Distance (Christina Perri song)

The song received generally favorable reviews from music critics. Rolling Stone gave the song a positive review, commending the duet between Perri and Mraz, writing: "The song's bittersweet message and haunting duet vocals from Perri and Mraz carry the clip with plenty of emotional vulnerability and engagement."[2] Becky Bain of Idolator praised the duet, writing: "In addition to having two complementary voices, Perri and Mraz have undeniable chemistry."[7] Kyle Dowling of "Pop Crush" commented: "While melancholy, the song is beautifully done and floods with emotion."[8] Jenna Hally Rubestein of MTV Buzzworthy praised the song, writing: "It's the type of song poignant enough to leave you blubbering and snot-crying into an empty pint of ice cream (since Lady Antebellum's "Need You Now"), because that's just what happens when you add one amazing singer-songwriter to another amazing singer-songwriter.[9] On his music site The Re-View, Nick Bassett called it "quite beautiful on the ears. It sounds like a much more restrained performance from the 'Jar Of Hearts' singer and the emotionally engaging combination of her and Mraz really does connect with some resonance."[10]

The song debuted at number 40 on the Adult Pop Songs on the Billboard charts.[11] It follows her number seven-peaking Adult Pop Songs hit "A Thousand Years".[11] For the week of September 15, 2012, the song climbed from number 25 to number 20 on the Adult Pop Songs chart.[12]

The original version of the song is the official theme for the ABC-TV series Revenge whose music video was released on April 12, 2012.[3] The video begins with a 20-second clip of Jack Porter revealing his feelings for Emily Thorne played by Nick Wechsler and Emily VanCamp, respectively.[13] In the poignant scene, Jack tells Emily he’s in love with her. Alongside Perri’s slowed vocals and fitting lyrics, a montage of Revenge‘s last season is played.[13] Directed by Elliott Sellers, Perri’s music video was shot on the Revenge set in Los Angeles. With clips from the show, Emily’s love triangle is showcased between her childhood friend Jack and Hamptons’ Daniel Grayson played by Joshua Bowman. It also features shots of Daniel in jail being comforted by a photo of Emily while Emily is at home consoled by Jack.[13] The video also shows Perri interacting with actor Wechsler.[13]

The official video featuring Jason Mraz was released on June 30, 2012. Set in a house, the video features Perri dressed in a white dress, soft makeup, and loose waves, while she walks about the house singing before viewers catch a glimpse of Mraz strumming his guitar in presumably, a different location. The two never actually appear on screen together, but the last scene of Perri stripping down pictures and tearing through a wall may leave an impression that she and he will eventually reunite.[14]

"There’s something about the simplicity of the lyrics, with the openness of my heart, I just didn’t want anything dramatic," she told InStyle of her look, a relaxed little white dress and bare feet. "I wanted classy and simple." "I wanted to look exactly the way I look right now in this video, in a dress I would wear at home or on stage, in my jewelry, with the minimal makeup I actually wear, and just being me", she said. "This video is supposed to take you into my reality, not a dream, a real life experience of mine."[5]