You're Always Here

Tisdale released her second studio album Guilty Pleasure (2009) via Warner Bros. Records.[1] Described by Tisdale as a "rocker and edgier" album,[2] it generated mixed reviews, with a 54% rating on Metacritic.[3] It debuted at number 12 on the Billboard 200, selling 25,000 copies in the first week; this was significantly lower than the first-week sales for her previous album Headstrong (2007).[4] Promotion for the album ended in the end of that year, following the release of the album's second single "Crank It Up", and, in order to start focusing on her career as an actress and producer, Tisdale decided to end her record deal with Warner Bros. Records.[5]

While promoting the film Scary Movie 5 (2013), in which she starred, Tisdale said in an interview to MTV that she was inspired to create music again and confirmed that since 2012 she has been recording for her third studio album. She hopes to "surprise people a little bit, [with] something different from what [she has] done before".[6] Tisdale became engaged to musician Christopher French in August, 2013 and they began working together on music for her third studio album.[7]

On November 19, 2013, Tisdale teased about an upcoming "special project" that would come out before Christmas on her Twitter account.[8][9] She later added the project would be released on December 16, 2013.[10] Ten days before the release of the project, Tisdale posted a picture of herself in a recording studio; thus confirmed the project was indeed related to music.[11] On December 9, Tisdale announced the project would be a brand new song titled "You're Always Here", her first release on music since 2009.[9] The artwork for the single was posted on her Twitter account that same day.[9] The single, an independent recording, was eventually released on December 16, 2013, on digital retailers worldwide.[5]

Tisdale premiered the song on On Air with Ryan Seacrest and confirmed thirty percent of the proceeds also go to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.[12]

"You're Always Here" is a midtempo pop ballad.[9] The instrumentation of the song includes elements of piano, organ and a blippy beat.[9] The lyric content is basically about finding strength in loss.[9] Tisdale's grandfather Arnold Morris died on September 2, 2013, and the loss inspired her to write the song.[9][14]

After writing down some lyrics, Tisdale sat together with her fiancé Christopher French and started discussing the creation of the song. In an interview to E! News, she stated French "knew exactly what [she] wanted to do, and [she thinks] for him it was really just trying to help [her] get through what [she] was experiencing."[13] Tisdale was initially reluctant on releasing the song because of how personal it was. She eventually decided to put it out because of her fans.[15]

Brandon Flores of Blast Out Your Studio gave the song 3 out of 5 stars, saying "Ashley Tisdale's return to music is certainly bitter sweet with the flattering re-imagining of Imagine Dragon's "Demons," yet shines with Tisdale's A+ vocals and lyrics".[16]