Praying for Time explained

Praying for Time
Cover:Praying for time george michael.jpg
Type:single
Artist:George Michael
Album:Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1
B-Side:"If You Were My Woman" (live at Wembley Stadium, 11 Jun '88)
Released:[1]
Recorded:October 1989[2]
Genre:Pop
Length:4:41
Label:Epic
Producer:George Michael
Prev Title:Kissing a Fool
Prev Year:1988
Next Title:Waiting for That Day
Next Year:1990

"Praying for Time" is a song written, produced, and performed by English singer and songwriter George Michael, released on Epic Records in the United Kingdom and Columbia Records in the United States in 1990. It was the first single from his second studio album, Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 (1990), spending one week at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, making it Michael's eighth number one in the US and his last solo single to reach the top of the Hot 100. "Praying for Time" also reached number one in Canada for two weeks, becoming Michael's penultimate number-one solo hit there.

Release

The song was Michael's first single in almost two years, entering the UK Singles Chart in August 1990. A dark and sombre reflection on social ills and injustice, it was hailed by many critics. The single peaked at number six in the UK, but it was his eighth number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. The song remained in the Billboard top 40 for ten weeks.[3] It was the first song of political motivation he had released as a single since his earliest days with Wham!.

The song was the first of five released in the UK from the album Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1, although it was the only one of the quintet to make the UK top 10. As of October 2017, the single sold 140,000 copies in UK.[4]

Critical reception

In an retrospective review, Matthew Hocter from Albumism wrote that the song, "which examines the many social injustices faced by so many, questions the listener into the conditioning that society has created and why it can be so hard to be kind to one another." He added, "Timeless and still so relevant in this day and age."[5] Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic picked it as a "highlight" from the album.[6] Upon the release, Bill Coleman from Billboard noted, "Previewing the long-awaited Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 album is a dramatic, socially conscious ballad, delivered with the kind of unabashed soul and bravado we've come to expect (and love) from Michael. The countdown to No. 1 starts now ..."[7] In an 2008 review, The Daily Vault's Melanie Love said that "Praying for Time" "features Michael singing in a lower range to more formally distance himself from the realm of sunny pop, his tone oddly soothing". She added, "It's the expressiveness of his voice that makes this track such a potent opener, switching seamlessly from scathing to aching to helpless on this rumination on social injustices."[8] Chris Roberts from Melody Maker named it Single of the Week, adding that it "marks George entering his loony eccentric British recluse genius phase and displays a staggering excess of ambition."[9]

Pan-European magazine Music & Media stated, "A well-crafted, lovely ballad building up to sizeable proportions. The transparent production gives ample space to Michael's passionate vocals."[10] David Giles from Music Week described it as a "glorious ballad that ranks alongside "Careless Whisper" and "A Different Corner" as one of the best things he's ever written." He added, "This has distinct shades of Lennon circa 1975".[11] Victoria Segal from NME called it a "splendidly melodramatic breath of apocalypse".[12] A reviewer from People magazine commented, "Set to a somber Lennonesque arrangement (unfortunately, that’s Julian, not John), the song murkily bemoans our troubled, faithless times." The reviewer also complimented Michael's "talents for writing, singing, arranging and producing".[13] James Hunter of Rolling Stone described the song as "a distraught look at the world's astounding woundedness. Michael offers the healing passage of time as the only balm for physical and emotional hunger, poverty, hypocrisy and hatred."[14]

During the Symphonica Tour in 2011–12, Michael performed the song with slightly different lyrics:

I sang 20 years and a day

But nothing changed

The human race found some other god

And walked into the flame

Music video

While Michael refused to appear in videos to support the album, an experimental video clip directed by Michael Borofsky was released for "Praying for Time", featuring only the lyrics of the song with a blue and black background that, at the end of the clip, reveals itself to be the image on the cover of the album. Some of the written lyrics featured in the video are slightly animated:

The video quickly became a buzz clip on MTV, and stayed in rotation on most video networks for weeks. Similarly, the commercial single had no cover photo, only words. Some have speculated that the style of the video was influenced by Prince's similar promo clip for "Sign o' the Times" released three years previously.

After Michael's temporary move to Virgin in 1996, Sony Music re-made the video in a simplified CGI version, with a uniform black/grey background and no animations at all. This is the one most commonly available as of 2017, and as such it was released in the 2017 Deluxe Edition of the Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 album.

An alternate music video for this song has also been released, with Michael actually seen recording and performing the lyrics.

Track listings

  1. "Praying for Time" – 4:40
  2. "If You Were My Woman" (live at Wembley Stadium, 11 Jun '88) – 4:05

Also available on MC (Epic / GEO M1), 12" (Epic / GEO T1) and CD (Epic / CD GEO 1)

  1. "Praying for Time" – 4:40
  2. "If You Were My Woman" (live at Wembley Stadium, 11 Jun '88) – 4:05
  3. "Waiting" (reprise) – 2:27
  1. "Praying for Time" – 4:40
  2. "If You Were My Woman" (live at Wembley Stadium, 11 Jun '88) – 4:05

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1990)! scope="col"
Peak
position
Canada (The Record)[15] 1
Denmark (IFPI)[16] 10
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[17] 13
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[18] 13
Greece (IFPI)[19] 3
Italy (Musica e dischi)[20] 2
Japan (Oricon)[21] 89
Portugal (AFP)[22] 2
US Contemporary Hit Radio (Radio & Records)[23] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (1990)! scope="col"
Position
Australia (ARIA)[24] 95
Belgium (Ultratop)[25] 49
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[26] 18
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[27] 23
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[28] 65
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[29] 82
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[30] 69
US Billboard Hot 100[31] 51

Decade-end charts

Chart (1990–1999)! scope="col"
Position
Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[32] 98

American Idol

Praying for Time
Type:single
Artist:Carrie Underwood
Released:9 April 2008
Recorded:9 April 2008
Venue:Kodak Theatre, Hollywood, California
Length:3:31
Label:Arista Nashville
Prev Title:Last Name
Prev Year:2008
Next Title:Just a Dream
Next Year:2008

The song was performed by Carrie Underwood for the 2008 Idol Gives Back mini-marathon on 9 April 2008. In a matter of 24 hours, Underwood's rendition of "Praying for Time" reached number 10 on the Hot Digital Songs chart, with all proceeds being donated to charity. It also peaked at number 27 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on the week of 26 April 2008. George Michael performed the song during the 2008 American Idol finale on 21 May 2008.

See also

Notes and References

  1. 11 August 1990. New Singles. Music Week. 27. 28 July 2022.
  2. Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1. George Michael. 3 September 1990. liner notes. Epic Records. 467295 2. 3.
  3. Joel Whitburn, The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (8th Ed., 2004)
  4. Web site: Remembering George Michael's Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 . Official Charts Company. 13 October 2017. 25 October 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171025184029/http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/remembering-george-michaels-listen-without-prejudice-vol-1__20742/. 25 October 2017. live.
  5. Web site: Matthew . Hocter . George Michael's 'Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1' Turns 30: Anniversary Retrospective . Albumism . 31 August 2020 . 16 November 2020 .
  6. Web site: Stephen Thomas . Erlewine . George Michael – Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1 . . 4 November 2020 . Stephen Thomas Erlewine.
  7. Bill . Coleman . Single Reviews . . 25 August 1990 . 87 . 28 October 2020 .
  8. Web site: Melanie . Love . Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1 – George Michael . The Daily Vault . 19 April 2008 . 22 November 2020 .
  9. Chris. Roberts. Melody Maker. Singles. 25 August 1990. 24 February 2023.
  10. Previews: Singles . . 18 August 1990 . 12 . 3 November 2020 .
  11. David . Giles . Singles . . 18 August 1990 . 25 . 31 October 2020 .
  12. Web site: Victoria . Segal . GEORGE MICHAEL – Ladies And Gentlemen - The Best Of George Michael . . https://web.archive.org/web/20000817211528/http://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews/19981006103726reviews.html . 24 November 2020. 17 August 2000 .
  13. Picks and Pans Review: Listen Without Prejudice Vol 1. . . 8 October 1990 . 13 November 2020.
  14. James. Hunter. Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1. Rolling Stone.
  15. [Nanda Lwin|Lwin, Nanda]
  16. Danish Singles Chart. 21 September 1990.
  17. Eurochart Hot 100 Singles. Music & Media. 7. 36. 10. 8 September 1990. 22 November 2019.
  18. Book: Nyman, Jake. 2005. Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja. 1st. Tammi. Helsinki. 951-31-2503-3. fi.
  19. Top 3 Singles in Europe. Music & Media. 7. 39. VII. 29 September 1990. 30 October 2020.
  20. Top 3 Singles in Europe. Music & Media. 7. 31. VII. 13 October 1990. 22 November 2019.
  21. Web site: ジョージ・マイケルのシングル売り上げランキング. Oricon. ja. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120111051316/http://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/artist/88084/ranking/cd_single/. 11 January 2012. 5 December 2020.
  22. Top 3 Singles in Europe. Music & Media. 7. 43. VII. 27 October 1990. 30 October 2020.
  23. Contemporary Hit Radio. Radio & Records. 96. October 5, 1990.
  24. Web site: The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart 1990 (61–100) (from The ARIA Report No. 50). Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). 10 October 2016.
  25. Web site: Jaaroverzichten 1990. Ultratop. nl. 11 April 2019.
  26. Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1990. RPM. Library and Archives Canada. 11 April 2019.
  27. Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1990. RPM. Library and Archives Canada. 11 April 2019.
  28. Eurochart Hot 100 of 1990. Music & Media. 7. 51. 22 December 1990. 60. 29800226. 15 January 2020. American Radio History.
  29. Web site: Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1990. Dutch Top 40. 1 May 2020.
  30. Web site: Jaaroverzichten – Single 1990. MegaCharts. nl. 11 April 2019.
  31. 22 December 1990. 1990 The Year in Music & Video: Top Pop Singles. YE-14. Billboard. 102. 51.
  32. Web site: Top 100 singles of the 1990s. Lwin. Nanda. Jam!. https://web.archive.org/web/20000829070927/http://www.jamshowbiz.com/JamMusicCharts/100_1990.html. 29 August 2000. 26 March 2022.