Million Reasons

Background and release

Following the release of lead single "Perfect Illusion" on September 9, 2016, Lady Gaga announced the Dive Bar Tour (2016), a promotional concert series where the singer performed at various dive bars in the United States. However, the venues for the concert series remained undisclosed to fulfill a more intimate approach. The campaign was sponsored by Bud Light, and premiered on October 5. Simultaneously, a live broadcast of the event was live streamed on Bud Light's official Facebook page. On October 2, 2016, several publications claimed that during the first show of the tour, a new song titled "Million Reasons" would be performed, in addition to "Perfect Illusion".

"Million Reasons" was made available as a promotional digital download to those who pre-ordered Joanne through iTunes on October 6, 2016. However, following the song's commercial surge when Gaga appeared on the Carpool Karaoke segment of The Late Late Show with James Corden, "Million Reasons" was selected as the second single from Joanne. It was released to American contemporary hit radio stations on November 8, 2016.

Composition and lyrics

Gaga co-wrote and co-produced "Million Reasons" alongside Mark Ronson, while musicians Hillary Lindsey and BloodPop provided additional songwriting and production, respectively. According to Emily Mackay of NME, "Million Reasons" serves as a "potent, sky-clutching reminder of Gaga's way with a bare-bone ballad". Idolator's Patrick Bowman agreed and described it as a "country-tinged [...] quiet ballad" while Stephen L. Betts from Rolling Stone called it a pop song which had a country music appeal, similar to singer Beyoncé's "Daddy Lessons". Michael Cragg from The Guardian found this reminiscent of Carrie Underwood's characteristic style, which he called country balladry. Lyndsey Parker from Yahoo! Music joked that it was obviously written by country music artists. In the composition, the singer's vocals are layered among "faintly strummed guitars" and varying degrees of percussion. The singer spoke regarding the genre of the single:

"Million Reasons" is a country song mixed with funk and rock 'n' roll. You would never imagine it would sound that way... the feeling underneath the record is it's almost got like a little bit of a hip-hop feeling. But at the same time, it's not a hip-hop song. It's kind of like I just had no boundaries making music — and neither do any of the other people we were working with. It was kind of like what feels right, what hits the best, what’s going to get everybody in their stomach and their heart.

"Million Reasons" is written in the key of C major with a tempo of approximately 64 beats per minute, and is accompanied by piano and guitar. Her vocals span from G₃ to E₅ in the song, which in common time, follows a progression of C–Am–F–G, with a chorus of F–C–Am–G. During the song's chorus, Gaga croons "You're giving me a million reasons to let you go / You're giving me a million reasons to quit the show". Its discussion of heartbreak and hope, as described by International Business Times's Nicholas Mojica, was guaranteed to "resonate with [the] listeners" of the record.

Critical reception

Upon release, the song received generally positive reviews. Cady Lang, writing for Time appreciated the touching quality of the recording's nature, which she described as heartbreaking. Craig Jenkins of Vulture compared its potential appeal to Beyoncé's 2016 song "Daddy Lessons" and felt they both shared a "big left-field bid for country-radio airplay". Mojica ranked "Million Reasons" at number six on his list of the best songs from Joanne; he acclaimed its lyrics and noted the contributions made by Lindsey.

The staff at Idolator selected "Million Reasons" to review as part of their 'Rated & Reviewed' column series. Robbie Daw from the publication congratulated the singer for creating a "super-produced" country version of her 2011 single "You and I". Rachel Sonis agreed and claimed that it is simple and sweet, awarding it 8.5/10. However, both Carl Williott and Mike Wass were disappointed, with the latter claiming: "this era is shaping up to be even worse than I imagined." It ultimately received an average score of 6.1/10 from the writers. Similarly, Bowman from the same website called it one of Joanne's "more forgettable tracks". Although The Atlantic's Spencer Kornhaber found it to be a "sturdily crafted" single, he found Gaga to be neglectful of the song's details and claimed that American singer Taylor Swift could excel exceptionally better at the same craft. Billboard ranked "Million Reasons" at number 35 on their "100 Best Pop Songs of 2016" list. Rena Gross from the magazine said that "traffic-stopping vocal delivery perfectly encapsulates our longing for the impossible".

Chart performance

Given its original announcement as Joanne's first promotional single, "Million Reasons" entered several record charts. In the United States, it debuted at number 76 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her 24th career entry and second from Joanne. It later peaked at number 57 on the Hot 100. Its entry was accompanied by sales of 15,000 digital downloads, which allowed it to enter the Digital Songs component chart at number 38. The song debuted at number 38 on the Mainstream Top 40 chart for the week ending December 13, 2016. The same week, after Gaga's performance at the 2016 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, "Million Reasons" reached a new peak of number 52 on the Hot 100. The placement was aided by sales of 44,000 digital downloads (up 144%), which enabled it to jump from number 34 to number six on the Digital Songs, becoming her 16th top-10 song on the chart. It has been streamed 24.4 million times in the country.

Following Gaga's Super Bowl LI halftime show performance, "Million Reasons" re-entered the Hot 100 at number four, equaling the record for the highest re-entry in the chart's history. The placement was aided by the song reaching number one on the Digital Songs Chart with sales of 149,000 copies (up by 1,334%), 7.6 million US streams and 15 million in radio airplay. "Million Reasons" became Gaga's 14th top-10 single in the country, and is her first to achieve that since 2013 single "Applause". It was also her fifth number one on the Digital Songs chart, following "Born This Way", which held the top position in 2011. "Million Reasons" debuted on the Radio Songs chart at number 36 with 32 million audience impressions, and has reached a peak of number 24 on the chart. It also achieved peaks of numbers 17 and 11 on the Mainstream Top 40 and Adult Top 40 charts respectively.

The song debuted at number 48 in the United Kingdom and peaked at number 11 in Scotland, in charts compiled and published by the Official Charts Company. Following Gaga's performance of the song in The X Factor, "Million Reasons" re-entered the UK Singles Chart at number 60, with sales of 10,396 copies. It further climbed up the charts the next week, aided by the performance on Alan Carr and its music video. The track moved from number 60 to number 39, with sales of 15,943 units, reaching a new peak on the UK Singles Chart and becoming Gaga's 18th top 40 single. In France, it debuted at number 107 according to the National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing, and was the ninth highest entry for the week of October 8, 2016. The following week, it peaked at number 29 and became the chart's highest moving entry, jumping a total of 76 positions. Elsewhere, it peaked at number 37 in Australia and number seven in Switzerland.

Background and synopsis

The music video for "Million Reasons" was directed by Ruth Hogben and Andrea Gelardin, who had also helmed the video for the previous single, "Perfect Illusion". Gaga announced that the music video for "Million Reasons" would be a continuation of that for "Perfect Illusion". It was released on December 14, 2016, afternoon on MTV followed by a worldwide release to Vevo shortly afterwards. The singer also released a 16-second teaser showing her laying across the desert floor from the ending of "Perfect Illusion" during sunset, as black SUVs approach her from afar. After that her crew comes out of the SUVs and takes her to a video shoot where she prepares to sing "Million Reasons". As she starts getting ready, the singer notices a small box with a bow atop it on her desk. The video then intercuts to a number of flashbacks—Gaga singing in a white studio while playing the guitar, getting rescued by her friends from the desert and Gaga breaking down in tears. Finally Gaga opens the box which reveals the inside content to be a rosary with a note saying "Love you, sis".

Reception and analysis

Ian David Monroe from V found the video to be "in stark contrast" with that of the one for "Perfect Illusion", and noticed that it did not portray a "traditional love narrative", rather made the video about Gaga's own team. Monroe theorized that with the recent reveal by Gaga that she suffered from Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in an open letter, the continued theme between the videos made sense. He added: "As she described in the essay, Gaga was traumatized by the lack of care with which she was handled in her earlier career, forced to tour even though she was in pain, which is perhaps represented by the 'Perfect Illusion' video where she is literally thrown into a crowd. The video for 'Million Reasons', then, shows how her team—her family—picked her up again, and helped her heal in creating the new record." Brian Joseph from Spin found the video's portrayal of Gaga as "emotionally transparent" and added that the video was in line with the "emotionally vulnerable themes running throughout [Joanne]". Julianne Shepherd from Jezebel compared Gaga's looks in the video to that of singer Stevie Nicks, "with a filmic play on the rock-and-roll mythos, attaching imagery of everyday backstage tour preparation to a song of loneliness and isolation, life on the road forever breaking its practitioners."

Evan Ross Katz from Mic described the video as a "highly spiritual journey" like the singer's previous endeavors. Justin Harp from Digital Spy described the clip as "breathtaking" and "poignant", adding that it "highlights the theme of loss and ultimately redemption" as enamored in the song. Bustle's Shannon Carlin felt that the "emotional" video "will make fans and non-fans look at her differently. She's no longer the outrageous pop star who shows up to award shows in a meat dress. She's now a woman who is finding herself through her music". Carlin compared the video to that of singer Christina Aguilera's 2002 single "Beautiful", which had similar emotional and empowerment visuals, and finally added: "Like Aguilera, Gaga is giving you a sense of who she is by stripping back all that pomp and circumstance of her early years and giving fans something raw. Both of these videos are bittersweet celebrations that show sometimes pain is necessary to push yourself further. That uncertainty is a powerful motivator, which will help you take a chance."

Live performances

The song was performed live for the first time on the Dive Bar Tour, on October 5, 2016. The performance occurred at a Nashville bar as planned for the tour. She was joined by songwriter Lindsey for the rendition, which was considered heartfelt by Brittany Spanos of Rolling Stone. Additional songs sung included the album tracks "Sinner's Prayer" and "A-Yo". The footage was later pieced together in a promotional video, where she can be seen playing the piano while singing the song's lyrics. She performed "A-Yo" and "Million Reasons" on Saturday Night Live on October 22, 2016. A toned down performance for the latter had the singer sitting at the piano belting out the song, backed by vocals from co-writer Lindsey. Paste's Chris White called Gaga an "incredible performer and vocalist" based on the performances, adding "Gaga understands the stagecraft of playing live music on [the SNL stage]". An isolated mic feed from the performances was also highly praised for Gaga's vocal prowess. Following week after the performance, Gaga headed over to Japan to promote Joanne. She performed "Million Reasons" on SMAP×SMAP sitting inside a giant lotus flower while playing the piano.

At the American Music Awards of 2016 she sang "Million Reasons" while playing a guitar, with the set resembling a camp ground. It received unanimous praise with Hilton Dresden from Out calling it a "heart-wrenching" rendition, while The Huffington Post's Cole Delbyck described it as "stirring" and "emotional". Billboard listed it as the third best performance of the night calling it a "resounding performance". A few days later Gaga visited the Ali Forney LGBT community centre and performed an acoustic version of "Million Reasons", seated atop a piano wearing a T-shirt that read "Be Brave". She started the performance by clarifying that she wanted to be present at the center and "to affect other people around the world, and to remind them that when they are kind, it not only makes the other person feel good, but it makes me feel good too".

The next performance of the song happened at the 2016 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in Paris. Prior to the actual performance onstage, Gaga sang along backstage with some of the models from the show. During the show, "Million Reasons" was performed at the "Mountain Romance" section. Gaga wore a black dress with fish-tail train, printed with red roses, high neck and long sleeves. According to Bethan Holt of The Daily Telegraph, the look was a contrast to the scantily dressed models who walked past her waving. Once the performance was finished, Gaga as helped off stage and paused to take off her high-heeled shoes before scuttling off down a side exit. Cole Delbyck from The Huffington Post found that Gaga sounded "off" during the performance, and noted her "awkward" interaction with the models. He also opined that songs from Joanne were not the best set list for the Victoria's Secret show.

Gaga traveled to the United Kingdom, beginning her promotion of Joanne with a surprise intimate gig at London's Shepherd's Bush Westfield shopping center, performing "Million Reasons" on piano. On December 4, 2016, she performed the song on the semi-final of the 13th season of The X Factor, at Fountain Studios in Wembley Park. She emerged from within the smoke and belted the track, later throwing her hat towards the audience and ripping off her leather jacket. Two days later, she performed the track at the 2016 Royal Variety Performance, attended by Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall as well as on Alan Carr's Happy Hour. On February 5, 2017, Gaga was the headliner of the Super Bowl LI halftime show and "Million Reasons" was part of the performance.

Cover versions

Country singer Kelsea Ballerini recorded an unplugged version of "Million Reasons" and uploaded on her Instagram account with the caption, "Gaga over this new Gaga, and as always, bowing down to Hillary Lindsey writing the best songs". Billboard theorized that it was recorded in Ballerini's dressing room. Isis Briones from Vogue praised the cover saying that Ballerini "stripped the track all the way down with just a guitar in hand and delivered an incredibly moving performance in just a few seconds. Not only will you want to replay this clip, but her voice on the song will get you to see in a completely different light." The Voice contestant Christian Cuevas performed a cover of the song during the eleventh season of the show. The performance was appreciated with the judges complimenting it for creating an "incredible moment" for the show. Gaga also tweeted her approval of Cuevas' singing prowess.

1. "Million Reasons" (KVR remix) – 3:27
2. "Million Reasons" (Andrelli remix) – 4:00

Credits and personnel

Management

Personnel

Credits adapted from Joanne liner notes.