Beautiful 'Cause You Love Me

"Beautiful 'Cause You Love Me"
Promotional single by Girls Aloud
from the album Ten
Released 17 December 2012 (2012-12-17)
Format Digital download
Recorded 2012
Length 3:29
Label Polydor
Songwriter(s) Rachel Moulden
Producer(s) Jim Eliot

"Beautiful 'Cause You Love Me" is a song recorded by British girl group Girls Aloud from their second compilation album, Ten (2012). It was written by Rachel Moulden and produced by Jim Eliot. The song received mixed reviews from music critics, who thought that ballads were not the group's best efforts. Upon the release of Ten, it charted at number 97 on the UK Singles Chart. The accompanying music video was directed by Paul Caslin, and consists mostly of beauty shots from each member. The song was performed on a few programmes, such as Children in Need 2012 and Top of the Pops.

Background and composition
Beautiful 'Cause You Love Me
A 21-second sample of "Beautiful Cause You Love M"'s chorus verse, where the group sings "Right now the whole world could call me ugly / So what? To you, I'm not / You don't love me cause I'm beautiful".[1]
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To follow the success of "Something New", the group decided to release "Beautiful 'Cause You Love Me" as the second single from their compilation album Ten, with the intention of "showing off their versatility by creating a stark contrast to the first release," according to Ayeesha Walsh of The Sun.[1] The song officially premiered on BBC Radio 2 on 13 November 2012,[2] while the digital release took place on December 17, 2012.[1] It was also sent to mainstream radio in the United Kingdom.[3]

"Beautiful 'Cause You Love Me" was written by Rachel Moulden and produced by Jim Eliot.[4] The song was described as "a typical pop ballad" by Ayeesha Walsh of The Sun,[1] while its lyrics were deemed "striking and memorable" by Sam Lansky of Idolator.[5] Amy Sciaretto of PopCrush noted that the lyrics address to "how the love of a good man can make you beautiful, and that love, not looks, are what’s important in life."[6] During the chorus, the group sings, "Right now the whole world could call me ugly / So what? To you, I'm not / You don't love me cause I'm beautiful, oh no / I'm beautiful cause you love me."[1] When asked about the song, Girls Aloud member Nicola Roberts said, "after I heard the first line, I said, 'STOP! That's our song'," while Kimberley Walsh added, "as soon as I heard it, from the first line onwards, I agreed with Nicola – we had to get that song."[1]

Reception

Critical response

NME compared the song to the Spice Girls' song "Too Much".

"Beautiful 'Cause You Love Me" received mixed reviews from music critics. According to Ian Wade of BBC Music, the song is a "blub-friendly empowerment cut complete with its own fireworks".[7] While Adrian Thrills of the Daily Mail, called the song "a superior ballad".[8] Lee Williscroft-Ferris of So So Gay stated that the song "is as schmaltzy as the title suggests, the lyric ‘You don’t love me ’cause I’m beautiful / I’m beautiful ’cause you love me’ dripping in the kind of self-indulgent emotion one might not expect from the band. Still, it’s a classy number."[9] Rebecca Twomey of Marie Claire deemed it a "silky smooth love song,"[10] while Chris Younie of 4Music said that the "emotionally-charged, touching ballad ... may not be a typical Girls Aloud pop-dance banger, but trust us when we say it's still amazing."[11] A NME critic said the track "ain't bad", concluded that it occupies "a similar lyrical space to Sugababes' 'Unpretty' rewrite 'Ugly', and a similar space in the canon to "Too Much" by the Spice Girls."[12]

However, Douglas Wolk of Pitchfork Media stated the song, "just drag the album [Ten] down... in particular, belongs on the same icky-valentine shelf as James Blunt's "You're Beautiful".[13] Jon O'Brien of omg! called the song "an overly-slushy love song which could quite easily have been a reject from Cheryl Cole's last album."[14] Lucas Villa of Examiner described the song as "about feeling pretty in the presence of a loved one", and yet described the song as "awkwardly reminiscent of the Mean Girls line: “I don't hate you because you're fat. You're fat because I hate you.”[15] A Contact Music reviewer considered the song "big and ballady and seems to be more in keeping with the big saccharine American pop tradition of such staples rather," but stated that "the biggest overriding problem with this track though is that the beginning of it reminds us, for some unsure reason, of Tara Palmer-Tomkinson's recent disastrous foray into the world of pop. Something no one should ever have to witness."[16] Amy Sciaretto of PopCrush wasn't "sure that Girls Aloud are the correct people to deliver that message" because they are "five stunning women who likely never had anyone tell ‘em they were ugly."[6] Sam Lansky of Idolator thought that the track "may not rival Girls Aloud's best work, but it's not a complete disappointment."[5] Lewis Corner of Digital Spy said that Girls Aloud wouldn't be a true pop group "if they solely focused on tracks of a high BPM rate and ignored a good ol' fashioned slowie," adding that ballads released by them "have always received a frosty reception on their first few plays, and this one was no different."[17]

Chart performance

Upon the release of Ten, "Beautiful 'Cause You Love Me" charted at number 97 on the UK Singles Chart.[18] During the release week of the single, it failed to chart at the UK Singles Chart and it became the first single of the group to not chart inside the top-forty.[19][20]

Music video

A scene of the video where Girls Aloud join each other in a living room.

The accompanying music video premiered on 4 December 2012 through the group's VEVO account and was directed by Paul Caslin.[21][22] Opening with a drop of liquid, the video consists mostly of beauty shots from each member until they join each other on a living room with nothing but a couch. The video also featured product placement of a Nikon digital camera, Nikon 1 J2.[23]

James Robertson of Daily Mirror stated that "the accompanying video is as pretty as the title suggests... but our favourite bit has to be the most unsubtle product placement we've ever seen."[24]

Live performances

Girls Aloud first performed "Beautiful 'Cause You Love Me" on 16 November 2012 at Children in Need 2012.[25] The group also performed the song at Capital FM's Jingle Bell Ball in December 2012.[26] On 14 December 2012, Girls Aloud appeared on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge, performing a mash-up of the song with a cover of Labrinth and Emeli Sandé's "Beneath Your Beautiful".[27] On 25 December 2012, the group performed the song on Top of the Pops Christmas Special.[28] In 2013, the group performed the song on Ten: The Hits Tour.

Credits and personnel

Recording
Personnel

  • Songwriter – Rachel Moulden
  • Producer, mixer – Jim Eliot
  • Vocal production – Jonathan Shakhovskey, Emily Wright
  • Drums, keyboards, synths, bass, programming, FX – Jim Eliot
  • Piano – Fred Cox
  • Violin – Everton Nelson, Natalia Berner, AJ Dods, Richard George, Sally Herbert
  • Viola – Bruce White, Clare Finnimore
  • Celo – Ian Burdge, Johnny Byers
  • Strings – Sally Herbert

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Ten.[4]

Charts

Chart (2012–13) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[29] 80
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[30] 75
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[31] 97

Release history

Region Date Format Label
United Kingdom 17 December 2012[19] Digital download Polydor

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Walsh, Ayeesha (13 November 2012). "Girls Aloud debut their new single Beautiful 'Cause You Love Me". The Sun. News International. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  2. ↑ Taylor, Francis (12 November 2012). "Girls Aloud to debut new song 'Beautiful Cause You Love Me' on Tuesday". Digital Spy. Hachette Filipacchi Médias. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  3. ↑ "New Releases - UK Forthcoming Singles". Radio1 Greece. Archived from the original on 31 December 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
  4. 1 2 Girls Aloud (2012). Ten (Liner Notes) (Compact Disc). Girls Aloud. London, England: Polydor.
  5. 1 2 Lansky, Sam (13 November 2012). "Girls Aloud’s "Beautiful Cause You Love Me": Hear The New Ballad". Idolator. Buzz Media. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  6. 1 2 Sciaretto, Amy (13 November 2012). "GIRLS ALOUD, ‘BEAUTIFUL ‘CAUSE YOU LOVE ME’ – SONG REVIEW". PopCrush. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  7. ↑ Ian Wade (23 November 2012). "BBC - Music - Review of Girls Aloud - Ten". BBC. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  8. ↑ Adrian Thrills (22 November 2012). "Girls Aloud and Little Mix both release new albums, but who's got the best one?". DailyMail. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  9. ↑ Williscroft-Ferris, Lee (2012-11-26). "Album review: Girls Aloud - Ten". So So Gay. Retrieved 2012-11-27.
  10. ↑ Twomey, Rebecca (14 November 2012). "GIRLS ALOUD DEBUT NEW SINGLE BEAUTIFUL BECAUSE YOU LOVE ME". Marie Claire. IPC Media. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  11. ↑ Younie, Chris (13 November 2012). "News: First Listen: Girls Aloud - Beautiful Cause You Love Me". 4Music. Box Television. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  12. ↑ "Girls Aloud - 'Beautiful 'Cause You Love Me'". NME. IPC Media. 13 November 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  13. ↑ Wolk, Douglas (2012-12-07). "Girls Aloud: Ten". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2012-12-08.
  14. ↑ O'Brien, Jon (2012-11-25). "Girls Aloud - Ten review". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 2012-11-27.
  15. ↑ Lucas Villa (4 December 2012). "Girls Aloud release stunning 'Beautiful 'Cause You Love Me' music video". Examiner.com.
  16. ↑ "REVIEW: What Do We Think Of New Girls Aloud Track 'Beautiful Cause You Love Me'?". Contact Music. 13 November 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  17. ↑ Corner, Lewis (16 December 2012). "Girls Aloud: 'Beautiful Cause You Love Me' - Single review". Digital Spy. Hachette Filipacchi Médias. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  18. ↑ "UK Chart History - Searchable Database". Official Charts Company. Zobbel. 8 December 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  19. 1 2 "New Releases 17-12-2012". Official Charts Company. 17 December 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  20. ↑ "2012-12-29 Top 40 Official UK Singles Chart Archive". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  21. ↑ Walsh, Ayeesha (5 December 2012). "Girls Aloud debut stunning video for Beautiful 'Cause You Love Me". The Sun. News International. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  22. ↑ "Beautiful Cause You Love Me - Girls Aloud". Caroline Barnes. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  23. ↑ "Nikon 1 J2 in Girls Aloud video.". E Photo Zine. 5 December 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  24. ↑ "Girls Aloud get naked and bareface for video to Beautiful Cause You Love Me". Daily Mirror. Trinity Mirror. 5 December 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
  25. ↑ Sheridan, Emily (16 November 2012). "It's so special to be back together: Girls Aloud cement their reunion as they perform on Children In Need". Daily Mail. Associated Newspapers. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  26. ↑ Copsey, Robert (10 December 2012). "Cheryl Cole: Girls Aloud tour will be spectacular - Music News - Digital Spy". Digital Spy. Hachette Filipacchi Médias. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
  27. ↑ "WATCH: Girls Aloud stun in Radio 1 Live Lounge with Labrinth and Emeli Sande Mash-Up". Entertainmentwise. Giant Digital. 14 December 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  28. ↑ Bull, Sarah (25 December 2012). "Marking the end of their reunion year... Girls Aloud wow in metallic outfits for Top Of The Pops Christmas performance". Daily Mail. Associated Newspapers. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  29. ↑ "Chart Track: Week 2, 2013". Irish Singles Chart.
  30. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2012-12-16". Scottish Singles Top 40. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  31. ↑ "Girls Aloud: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company.
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