Forgive Me (Leona Lewis song)

"Forgive Me" was written by Claude Kelly, Giorgio Tuinfort and Aliaune "Akon" Thiam, and produced by the latter.[6] The single was published with one B-side, "Myself",[7] written by Justin E. Boykin, Graham N. Marsh, Lewis and Alonzo "Novel" Stevenson.[8]

"Forgive Me" is described as a "funky pop song",[4] written in A minor.[9][10] According to the sheet music published by Sony BMG, it moves at 120 beats per minute and is set in common time.[9][10] On it, Lewis performs her highest pitch (G₅) in falsetto during the final chorus, and her lowest pitch (A₃) during each verse.[9][10]

"Forgive Me" describes a female protagonist in a one-sided relationship who leaves her boyfriend and eventually finds someone to reciprocate her love. Though she has found love from someone else, she defends herself and asks her ex-boyfriend for forgiveness.[4] In an interview with Digital Spy, Lewis explained why she decided to change her musical genre from her previous singles to a more upbeat one. She said: "I wanted to do something a bit different and the chance to work with Akon came about. I'm really pleased with how it's turned out and it's great that it's different, rather than what I always do."[11] There are two versions of the song, the "album version" (3:40)[8][12] and the "single mix" (3:24).[13]

Lewis performing "Forgive Me" during the tour The Labyrinth

On 26 July 2008, the single mix was released to the Mexican iTunes Store as a stand-alone digital single.[1] For the UK release, the single cover was revealed on 17 September 2008,[14] whilst the song was released in the UK on 3 November 2008 as the fourth single.[15] Originally, the song was featured only in the North American version of the album Spirit, launched in April 2008.[16] Later, "Forgive Me" was included on the Australian reissue of Spirit,[17][18] and also appeared on the deluxe edition of the album, which was released in November 2008.[19]

Lewis performed the song on the television programmes The National Lottery Live on 29 October 2008,[20] and GMTV on 31 October 2008.[21] Outside of the UK, she also performed the song on the Italian television show Carràmba! Che sorpresa and on the Swedish talent show Idol.[22][23] In May 2010, the song was added to the setlist of her tour The Labyrinth, performed as the eighth song of the show.[24] A live performance from The O2 Arena was included on the live album's DVD The Labyrinth Tour Live from The O2.[24][25] In 2013, Lewis added "Forgive Me" to the setlist of her Glassheart Tour.[26]

"Forgive Me" received generally positive reviews from music critics. CBBC's Newsround described "Forgive Me" as a danceable song.[4] Gavin Martin of The Mirror gave the song three-out-of-five points and said, "[the song] showcases her voice of fire and honey. No apologies necessary".[27] Nick Levine, Digital Spy music critic, gave the song a similar score, and compared it with Whitney Houston's song "I'm Your Baby Tonight". Levine added that after her previous three ballad singles, "it's a nice change". However, he also said the lyrics were implausible as "the adultery-theme [is a] poor match for the sweet, unassuming Hackney girl".[5] Chad Grischow noted that with the song Lewis "will not go down as a glorified one-hit wonder".[28] Stephen Thomas Erlewine described "Forgive Me" and another song from the album ("Misses Glass") as "just slightly glitzier than the rest of Spirit."[29] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine called the song "bouncy and youthful".[30] Nate Chinen from The New York Times ironised with a "so what if she sound like a second-tier Mariah".[31]

"Forgive Me" debuted and peaked at number five in the United Kingdom on 15 November 2008,[32] becoming Lewis's third single in debut within the top ten, after "A Moment Like This" and "Bleeding Love".[33] In Ireland, before its official release as a single, it was the second highest debut of the week of the Irish Singles Chart, at number five.[34] In the Slovak Airplay Chart, it debuted at number seventy-six and in its tenth week the song peaked at number one.[35] In the Euro Digital Tracks the song reached the number 4.[36] In Italy, "Forgive Me" debuted at number nine, but fell off the chart next week.[37] Elsewhere in Europe, the song reached number seven in Sweden,[38] twelve in Switzerland,[39] and fifteen in both Austria[40] and Germany.[41] The song entered the Australian charts at number fifty on 19 October 2008,[42][43] and next week peaked at forty-nine.[44] Later, "Forgive Me" dropped out of the chart, but on 10 November 2009, it re-entered at number fifty.[45] In the 2008 UK year-end chart, compiling the best-selling singles of the year, "Forgive Me" was eighty-fifth.[46]

Lewis performing in the Singin' in the Rain-inspired scene in the music video

The music video for "Forgive Me" was directed by Wayne Isham, and edited by Nabil Mechi and Valentina Ganeva.[47]

It starts out with Lewis receiving a text message from her boyfriend saying he is just a minute away from meeting up with her. The video then turns into a dream-like sequence with Lewis dancing in four set-ups inspired by the Hollywood musicals West Side Story, The Rocky Horror Show, Singin' in the Rain and Carousel.[48] The video ends with Lewis coming back to reality after a drop of rain lands on her hand as her boyfriend sends a message saying "Hurry! Looks like there could be rain".

Mark Savage from BBC News commented that Lewis does not dance in the video. Lewis replied, "I love dancing [...] but I am a singer and that is what I do".[48]

• Lewis, Leona (2008). Leona Lewis Spirit. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: EMI Music Publishing (exclusive distributor Hal Leonard). ISBN 978-1-4234-4568-5. OCLC 607167774.