“Best Of Me (Originals)” by Alicia Keys

“Best of Me” is the type of love song Alicia Keys is known for, one that speaks to the concept of said emotion in and of itself being powerful enough to sustain a relationship. So in the pre-chorus when she proclaims to the addressee that they “can live on the air”, no dear reader, Alicia is not speaking to the concept of the two of them being breatharians. Rather what the vocalist is saying, taking this entire piece into consideration, is that her feelings for the addressee are fundamental to her existence.

As such, she is basically advertising a long-term commitment to him. She acknowledges that they both come from emotionally-troubling backgrounds, presumably on the romantic tip, but it is obvious that Alicia deems him to be the one. 

Or as explained, she is confident that he will be her final lover – from now into forever – and is encouraging him to adopt a similar disposition. 

As far as the title is concerned, what the vocalist is revealing is that this strong affection is founded in the fact that the addressee is able to bring out the ‘best side of her’, which for simplicity’s sake we will define as the innocent, pure part of the vocalist’s personality, one that she does not normally feel confident revealing to anyone.

Also to note, considering that we mentioned the Matrix franchise in our analysis of “Skydive“, the song that precedes “Best of Me” on “Keys”, this time around Alicia does make a direct reference to said film. And in that regard, what she is reiterating is the assertion that her relationship with the addressee in this case has given her a new lease on life.

Release Date of “Best of Me (Originals)”

The song was put out as part of Alicia’s eight studio album (“Keys”). The album was officially released on December 10 of 2021,

“Keys” was to a large extent produced by the singer herself. The album was met with positive reviews from music critics around the world. However, the charts seemed not to be on her side as “Keys” became her first album not to make it to the top 5 in the United States.

American music label RCA Records was responsible for the album’s release.

The album’s lead single, “Lala (Unlocked)”, was released on September 9 of 2021 to help promote the album. “Best of Me”, the second and final single from the album was released the following month.

Credits

The song was penned down by Keys herself with assistance from the following authors:

• Stuart Matthewman
• Sade Adu
• Raphael Saadiq
• Andrew Hale

Keys teamed up with music producer Sam Morton to produce the song.