Beautiful 'Cause You Love Me

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"Beautiful 'Cause You Love Me"
Single by Girls Aloud
from the album Ten
Released17 December 2012[1]
RecordedMay 2012
GenrePop
Length3:29
LabelPolydor
Songwriter(s)Rachel Moulden
Producer(s)Jim Eliot
Girls Aloud singles chronology
"Something New"
(2012) 		"Beautiful 'Cause You Love Me"
(2012)
Music video
"Beautiful 'Cause You Love Me" on YouTube

"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.

In a 2023 interview, Nadine Coyle expressed an intense dislike for "Beautiful 'Cause You Love Me", sarcastically referring to it as a "mirage" that "didn't happen". She previously felt so negatively towards the song that when it was going to be the comeback single from their 2012 greatest hits and reunion album, Ten, she initially declined to participate, only agreeing once it was changed to "Something New". Nadine disagrees with the message of the song, saying "Beautiful ’cause you love me’? We’re beautiful anyway!"[2]

Background and composition[edit]

Beautiful 'Cause You Love Me
A 21-second sample of "Beautiful Cause You Love Me"'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".
Problems playing this file? See media help.

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. The song officially premiered on BBC Radio 2 on 13 November 2012,[3] while the digital release took place on 17 December 2012. It was also sent to mainstream radio in the United Kingdom.[4]

"Beautiful 'Cause You Love Me" was written by Rachel Moulden and produced by Jim Eliot.[5] It is the second Girls Aloud single to not be produced by Xenomania, their previous one being "Walk This Way". Its lyrics were deemed "striking and memorable" by Sam Lansky of Idolator.[6] 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."[7]

This is the only Girls Aloud single where Coyle does not sing co-lead vocals.

Reception[edit]

Critical response[edit]

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

"Beautiful 'Cause You Love Me" received mixed reviews from music critics. Ian Wade of BBC Music called the song a "blub-friendly empowerment cut complete with its own fireworks".[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."[7] Sam Lansky of Idolator thought that the track "may not rival Girls Aloud's best work, but it's not a complete disappointment."[6] 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[edit]

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.[1][19]

Music video[edit]

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.[20] 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.[21]

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."[22] Some music critics compared the work to the Spice Girls' music video "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)".[23]

Live performances[edit]

Girls Aloud first performed "Beautiful 'Cause You Love Me" on 16 November 2012 at Children in Need 2012.[24] The group also performed the song at Capital FM's Jingle Bell Ball in December 2012.[25] 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".[26] On 25 December 2012, the group performed the song on Top of the Pops Christmas Special.[27] In 2013, the group performed the song on Ten: The Hits Tour.

Credits and personnel[edit]

Recording
  • Recorded at Studio Spendido, Wales.
  • Strings recorded at Air Edel, London.
Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Ten.[5]

Charts[edit]

Chart (2012–13) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[28] 80
Scotland (OCC)[29] 75
UK Singles (OCC)[30] 97

Release history[edit]

Region Date Format Label
United Kingdom 17 December 2012[1][4]
Polydor

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "New Releases 17-12-2012". Official Charts Company. 17 December 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  2. ^ Duncan, Charlie (3 November 2023). "Nadine Coyle Names The 1 Girls Aloud Song She Pretends 'Didn't Happen'". HuffPost UK. BuzzFeed, Inc. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ a b "New Releases - UK Forthcoming Singles". Radio1 Greece. Archived from the original on 2012-12-21. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
  5. ^ a b Girls Aloud (2012). Ten (Liner Notes) (Compact Disc). Girls Aloud. London, England: Polydor.
  6. ^ a b Lansky, Sam (13 November 2012). "Girls Aloud's "Beautiful Cause You Love Me": Hear The New Ballad". Idolator. Buzz Media. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  7. ^ a b Sciaretto, Amy (13 November 2012). "GIRLS ALOUD, 'BEAUTIFUL 'CAUSE YOU LOVE ME' – SONG REVIEW". PopCrush.com. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  8. ^ Ian Wade (23 November 2012). "BBC - Music - Review of Girls Aloud - Ten". BBC. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  9. ^ Williscroft-Ferris, Lee (2012-11-26). "Album review: Girls Aloud - Ten". So So Gay. Archived from the original on 2012-11-30. Retrieved 2012-11-27.
  10. ^ Twomey, Rebecca (14 November 2012). "GIRLS ALOUD DEBUT NEW SINGLE BEAUTIFUL BECAUSE YOU LOVE ME". Marie Claire. IPC Media. Archived from the original on 20 December 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  11. ^ Younie, Chris (13 November 2012). "News: First Listen: Girls Aloud - Beautiful Cause You Love Me". 4Music. Box Television. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. 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. Archived from the original on 2013-01-05. 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. ^ "2012-12-29 Top 40 Official UK Singles Chart Archive". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  20. ^ [1] [permanent dead link]
  21. ^ "Nikon 1 J2 in Girls Aloud video". E Photo Zine. 5 December 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  22. ^ "Girls Aloud get naked and bareface for video to Beautiful Cause You Love Me". Daily Mirror. 5 December 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
  23. ^ "Girls Aloud: "Beautiful 'Cause You Love Me" (Video Premiere)". Muumuse.com. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
  24. ^ Wheeler, Rachael (16 November 2012). "Girls Aloud make fierce comeback on Children In Need: "Was that a mistake I made there?!"". Mirror.co.uk. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  25. ^ 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.
  26. ^ "WATCH: Girls Aloud stun in Radio 1 Live Lounge with Labrinth and Emeli Sande Mash-Up". Entertainmentwise. Giant Digital. 14 December 2012. Archived from the original on 16 December 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  27. ^ Twomey, Rebecca (26 December 2012). "Cheryl Cole looks white hot with Girls Aloud on TOTP Christmas special". Marie Claire. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  28. ^ "Chart Track: Week 2, 2013". Irish Singles Chart.
  29. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  30. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.

External links[edit]

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