"Better Now" is a song by American musician Post Malone from his second studio album, Beerbongs & Bentleys (2018). It was written by Malone, Billy Walsh, Louis Bell and Frank Dukes, with production handled by the latter two. The song was released to UK contemporary hit radio on May 25, 2018, and US contemporary hit radio on June 5, 2018, as the album's fifth and final single.
It reached the top 10 of the music charts in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand. The song was nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.
Music and recording In an interview with Pitchfork, producer Frank Dukes revealed information about the song's creation, stating it was "frankensteined" out of existing scraps of other studio sessions with Malone. The song's verse melody was written first, but with no words, along with a completely different beat and hook. To them, the beat did not fit the melody, and its hook felt "awkward". The vocal engineer Louis Bell then remembered an unused snippet from an old session, which was the song's chorus. It replaced the old hook in the song, and Dukes rewrote a new backing track on guitar, taking inspiration from the American band Weezer.
"Better Now" is described as a pop song. The song's sheet music, published by EMI Music Publishing at Musicnotes, shows that the song is written in the key of B major, and follows a tempo of 150 beats per minute. The vocals in the song span from the low note of F3 to the high note of G4.
Chart performance "Better Now" debuted in the top ten in various countries, including at number one in Norway, number seven in the United States, and number six in the United Kingdom, becoming his third top 10 in the latter country. The single became his fifth top 10 hit in Australia, peaking at number two. It peaked at number 3 in the United States (prevented from further chart movement by Juice WRLD's "Lucid Dreams" as well as Maroon 5 and Cardi B's "Girls Like You").
Taylor Swift told Malone that she wished she had written the song, especially giving praise to its hook.
Music video The official music video for "Better Now" premiered on October 5, 2018, with B&W footage of concert performances.
Charts
Weekly charts +Weekly sales chart performance for "Better Now" Chart (2018–2019) Peakposition Australia Urban (ARIA) 2 Belarus Airplay (Eurofest) 3 Bolivia (Monitor Latino) 15 Colombia (National-Report) 100 Croatia (HRT) 59 Ecuador (National-Report) 13 Greece International Digital (IFPI Greece) 9 Lebanon (Lebanese Top 20) 14 Romania (Airplay 100) 9 Singapore (RIAS) 27 South Korea International (Gaon) 69 US Rolling Stone Top 100 70
Year-end charts +Annual sales chart performance for "Better Now" Chart (2018) Position Australia (ARIA) 11 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) 16 Belgium (Ultratop Flanders) 52 Canada (Canadian Hot 100) 14 CIS (Tophit) 56 Denmark (Tracklisten) 10 Estonia (IFPI) 9 France (SNEP) 163 Germany (Official German Charts) 35 Iceland (Plötutíóindi) 36 Ireland (IRMA) 16 Italy (FIMI) 90 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) 57 Netherlands (Single Top 100) 26 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) 12 Portugal (AFP) 8 Romania (Airplay 100) 80 Russia (Tophit) 36 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) 9 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) 31 UK Singles (Official Charts Company) 21 US Billboard Hot 100 13 US Dance/Mix Show Airplay (Billboard) 16 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard) 8 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard) 7 US Radio Songs (Billboard) 15 US Rhythmic (Billboard) 6 Chart (2019) Position Australia (ARIA) 60 Canada (Canadian Hot 100) 42 Denmark (Tracklisten) 94 Latvia (LAIPA) 49 Portugal (AFP) 92 Romania (Airplay 100) 59 US Billboard Hot 100 32 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard) 34 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard) 40 US Radio Songs (Billboard) 27 US Rolling Stone Top 100 38
Decade-end charts +Decade-end sales chart performance for "Better Now" Chart (2010–2019) Position US Billboard Hot 100 72 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard) 20
Certifications
Release history +Release formats for "Better Now" Region Date Format Label United Kingdom May 25, 2018 Contemporary hit radio Republic United States June 5, 2018 Italy June 15, 2018 Universal United States June 25, 2018 Hot adult contemporary Republic
See also List of highest-certified singles in Australia
References