"It Was Always You" | ||||
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Promotional single by Maroon 5 | ||||
from the album V | ||||
Released | July 29, 2014[1] | |||
Recorded | 2013–2014; Conway Studios ( Los Angeles, California) | |||
Genre | Electro-rock [2] | |||
Length | 4:00 | |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) |
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Maroon 5 promotional singles chronology | ||||
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"It Was Always You" is a song by American band Maroon 5. It was released through 222 and Interscope Records on July 29, 2014, as the first and only promotional single from their fifth studio album V (2014).
"It Was Always You" was written by Maroon 5's lead singer Adam Levine, Sam Martin, Jason Evigan, Marcus Lomax, Jordan Johnson and Stefan Johnson. [3] It was produced by Jason Evigan [4] and The Monsters and the Strangerz. [5] The upbeat ballad, lyrically about friends becoming lovers, [5] [6] features Levine singing such lyrics as: "Woke up sweating from a dream / With a different kind of feeling", "Hazel eyes, I was so color blind", "It was always you / Can't believe I could not see it all this time, all this time", "Now I know why my heart wasn't satisfied, satisfied" and "All my hidden desires finally came alive" in his signature falsetto, belted over synthesizers. [7] E! Online's Chima Simone noted that these lyrics might refer to Levine's wife Behati Prinsloo. [7] "Sometimes what you’re looking for is right in front of you," MTV News' Christina Garibaldi noted as the song's central message. [5] Levine is joined on the song by fellow Maroon 5 members: keyboardist and rhythm guitarist Jesse Carmichael (who did not perform on the band's 2012 album Overexposed), drummer Matt Flynn, bassist Mickey Madden, keyboardist PJ Morton and lead guitarist James Valentine. [7]
In a departure from the band's usual pop rock songs and their previous pop-leaning single " Maps", "It Was Always You" incorporates electronic synthesizers (opening with "jittery synths", according to Idolator's Mike Wass) [6] and is an electropop song. [5] [7] Its sound has been compared to 1980s music. [5] While noted as a different musical style for the band, Wass described it as "unmistakably Maroon 5". [6] Carolyn Menyes from Music Times explained: "This song takes the band's new poppy direction and makes it dark, with yearning vocals and deep twists". [8]
On August 26, 2014, Maroon 5 performed "It Was Always You" for the first time at the iHeartRadio Theater in Burbank, California. [9] On August 30, 2014, the song was performed on ESPN Saturday Night Football, with the accompanying performance video being released the same day. [10]
The band also performing with the track live on The Today Show at Rockefeller Plaza in New York, on September 1 [11] and the 2014 iTunes Festival at the Roundhouse in London on September 11, respectively. [12]
The track has been performed 48 known times by the band. [13]
Chart (2014) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australia ( ARIA) [14] | 43 |
Canada ( Canadian Hot 100) [15] | 19 |
Czech Republic ( Singles Digitál Top 100) [16] | 39 |
Europe ( Euro Digital Songs) [17] | 35 |
France ( SNEP) [18] | 76 |
Germany ( Official German Charts) [19] | 88 |
Italy ( FIMI) [20] | 50 |
Portugal ( Billboard) [21] | 34 |
Scotland ( OCC) [22] | 19 |
Slovakia ( Singles Digitál Top 100) [23] | 38 |
South Korea ( GAON) [24] | 65 |
South Korea International Chart ( GAON) [25] | 2 |
Spain ( PROMUSICAE) [26] | 32 |
Sweden ( Sverigetopplistan) [27] | 53 |
UK Singles ( OCC) [28] | 40 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [29] | 45 |
Chart (2014) | Position |
---|---|
South Korea International Chart ( Gaon) [30] | 62 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Italy ( FIMI) [31] | Gold | 25,000‡ |
United States ( RIAA) [32] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Date | Format | Label(s) | Ref. |
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Australia | July 29, 2014 | Digital download | [33] | |
France | [34] | |||
United Kingdom | [35] | |||
United States | [36] |