Rather Be

Background and composition

"Rather Be" was written by Clean Bandit keyboardist Jack Patterson, Nicole Marshall and James Napier (frequent collaborator of Disclosure), and was produced by Clean Bandit cellist Grace Chatto and Patterson.

"Rather Be" performs in the key of G♯ minor, in common time and at a light tempo of 121 beats per minute. It follows a chord progression of G♯m–D♯m/F♯–Emaj7–B The track's instrumentation includes a violin, chiptune-style synth blips, a slow bass, piano and vocals. According to Pandora.com, the song features a "vocal counterpoint", a subtle "buildup/breakdown", use of "modal harmonies", the use of "chordal patterning" and "staccato synths".

Release and critical reception

"Co-penned with Disclosure hitmaker Jimmy Napes, 'Rather Be' blends classical-inspired violin with uplifting house beats and a vocal that sounds suspiciously like Natasha Bedingfield. The result is an infectious sound that feels fresh and exciting..."

"Rather Be" received its first play on 4 December 2013, when it featured as BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe's Hottest Record in the World. The song's digital release date was originally planned to be 19 January 2014, but was moved to 17 January. The single was issued by Warner Music, and is the third to be taken from Clean Bandit's debut studio album. Warner Music Group also released a number of official remixes released for download, with DJs such as All About She, Cash Cash, and OVERWERK.

The song was met with critical acclaim in the music press, with both positive reviews from contactmusic and Digital Spy. The song was placed at number four on Billboard's 10 Best Songs of 2014 list. In December 2014, the song received a nomination for Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording, which it would go on to win in early 2015.

Commercial performance

The song debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart and was the third fastest-selling single of 2014 (behind Band Aid 30's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and Ben Haenow's "Something I Need"), and the highest-selling January single since "Spaceman" by Babylon Zoo in 1996. It stayed there for four weeks, the longest UK number one for three years. The song spent four weeks at number one and was the second best-selling song of 2014 in the UK, selling over 1.13 million copies by the end of the year. On the US Billboard Hot 100, the song peaked at number ten, marking Clean Bandit's and Glynne's first US top 10. The song was a remarkable success worldwide, topping the charts in 13 different countries.

Upon its release "Rather Be" held the record for the most streams in a single week on Spotify in the United Kingdom. The track received 1.09 million plays over seven days in February 2014, surpassing the record previously held by Daft Punk's "Get Lucky", although this record has now been surpassed.

The song debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart. It became the fasting-selling single of 2014, selling 163,000 copies in its first week. January is usually a month of low single sales. However, "Rather Be" bucked that trend, recording the biggest weekly sale for a January number one since Babylon Zoo's "Spaceman", which was released in January 1996. In total, "Rather Be" spent four weeks at number one. In August 2015, the British Phonographic Industry certified the song 3× Platinum (the sixth song of the century to achieve this). It stayed in the top 75 for 73 weeks, setting the record for the longest unbroken run (since equalled by "Thinking Out Loud" by Ed Sheeran).

Music video

The music video was directed by the group and was uploaded to YouTube on 5 December 2013. It has since received more than 430 million views. The video was filmed in Tokyo, Japan and features Haruka Abe as a Japanese fan. During the video, Abe lip-syncs to Jess Glynne's vocals. The band comments:

"The video is about a Japanese fan of the band who becomes delirious and has hallucinations of band members and our logo appearing unexpectedly in her daily life as a chef. Filming in Tokyo was an amazing experience: we spent almost a week there and everyone was so helpful. We made it ourselves as always, which was quite scary as we've never produced anything so far away before. We had a bit of trouble filming the scene on the train though. Turns out it's considered incredibly rude to make noise on a train so when we started dancing around to the track in the carriage with the extras, it didn't go down well! Got shouted at."

Live performances

On 16 January 2014, the group performed "Rather Be" in BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge, together with a cover version of Lorde's "Royals". They performed it as part of their sets at the Summertime Ball, Glastonbury and T in the Park. They also performed at the 2015 Brit Awards nomination launch party along with their new single "Real Love".

In popular culture

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from "Rather Be" CD single liner notes.