Faith

Hope and Optimism. Michael described the song saying: “It represents the way I feel at the moment. It’s kind of another word for my hope and optimism. You know, faith to me is just really such a strong word and the more I got into the idea of the song being the single, the more I liked the idea of using it as the title track.” This song was completely Michael’s work, penned, arranged and produced although it is claimed that the idea came from producer Dick Leahy.

This song is about not having faith in a relationship, but having faith out of a relationship. In his last relationship his heart was broken, and even though he still loves her he has to have faith that something/someone better will come and treat him right. George Michael sees love as a very special thing, and it is underscored with the religious title song “Faith” which is repeated a lot of times during the song.
The intro of the single is a church organ is a reference to devotion. Although the song starts with temptation to have sex, he wants to wait to be sure of his partner’s sincerity before taking the relationship to the next level (Before the river becomes an ocean, Before you throw my heart back on the floor).

Release Date: October 12, 1987

Songwriter/s: George Michael

Label: Columbia

Chart Rankings:
UK – 2
US – 1
Germany – 5
In the US, the single topped the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number 5 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified Gold for sales over 500.000 copies. In the UK, it reached number 2 on the UK Singles Charts. ‘Faith’ topped the charts in countries including Canada, Netherlands, Italy and New Zealand. It reached the top 10 charts in several countries including Austria, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. In Australia it was certified Double Platinum, In Canada and Netherlands it was certified Gold.

Artist’s age on Release Date: Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou aka George Michael was 24 years old when he released this song.

Cover Versions: Limp Bizkit – Alvin and the Chipmunks – Smash!! – Joel McHale – John Mayer and Keith Urban – Waling on Sunshine – Nicki Bluhm and The Gramblers – Hayley Legg – Adam Lambert – Ron Irizarry (acoustic) – Lake Street Dive – other amateur artists covered this song on Youtube.