, and Katy Perry, and cited the clip as "the latest example of Cyrus leaving her girlish ways behind."
Live Performances
An episode of MTV Unplugged starring Cyrus premiered through MTV on January 29, 2014; she performed an acoustic version of "Adore You", among several additional tracks from Bangerz. Later that year, Cyrus performed the song during her headlining Bangerz Tour.
Cedric Garvais Remix
A remix of "Adore You" produced by Cedric Gervais was premiered on February 13, 2014, and was officially released on March 3, 2014 by his record label Spinnin' Records. It replaces the original mid-tempo pop music elements with an up-tempo dance music production, while maintaining Cyrus' original vocals. The remix received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who felt that it complimented the album version. An accompanying music video was premiered through Spinnin' Records on February 13, 2014, and is composed of re-edited footage of the clip for the original version of the song.
Background and Composition
Cyrus first contacted Gervais over the possibility of remixing "Adore You" in January 2014, shortly after he received the Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical for his version of "Summertime Sadness" by Lana Del Rey.
Gervais' version of the track surfaced online on February 11, although it was not officially acknowledged by Gervais' record label Spinnin' Records until the premiere of its music video on February 13. It was announced through Gervais' official website that it would be officially released on March 3, 2014. Cyrus unveiled its official artwork through her Twitter account on February 18; it shows the close-up of a topless Cyrus wearing a brown-haired wig, with text reading "Miley Cyrus vs Cedric Gervais" and "Adore You Remix" located at the top of the image in the capitalized sans serif font used for the original cover. An alternate cover was revealed through Gervais' SoundCloud account on February 12; like the original, it shows the lower half of Cyrus' face covered by a bouquet of roses, although with a red and blue filter applied to the image. The all-capitalized sans serif font with the title "Adore You" beneath her face is replaced with larger, italicized text reading "Miley Cyrus vs Cedric Gervais" and "Adore You (Remix)" placed at the top of the image; the Spinnin' Records logo is placed in its center, covering much of Cyrus' picture.
The remixed version of "Adore You" substitutes the original "amorphous rhythms" with prominent elements of dance music, which incorporates a "thumping beat" and progresses into a "dazzling drop" during the chorus. The production maintains the "emotional center of the song" while adding "a cascading signal boost." An accompanying music video for the Cedric Gervais remix of "Adore You" was premiered through Spinnin' Records on February 13, 2014; it is a re-edited version of the original music video, primarily using scenes where Cyrus is seen lying under a bed sheet dressed in her bra and underwear. Mike Wass from Idolator felt that the remix "works quite well with the existing visual".
Reception and performance
Gervais' remix of "Adore You" received generally favorable reviews from music critics. Jason Lipshutz from Billboard and Lewis Corner from Digital Spy wrote favorably of the redone production; the former complimented the conversion of the original "yearning ballad" into a "first-pumping anthem", while the latter appreciated its transition into a "club anthem" from the first "romantic ballad". Noting that the original version of the track had not charted as strongly as Cyrus' previous singles "We Can't Stop" and "Wrecking Ball", Esi Mensah from Entertainmentwise thought that Gervais "rescued the track" after becoming "a fun electronic dance song."
James Shotwell from Under the Gun Review felt that the album version of the track was "a bit of a snoozer", and jokingly said to attempt to "resist" enjoying the remix. Vanyaland contributor Michael Marotta agreed that the song benefited from "a much-needed energy injection" that he hoped would "[get] exposed" through Cyrus' Bangerz Tour. Writing for Idolator, Mike Wass commented the track worked better with the original "minimal production" and thought that the remix was "cheesy", although he admitted that he "wouldn't switch channels if it came on the radio." The remix for "Adore You" peaked at number two on the Beatport Top 100, where it was exclusively available until being released on the iTunes Store on March 11.
Lyrics
[Verse 1] |
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