Better Now (Collective Soul song) explained

Better Now
Cover:	Better Now 04.jpg
Type:	single
Artist:	Collective Soul
Album:	Cursed: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Youth
B-Side:	"General Attitude"^[1]
Length:	3:14
Label:	El
Producer:	Ed Roland, Dexter Green
Prev Title:	Counting the Days
Prev Year:	2004
Next Title:	How Do You Love
Next Year:	2005

"Better Now" is a song by American alternative rock band Collective Soul, released as the second single off their sixth studio album, Youth (2004), on January 24, 2005. It was written by singer-guitarist Ed Roland and producer Dexter Green. The coda features a saxophone solo. In concert, this is replaced with a guitar solo. The radio edit version also includes a guitar solo.^[2]

Jason Damas of PopMatters described the song as "a big, energetic pop hook set to a Cars-ish, robotic grind, and is spiked with a colorful layer of horns for color."^[3] "Better Now" failed to chart on the US Billboard Hot 100 but peaked at number 117 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.

Charts

Year-end charts

Chart (2005)	Position
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)^[5]	23
US Triple-A (Billboard)^[6]	39

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label
United States	January 24, 2005	Triple A radio	El	^[7]
	February 11, 2005	Hot adult contemporary radio		^[8]

In popular culture

• The Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City, Indiana uses the song in recent television and radio ads.
• The Kellogg Company used it in an ad for its Special K cereal, "feeling better now" in this instance being used to denote a woman's feeling healthier after going on their "Special K diet."
• For the 2008 Canadian election, Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper used the song as his intro music when he entered his party HQ for a victory speech. The song was similarly used in the 2011 Conservative federal election campaign. The song was once again featured heavily by the Conservative Party during the 2015 federal election campaign.^[9]
• The ending of the film Cursed. It is also featured on the soundtrack to the film.^{[10] [11]}
• The band performed the song in the Charmed episode "Scry Hard".^[12]
• The trailer for the 2007 film Wild Hogs features the song.^[13]

Notes and References

1. Better Now. Collective Soul. 2005. European CD single liner notes. India Records. 471022-2.
2. Web site: Better Now by Collective Soul - Songfacts. www.songfacts.com. en. November 23, 2018.
3. News: Collective Soul: Youth. January 16, 2005. PopMatters. November 23, 2018. en.
4. Web site: R&R Canada Hot AC Top 30. Radio & Records. 1612. 66. June 24, 2005. June 25, 2020.
5. 2005 The Year in Music & Touring: Hot Adult Top 40 Songs. Billboard. 117. 52. YE-76. December 24, 2005.
6. 2005 The Year in Charts: Top Triple-A Songs. Billboard Radio Monitor. 13. 50. 57. December 16, 2005.
7. Going for Adds. Radio & Records. 1590. 23. January 21, 2005.
8. Going for Adds. Radio & Records. 1593. 27. February 11, 2005.
9. News: Synthpop, hip-hop, 'dude rock': Canadian campaign songs, for better or worse CBC News. CBC. November 23, 2018. en-US.
10. Robert Hiltz, Orchestrating an election: Music sets tone on campaign trail, Ottawa Citizen, April 19, 2011. Retrieved May 4, 2011.
11. Web site: Various - Cursed Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. Discogs. en. November 23, 2018.
12. Web site: Music from Charmed (1998) S7E17. Tunefind. en-US. November 23, 2018.
13. Web site: Trailer Music: Wild Hogs (2007). www.soundtrack.net. November 23, 2018.