Someone To Believe In

"Someone To Believe In" is a single by alternative-rock duo Dresden & Bareilles. The song was the second single lifted from the band's debut album "Havoc & The Haven". The single was released on November 23rd, 2009, just a week before the album was released. It entered the charts at #5, spending 7 weeks on chart. The single is certified gold. In America, the song was their first mainstream single, and to date is their third-biggest US hit, behind "Out Of My Mind" and "Aphrodite Under Fire".

Background
"Someone To Believe In" was the second song co-written by Dresden & Bareilles; and was the only option ever considered for the second single. While previous single "The Reject" drew its lyrical inspiration from their own lives, "Someone To Believe In" is more focused on the storytelling of the song. This single introduced Gabriel's talents as a multi-instrumentalist, being the first that he played violin on. As with the previous single, Gabriel produced the song. Multiple radio mixes were created for various formats. Aside from the album version, a mix for mainstream airplay brought the violin forward in the mix while slightly muting the guitars, while a mix for alternative radio featured the reverse; with the violin being pushed back into the mix with the guitars brought forward. The song is downtempo; it opens with a sad violin melody played by Gabriel, which is joined for the first verse by a mellow acoustic guitar played by Jean-Luc, as well as soft drum rhythms and piano chords. When the chorus hits, electric guitars slam in with alarming force. The second verse lightens up again with more violin playing over electric guitar strumming but the chorus brings back the full-on rock sound. While Jean-Luc sings the bridge, Dresden provides a counter-melody on his violin, leading into a violin solo before the final chorus. The song winds down with piano chords and violin fading out.

The single features a number of b-sides with differing histories; the first b-side, "Harpy", was originally recorded by Gabriel for his unreleased solo debut album, and was re-recorded by the band for inclusion on the single. The second b-side, "Empty Promises", is also a recording from Gabriel's unreleased album. This was not re-recorded by the band however, as they had given the song to Brett Clarkson for use on his first album (in stark contrast to Brett's current hypersexual image). "Empty Promises" would later be performed by Rhys Lee on The Uraps Factor in the round of competition where finalists performed songs by their mentors. The final b-side, "December Never Lasts", was written for a Christmas-themed compilation released by then-label Saturdays Records, but was not included for being too dark in theme. The band instead included it on their single as a b-side.

Reception
While "The Reject" was still receiving airplay on alternative and rock radio in the US, "Someone To Believe In" leaked to pop stations, who began to play the song as their next single. Because of this, it was serviced to pop radio as the band's debut pop single. In Australia the song picked up quickly, making a larger impact than "The Reject". In the UK, the song was met with a strong positive response, with many believing it to be superior to its predecessor. On radio, the song did not have the initial success of "The Reject" nor did it achieve the same peak, but it had greater longevity and a higher accumulative spin count. The public reception was strong enough that it was a top 5 hit in both the UK and Australia, and it hit top 20 in the US.

Promo CD

 * 1) Someone To Believe In (Mainstream Radio Mix)
 * 2) Someone To Believe In (Rock Radio Edit)
 * 3) Someone To Believe In (Instrumental)
 * 4) Someone To Believe In (Call-Out Hook)

CD1

 * 1) Someone To Believe In (Rock Radio Edit)
 * 2) Harpy
 * 3) Empty Promises (Demo)
 * 4) December Never Lasts

CD2

 * 1) Someone To Believe In (Mainstream Radio Mix)
 * 2) Someone To Believe In (Almighty Pop’d Up Edit)
 * 3) Someone To Believe In (Adam Freeland Remix)
 * 4) Someone To Believe In (Pop Miracles Mix)
 * 5) Someone To Cry On (Twisted Disco vs. Dresden & Bareilles)
 * 6) Someone To Believe In (Twisted Disco's D&B Do Drum & Bass Mix)

UK Promo Remixes

 * 1) Someone To Believe In (Almighty Pop’d Up Mix)
 * 2) Someone To Believe In (Riffs & Rays Club Remix)
 * 3) Someone To Believe In (Cahill Club Mix)
 * 4) Someone To Believe In (IP's Time For A Sexy Party Spazup)
 * 5) Someone To Believe In (Twisted Disco's D&B Do Drum & Bass Mix)

US Promo Remixes

 * 1) Someone To Believe In (The Lindbergh Palace Club Remix)
 * 2) Someone To Believe In (Lenny Bertoldo Extended Club Mix)
 * 3) Someone To Believe In (Razor & Guido Club Mix)
 * 4) Someone To Believe In (Aftershock's Wounded Heart Mix)
 * 5) Someone To Believe In (Misplaced Faith Mix)

Music Video
The video begins showing two seemingly happy couples dancing together. We see that these two couples are Gabriel Dresden with his wife (played in this video by Lindsay Belle), and Jean-Luc Bareilles with his male lover played by Logan Cross. Jean-Luc and Logan are being silly and laughing as they dance around their house, while Gabriel and Lindsay are slow-dancing together in a crowded nightclub, with what appears to be eyes only for each other. We see more of Jean-Luc and Logan dancing around and flirting with each other, as we see another scene of Gabriel with Lindsay; this time the couple are at their own home. They act close as they gaze into each other's eyes, but Lindsay seems to be a bit distant. Gabriel either doesn't notice that Lindsay's not completely there with him, or at least he pretends not to notice as they hold each other.

We cut to a later point in time, where Gabriel and Lindsay are having a mild argument over something. We never hear what exactly they're saying, but we jump between the argument and a party held later that night, where Jean-Luc is. He sees Lindsay across the room at the party, so he approaches her and begins to chat. Gabriel is nowhere to be found during this scene, and it becomes clear that whatever the result of their argument, Lindsay came here without him. We find out why things between the two couples aren't really so stable after all; as Gabriel is seen kissing his wife goodbye on his way to work, she watches his retreating back with a worried look on her face, wondering what he would do if he knew that she had been out with another man the previous night. We cut back and forth between her on the street watching Gabriel leave, and her remembering being with Jean-Luc at the party.

As it turns out, Logan was also at the party the previous night, watching with jealousy as Jean-Luc not only cheats on him, but cheats on him with a woman. He watches in disgust as Jean-Luc and Lindsay leave together, and we cut to Gabriel sitting at a bar. He is looking over photos of his wife's night out with Jean-Luc and it becomes clear he knew she was cheating on him all along. Back at Jean-Luc's place, he and Lindsay are sitting together with coffee. He reaches out and takes Lindsay's hand, examining the wedding ring on her finger, sliding it off her hand before leaning over and kissing her. Logan is watching from the window outside, and he picks up a packed bag from beside him and walks away down the street as it starts to rain. The closing shots of the video show Gabriel outside the bar, sitting in the gutter and sobbing as the rain pours down.

Chart Performance
Dresden & Bareilles were aiming for "Someone To Believe In" to debut inside the top 5, a step higher than "The Reject" charted upon its release. The single again performed as desired; it impacted at #5 on the singles chart with sales of 74,313; this was again higher than the band was anticipating, and sales were quite split between the higher entries. The single performed very well for a newcomer band, spending 5 weeks in the top 20; enough for the single to reach gold certification. It lasted a further two weeks on chart for a total of 7 weeks. On airplay, it did not have the same lightning start as "The Reject", only managing to peak at #13 (the position "The Reject" entered at) but it had a steadier run and better longevity, enough so that it outperformed "The Reject" overall. In Australia, the song was a runaway hit, with stellar reception at radio and with digital sales - enough to take it to the top 5 on both the singles and airplay charts. In the US, a lot of its radio airplay came from Pop and Hot AC formats, achieving it a top 15 peak on the Hot 100 Airplay chart. This, coupled with moderately strong sales helped the band achieve a top 20 hit - their third-largest to date (behind soundtrack single "Out Of My Mind" and "Aphrodite Under Fire" which was a #1 US hit).

Chart Run
TOTAL: 214,032
 * Week 1: #5 - 74,313
 * Week 2: #7 - 47,440
 * Week 3: #10 - 38,522
 * Week 4: #14 - 29,756
 * Week 5: #20 - 14,753
 * Week 6: #34 - 6,125
 * Week 7: #40 - 3,123