“Rather Be” by Clean Bandit (ft. Jess Glynne)

Clean Bandit’s “Rather Be” is a true love song, being relayed from the vocalist to the addressee. And the motif it is based on is one whereas she illustrates, in various ways, that ‘there’s no place she’d rather be’ than by his side. For instance, even if they find themselves in a foreign land, completely devoid of comfort, she’s totally cool with the situation so long as he’s there. 

Or as later put forth symbolically in the first verse, her love for him is what gives her life meaning. And it is further revealed in the second verse that this idyllic relationship isn’t the result of happenstance or luck.  Instead the two participants conscientiously set out to ‘find their inner peace’, i.e. build up an edifying romance which is ‘sacredly simple’. And thankfully they actually achieved this goal, despite certain ‘differences’ they may have possessed.

So as it stands now, the vocalist is fearlessly in love. And no matter where life may take her and the addressee – as it seems they travel quite a lot – they are always in unison. 

So accordingly, she is looking forward to this romance lasting as long as it possibly can, i.e. for life. And just as a side note the primary writer of this song, hitmaker Jimmy Napes, penned it as a tribute to his wife.

“Rather Be” Facts

Primary Artist(s): Clean Bandit
Featured Artist(s): Jess Glynne
Album/EP: “New Eyes” 

Was “Rather Be” a single release?

Yes. It was the 4th single from their debut album, “New Eyes”. Clean Bandit released it as such in January of 2014.

Writing: 

The song was co-written by band members, James Napier, Jack Patterson, Nicole Marshall and Grace Chatto.

“Rather Be” was produced by Chatto and Patterson.

What Genre(s) is “Rather Be”?

It falls comfortably in the following genres of music:

• House
• Euro house
• Deep house
• Dance-pop

Awards/Honors of “Rather Be”

It earned a Grammy award for “Best Dance Recording” in 2015. “Rather Be” took on the following songs to emerge victorious:

• Basement Jaxx’s “Never Say Never”
• Disclosure and Mary J. Blige’s “F for You”
• Duke Dumont and Jax Jones’ “I Got U”
• Zhu’s “Faded”

Other Significant Accolades

The song’s video became a viral hit with views of over 570 million on YouTube. It became only the 7th song to be certified 3 times Platinum. On Billboard’s “Top Ten Songs” of 2014, “Rather Be” earned the number 4 spot.

With sales of over 1.13 million units in 2014, it became the UK’s 2nd best-selling song for the year.

Chart Performance

“Rather Be” was a great chart success. It hit number 1 in the UK and several other countries, including Sweden and Scotland.

• US (10)
• UK (1)
• Switzerland (2)
• Sweden (1)
• Spain (5)
• Scotland (1)
• Portugal (4)
• Poland (1)
• Norway (1)
• New Zealand (2)
• Netherlands (1)
• Italy (2)
• Israel (1)
• Ireland (1)
• Hungary (1)
• Germany (1)
• France (2)
• Finland (1)
• Denmark (5)
• Czech Republic (1)
• Belgium (2)
• Austria (1)
• Australia (2)

Covers

By virtue of its immense success, it has been widely covered. Here are some famous artists and bands who have covered it:

• Pentatonix (2014)
• Jasmine Thompson (2014)
• Kidz Bop Kids (2015)
• Angelika Vee (2014)
• Brooklyn Duo (2014)
• Beth (2014)
• The Filharmonic (2014)
• Ana Free (2014)
• Nathan Alef (2014)
• Runaground (2014)

Movie/TV Appearance

The song was featured on the closing credits during the final episode of “Sense8”, a science fiction series.