Pray (Take That song)

"Pray" is a song by English boy band Take That. Written by Gary Barlow, it was released on 5 July 1993 as the second single from their second studio album, Everything Changes (1993). It is the first of twelve singles by the band to reach number one on the UK Singles Chart, staying at number one for four weeks, and starting a streak of four consecutive number one singles. The song has received a Gold sales status certification and sold over 410,000 copies in the UK, won Best British Single and Best British Video at the 1994 BRIT Awards, and was the finale of Take That's Beautiful World Tour (2007).

Music video

The video was directed by Gregg Masuak and shot in Acapulco, Mexico. The clip features the band members in the exotic location singing and dancing. The band members are paired with a goddess of the four elements, taking on a different form with each – Air (Mark Owen), Fire (Jason Orange), Earth (Robbie Williams) and Water (Howard Donald) – with the exception of Gary Barlow who is represented in a neutral black and white context. In Barlow's autobiography, he stated that after the disappointment of where "I Found Heaven" was filmed, the band were a lot happier about the location for this video.

Pray (Justin Bieber song)

"Pray" is a song performed by Canadian recording artist Justin Bieber. The song was written by Bieber along with Omar Martinez and Adam Messinger and Nasri of The Messengers, with the latter duo producing the track. The song is taken as a single in several European countries from his first compilation album, My Worlds: The Collection. In the United States and Canada, the song is included on My Worlds Acoustic. According to Bieber, he was inspired by Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror" (1988) when writing the song. The song is a contemporary Christian song, while deriving from pop and R&B influences, and using a world music backdrop. It primarily features acoustic instruments, however does make small usages of electronic sounds.

"Pray" received generally positive reviews, with critics appreciating the message portrayed in the song. It reached the lower half on the singles charts in Germany and Austria, and charted in several regions where it was not released as a single such as the United States and Australia. The song's music video premiered on Facebook on December 11, 2010. The video, which also has religious undertones, features clips of places affected by natural disasters, sick children, possessed homes, and more, which are intercut with Bieber performing. Bieber debuted and performed the song on the American Music Awards, accompanied by a full choir.

Pray (Tomoko Kawase song)

"Pray" is the third single released by Tomoko Kawase under the name Tommy heavenly⁶, and the second single released for the Heavy Starry Heavenly album. Two versions were offered, included a version with an alternative cover, stickers, and DVD. "Pray" was used as the first opening for the Gintama anime series. "Pray" peaked at #10 on the Oricon singles chart.

Track listing

All lyrics written by Tomoko Kawase, all music composed by Chiffon Brownie.

Music Video

A music video was released for Pray featuring Tomoko Kawase as a samurai.

Merchandise

In July 2011, Tomoko Kawase released various memorabelia items on her official site inspired by the Pray music video through Lightvan Company, including a kimono style robe and plush toy.

References

External links

Patience (play)

Patience is a play written and published in 1998 by Jason Sherman (Doollie.com). It is about Reuben, who one day loses everything. The play follows a path similar to David Mamet's play Edmond. It traces a psychological journey through Reuben's head while he tries to figure out how everything happened. The play was written at a time when the story would hit home for a lot of middle-aged, middle-class men.

Play Synopsis

Act 1

Patience (George Michael album)

Patience is the fifth studio album by British singer-songwriter George Michael, released in 2004. The much delayed follow-up to Older is considered Michael's comeback album since it was Michael's first album composed of original material since 1996, and his first for Sony Music Entertainment since 1990's Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1. The album spanned six singles. The first two, "Freeek!" and "Shoot the Dog", were already released in 2002 by Polydor, when the album was originally due.

Return to Sony

On 17 November 2003, George Michael re-signed with Sony Music Entertainment, the company he had left after a legal battle in which Michael claimed that his contract was stifling him and was keeping him in "professional slavery". As a result, his contract was sold by Sony to rival record companies Virgin Records and DreamWorks Records on 14 July 1995.

Chart success

Patience went on sale in most of the world in late March 2004 and debuted at number 1 on the UK Albums Chart, and at number 2 in Australia on 22 March. It became one of the fastest selling albums in the UK, selling over 275,000 copies in the first week. The record reached the top five on most other European charts. The album went on sale in the US on 18 May 2004, however it did not contain "Patience Pt. 2" and "Shoot the Dog". It debuted in the US at a rather disappointing 29 but after many TV specials such as on The Oprah Winfrey Show the following week it reached its chart peak of number 12. As of 2006, the album sold 381,000 in United States. It sold around four million copies worldwide, and contained six singles.

Patience (Take That song)

"Patience" is a song by British boy band Take That. It was released on 13 November 2006 as the first single from their comeback album, Beautiful World. The single peaked at the top of the UK Singles Chart, and also topped of the charts in Germany, Spain and Switzerland, as well as peaking with the top ten of the charts in Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Austria and Sweden.

Song information

The track is marked by Gary Barlow's falsetto on the choruses and verbal improvisations toward the end of the song. Also utilised is a subtle organ during the final guitar break of the song. "Patience" debuted at number four on the UK Singles Chart and rose to number one in its second week, staying there for four weeks. It was Britain's eighth best-selling single of 2006 and spent eleven weeks in the top ten, making it the longest that any Take That single had spent in the top ten until the release of 2007's "Rule The World". The song also became the 30th best selling single of 2007, the following year. The song just missed out on being the UK Christmas number one of 2006, being knocked off the top spot on Christmas Eve by The X-Factor winner Leona Lewis' "A Moment Like This". The song was also the 20th best selling single of 2006 in Ireland. The song also won the Best British Single Award at the 2007 BRIT Awards and was voted The Record of the Year for 2006, polling 15.5% of the final vote. On 18 February 2007, it re-entered the UK top 10 after 14 weeks in the charts and on 11 August 2007, following the band's performance at the Concert for Diana, the single reentered the UK top 40. The song debuted at number one on the German Singles Chart, and since its release it has sold over 150,000 copies being certified Gold by the IFPI. The song, as of November 2014, has sold 690,000 copies in the UK.