"Gravity" is a song written and performed by Sara Bareilles. It was released as the third single from her major-label debut albumLittle Voice. The track was produced by Eric Rosse. Its music video was released on February 3, 2009. Bareilles said she wrote the song after her "first real heartbreak", and was hoping the ballad would help others in similar situations. The song was originally on her UCLA a cappella group's album Dysfunktional Family Album as well as her first album Careful Confessions, but was later included on Little Voice.
Critical reception
"Gravity" was generally commended by music critics. Chris Klimek of The Washington Post called the song "haunting" and stated that "Gravity is strong evidence that Bareilles's songcraft may yet warrant the stardom she's attained." Shirley Brinkley wrote for The Virginian-Pilot that it was her favorite song, and that "It speaks to the paradoxes and complexity of relationships". Michael Menachem of Billboard wrote, "his melodic, introspective ballad is Bareilles' finest moment." The Hollywood Reporter mentioned the song in their review of one her concerts, stating it was the "night's bravest and most powerful performance" when "she brilliantly sang fan favorite Gravity". Mark Savage for BBC News called it a "tearjerking ballad" and characterized it as Bareilles' calling card.
Kelly Clarkson covered the song in Durham, North Carolina, during her Stronger World Tour, in which she praised Bareilles's voice and lyrics. Bareilles responding the following day by tweeting: “Holy pipes, Batman! Kelly Clarkson sang Gravity. Whoah. Gurrrl. Can. Sang. So Cool!” Brittany Cairns performed this song for her blind audition on the first season of The Voice - Australia. Cairns' version peaked at number 58 on the ARIA Singles Chart in April 2012.
The song is frequently used in fan YouTube videos with romantic couples from TV shows or movies. A shipping video featuring a clip montage of the characters Annie and Jeff set to "Gravity" was made by a Communityfan in November 2009, halfway through the first season of the show. The video inspired show creator Dan Harmon and he included a similar sequence of clips of the two characters in the second season episode "Paradigms of Human Memory". Dan Harmon paid for the rights to the song himself. The clips of Annie and Jeff were immediately followed by clips of the characters Pierce and Abed again set to "Gravity", as a parody to show how easy it is make any set of characters appear romantically interested in one another. Bareilles eventually made an appearance as a hot-air balloon guide in "Intro to Felt Surrogacy", the ninth episode of the series' fourth season. It was used as the closing song in the pilot episode of the Starz series Gravity. On So You ThinkYou Can Dance, Season 5, Mia Michaels choreographed a dance that Kayla and Kupono performed. In the dance, Kupono was a drug that Kayla was addicted to.
