Format Digital download Length 3:29 Writer(s) Rachel Moulden | Recorded 2012 Label Polydor | |
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Released 17 December 2012 (2012-12-17) | ||
"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.
Contents
Background and composition
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. The song officially premiered on BBC Radio 2 on 13 November 2012, while the digital release took place on December 17, 2012. It was also sent to mainstream radio in the United Kingdom.
"Beautiful 'Cause You Love Me" was written by Rachel Moulden and produced by Jim Eliot. The song was described as "a typical pop ballad" by Ayeesha Walsh of The Sun, while its lyrics were deemed "striking and memorable" by Sam Lansky of Idolator. 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." 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." 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."
Critical response
"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". While Adrian Thrills of the Daily Mail, called the song "a superior ballad". 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." Rebecca Twomey of Marie Claire deemed it a "silky smooth love song," 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." 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."
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". 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." 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.” 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." 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." Sam Lansky of Idolator thought that the track "may not rival Girls Aloud's best work, but it's not a complete disappointment." 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."
Chart performance
Upon the release of Ten, "Beautiful 'Cause You Love Me" charted at number 97 on the UK Singles Chart. 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.
Music video
The accompanying music video premiered on 4 December 2012 through the group's VEVO account and was directed by Paul Caslin. 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.
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."
Live performances
Girls Aloud first performed "Beautiful 'Cause You Love Me" on 16 November 2012 at Children in Need 2012. The group also performed the song at Capital FM's Jingle Bell Ball in December 2012. 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". On 25 December 2012, the group performed the song on Top of the Pops Christmas Special. In 2013, the group performed the song on Ten: The Hits Tour.
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Ten.