Never Be the Same (Jessica Mauboy song)

"Never Be the Same"
Single by Jessica Mauboy
from the album Beautiful
Released 7 March 2014 (2014-03-07)
Format
Recorded Sony Studios
(Sydney, Australia)
Genre
Length 3:52
Label Sony
Writer(s)
Producer(s) DNA
Jessica Mauboy singles chronology
"I Am Australian"
(2014)		 "Never Be the Same"
(2014)		 "Sea of Flags"
(2014)
Music video
"Never Be the Same" on YouTube

"Never Be the Same" is a song recorded by Australian singer Jessica Mauboy. It was written by Mauboy, Anthony Egizii and David Musumeci, and produced by DNA. The song was released on 7 March 2014 as the fourth single from Mauboy's third studio album, Beautiful. "Never Be the Same" is a mid-tempo pop and R&B power ballad that speaks about "the confusion of growing up and the fact that changes in life are inevitable."[1] The song received positive reviews from critics, who noted it as an emotional and powerful track and praised Mauboy's vocal performance.

"Never Be the Same" peaked at number six on the ARIA Singles Chart and became Mauboy's seventh top-ten single. It was certified Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association for selling over 70,000 copies. The accompanying music video was directed by Lawrence Lim and features Australian actress Miah Madden playing a younger version of Mauboy. The video received a positive reception from critics, who complimented the shower scenes and noted it as "an amazing step up" for Mauboy.[2] "Never Be the Same" has been performed on Today and Sunrise, and was used to promote the American drama series Revenge on Australian television.

Writing and production

"Never Be the Same" was written by Jessica Mauboy, Anthony Egizii and David Musumeci, and produced by Egizii and Musumeci under their production name DNA.[3] It was the last song written for Mauboy's third studio album Beautiful.[4] Mauboy's vocals were recorded at Sony Studios in Sydney.[3] Egizii mixed the track and also handled the programming and keys.[3] The audio mastering was done by Tom Coyne at Sterling Sound in New York City.[3] Musically, "Never Be the Same" is a mid-tempo[5] pop[6] and R&B[7] power ballad[8] with lyrics about "the confusion of growing up and the fact that changes in life are inevitable."[1]

Mauboy told The Canberra Times that "Never Be the Same" is her favourite track on the album and revealed that it "tells of a moment I had about doing something that is regretful but at the same time trying to race and fix it before it [was] too late!."[9] In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, she said that it is the "most vulnerable" song she has ever sung, and added that she shocked DNA when she turned up angry for the writing session.[4] "Those boys know me so well but I walked in there with so much anger and confidence about what I wanted to say, knowing how I wanted this song to be, that they paused for a moment."[4]

Release and reception

"Never Be the Same" was released as a video single on 7 March 2014.[10] A CD single was released on 25 April 2014, featuring an exclusive acoustic version of the first single from Beautiful, "To the End of the Earth".[11] Jana Angeles from Renowned For Sound described "Never Be the Same" as "an emotional track" and wrote that it is one of the songs on Beautiful that "have honest lyrics and are clearly spoken from the heart."[1] Jamie Horne from The Border Mail noted that "Never Be the Same" showcases Mauboy's vocal skills,[8] while the Australian Recording Industry Association called it "a powerful ballad."[12] Suzie Keen from In Daily added that the song's lyrics, "Let me tell you 'bout a girl / that I used to be / Same name, same face / but a different me", explains the album's "feeling of defiance and strength" and "hints at the journey Mauboy has been on."[13] 106.3FM called it "an emotionally charged song" that "shows off Mauboy's dynamic voice."[14]

Upon its release, "Never Be the Same" debuted at number 21 on the ARIA Singles Chart issue dated 17 March 2014.[15] The following week, it moved up to number 16, where it remained for two consecutive weeks.[15] In its sixth week on the chart, the song peaked at number six and became Mauboy's seventh top-ten single.[15][16] "Never Be the Same" was certified Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association for selling over 70,000 copies.[17]

Music video

Background

The music video was directed by Lawrence Lim[18] and filmed on two days in March 2014.[19][20] The beach scenes in the video were filmed in Manly, New South Wales.[20] Images from the shoot, showing Mauboy leaning against palm leaves and wearing a strapless palm printed swimsuit with her wet hair slicked back, were posted on her Instagram account on 4 March 2014.[19] A behind-the-scenes video of the shoot was posted on YouTube on 10 March 2014.[21] The official video clip was uploaded to Mauboy's Vevo account on 17 March 2014.[22] Miah Madden appears in the video as a young Mauboy.[4] Madden previously played a younger version of Mauboy's character Julie McCrae in The Sapphires (2012).[4]

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Mauboy revealed that thinking about her mother's struggle to search for her indigenous roots caused her to cry in the video, saying: "I think the most important thing in your life is knowing who you are and it was powerful to think of my mum and her not knowing where she had come from. So when I thought of my mum and what she has been through, the tears came on cue."[4]

Synopsis and reception

The video begins with eerie music playing in the background while scenes of waves, dark clouds, a dark forest, a broken champagne glass and clothes being thrown in a suitcase are shown. Additional scenery includes a seesaw, a young girl playing on the swing, a dining room and a living room. As the song begins, Mauboy is seen singing the lyrics in various places including a hallway, on a bed, close-up into the camera, and half-naked in the shower. This is intercut with scenes of a younger Mauboy running through a dark forest. As the song comes to an end, both Mauboy and her younger self run to the beach where they meet and hug.[22] During an interview with The Kyle and Jackie O Show, Mauboy said it was "a little fog from the steam" that was covering her private parts in the shower scenes.[23]

Nova FM called it an "incredible video" and wrote "it's an amazing step up" from Mauboy.[2] Carmarlena Murdaca of MusicFix described the shower scenes as "sultry" and suggested that Mauboy should "make it a soapy bubble bath next time."[23] Alicia Vrajlal of the Daily Mail also commented on the shower scenes, calling them "sizzling" and "intimate".[6] The video received a nomination at the 2014 ARIA Music Awards for Best Video.[24]

Live performances and usage in media

In March 2014, "Never Be the Same" was used to promote the American drama series Revenge on Australian television.[2] Mauboy performed the song on Today (14 April 2014),[25] Sunrise (16 May 2014)[26] and at the 2014 InStyle Women of Style Awards (21 May 2014).[27] On 7 July 2014, Elly Oh covered "Never Be the Same" during the third live show of the third season of The Voice Australia.[28] Oh's version was released on the iTunes Store the following day.[29] A live version of "Never Be the Same" was included on Mauboy's extended play iTunes Session, released on 18 July 2014.[30] On 27 July 2014, Marlisa Punzalan covered the song during the bootcamp round of the sixth season of The X Factor Australia.[31] Punzalan also performed the song with Mauboy during The X Factor Australia grand final performance show on 19 October 2014.[32] Taiwanese singer Eve Ai recorded a Mandarin version of "Never Be the Same" for her album Grown Love, which was released on 16 October 2014.[33]

Track listing

  1. "Never Be the Same" – 3:52
  2. "To the End of the Earth" (Acoustic)

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Beautiful.[3]

Locations
Personnel

Charts

Weekly chart

Chart (2014) Peak
position
scope="row"Australia (ARIA)[15] 6

Year-end charts

Chart (2014) Position
Australia (ARIA)[34] 75
Australian Artist Singles (ARIA)[35] 17

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Australia (ARIA)[17] Platinum 70,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history

Country Date Format Label
Australia 7 March 2014 Video single[10] Sony Music Australia
25 April 2014 CD single[11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Angeles, Jana (9 October 2013). "Album Review: Jessica Mauboy – Beautiful". Renowned For Sound. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 "Jessica Mauboy 'Never Be the Same' Music Video". Nova FM. DMG Radio Australia. Archived from the original on 3 May 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Beautiful (CD). Jessica Mauboy. Sony Music Entertainment Australia. 2013. p. 9.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Australia's pop princess Jess Mauboy unveils her demons in new single Never Be the Same". News.com.au (News Limited). 13 March 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  5. ↑ Wass, Mike (21 October 2014). "Jessica Mauboy's 'Beautiful' LP is Being Re-Released: See The 'Platinum Edition' Tracklist". Idolator. SpinMedia. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  6. 1 2 Vrajlal, Alicia (17 March 2014). "A shorts story! Jessica Mauboy shows off her slimmer figure as she takes a relaxed stroll ahead of her racy Never Be The Same music video premiere". Daily Mail. DMG Media. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  7. ↑ "Review – Beautiful, Jessica Mauboy". Entertainmenthive.com.au. Archived from the original on 8 March 2014.
  8. 1 2 Horne, Jamie (10 October 2013). "CD Reviews". The Border Mail. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  9. ↑ Baldwin, James (21 January 2014). "On the road with Jessica Mauboy". The Canberra Times. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  10. 1 2 Ryan, Gavin (7 March 2014). "Elbow, Jason Singh Tops New Releases For W/C 7 March 2014". Noise11. Noise Network. Archived from the original on 8 March 2014.
  11. 1 2 3 "Never Be the Same – CD by Jessica Mauboy". Sanity. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  12. ↑ "Listen: Jessica Mauboy's 'Never Be the Same' New Single". Australian Recording Industry Association. 6 March 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  13. ↑ Keen, Suzie (25 November 2013). "Jessica Mauboy's Beautiful". In Daily. Solstice Media. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
  14. ↑ "Jessica Mauboy – Never Be the Same". 106.3FM. Archived from the original on 4 May 2014.
  15. 1 2 3 4 "Australian-charts.com – Jessica Mauboy – Never Be the Same". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
  16. ↑ "Discography Jessica Mauboy". Australian Charts Portal. Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
  17. 1 2 "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2014 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  18. ↑ "Lawrence Lim raises the bar with Jess Mauboy's 'Never Be the Same'". Tribal Apes. 8 April 2014. Archived from the original on 3 May 2014.
  19. 1 2 Vrajlal, Alicia (5 March 2014). "Jessica Mauboy shares a glimpse of her tropical new music video for Never Be the Same". Daily Mail. DMG Media. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  20. 1 2 "Behind the scenes: Jessica Mauboy's music video photo diary". Vogue Australia. NewsLifeMedia. 17 March 2014. pp. 1–11. Archived from the original on 19 April 2014.
  21. ↑ "Jessica Mauboy – Never Be the Same (Behind the Scenes)". YouTube. 10 March 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  22. 1 2 "Jessica Mauboy – Never Be the Same". YouTube. 17 March 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  23. 1 2 Murdaca, Carmarlena (17 March 2014). "Watch: Jessica Mauboy bares her bod in steamy shower scenes for music video". MusicFix. Ninemsn. Archived from the original on 3 May 2014.
  24. ↑ Zuel, Bernard (7 October 2014). "Chet Faker and his beard are set to rule ARIAs". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  25. ↑ "Jessica Mauboy performs live on Today". Today. Jump In. 14 April 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  26. ↑ "Sunrise Special Event with Jessica Mauboy". Sunrise. Yahoo!7. Archived from the original on 16 May 2014.
  27. ↑ "Youngest Ever Women of Style Winner Jessica Mauboy Wins Readers' Choice Award and Shares Entertainment Award with Rebecca Gibney" (PDF). InStyle. Seven West Media. 22 May 2014. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
  28. ↑ Ross, Annabel (8 July 2014). "The Voice 2014 recap: the contestants step up their performances in time for the semi-finals". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  29. ↑ "Never Be the Same (The Voice Australia 2014 Performance) – Single by Elly Oh". iTunes Store. Apple. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  30. ↑ "iTunes Session by Jessica Mauboy". iTunes Store. Apple. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  31. ↑ "It's time for Bootcamp! – X Factor Recap". Take 40 Australia. Authentic Entertainment. 27 July 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  32. ↑ "X Factor Recap – Grand Final Live Performance Show". Take 40 Australia. Authentic Entertainment. 19 October 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
  33. ↑ "Eve Ai Yi Liang Grown Love Latest Album". Sony Music Taiwan. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  34. ↑ "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 100 Singles 2014". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  35. ↑ "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 50 Australian Artist Singles 2014". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
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