"She Believes in Me" is a song sung by American country music artist Kenny Rogers. The song came out in April 1979 as the second single from his 1978 album The Gambler. The song was written by American singer-songwriter Steve Gibb, not to be confused with Steve Gibb, the son of Barry Gibb. Steve Gibb first released his version of the song as a single in 1978. A version of the song by T.G. Sheppard appears on his 1978 album Daylight, which was released one month before Rogers' album.
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The song tells the story of a struggling songwriter and performer who is supported by someone who loves him, although he sometimes wonders why.
Kenny Rogers version
"She Believes in Me" became one of his most popular songs in the late spring of 1979. It reached number one on the Billboard Country Singles chart. The song also reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart and number one on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. It had some success in the UK, reaching number 42 on the charts there.
Record World described the song as "romantic" and noted that Roger's singing style was passionate and experienced.
The melody of the chorus is similar to the chorus of "Lost Without Your Love" by the soft rock band Bread, which was released in 1976. The chords and structure of both songs share some common features.
The song "Como Ama una Mujer" ("How a Woman Loves") by Jennifer Lopez, which is the title track of her fifth album, has a melody in its chorus that was noted for being similar to "She Believes in Me."
Ronan Keating version
Irish singer-songwriter Ronan Keating recorded a cover of the song "She Believes in Me," which he renamed "She Believes (In Me)," for his third studio album, Turn It On (2003). The song was released on February 9, 2004, and reached number two on the UK Singles Chart. It also performed well in other countries, entering the top 30 in Austria, Germany, and Ireland. Keating’s version of the song changes some of the lyrics from the original version.
- "She Believes (In Me)"
- "Lovin' Each Day" (BBC Radio 2 Live Session)
- "She Believes (In Me)" (Metro mix)
- "First Time" (live acoustic session video)
- "She Believes (In Me)" (video)
- "She Believes (In Me)"
- "If Tomorrow Never Comes"
- "She Believes (In Me)"
- "First Time" (live acoustic session)
- "She Believes (In Me)" (video)
- "The Long Goodbye" (video)
- The making of the video
Other versions
- In 1979, Johnny Mathis recorded the song for his album Mathis Magic.
- In 1979, a Belgian pop singer named Will Tura, who speaks Dutch, performed a Dutch version of the song titled "Zij gelooft in mij."
- In 1980, D.J. Rogers included the song on his album The Message Is Still the Same.
- In 1981, Dutch singer André Hazes created another Dutch version of the song called "Zij gelooft in mij." The lyrics of this version are different from Will Tura’s. This title is also used for a documentary about André Hazes’s life.
- In 1981, Welsh singer Tom Jones performed the song live at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
- Icelandic singer Pálmi Gunnarsson recorded a version of the song in Icelandic, titled "Hún hefur trú á mér," on his 1980 album Hvers vegna varst' ekki kyrr?.
- Roger Whittaker included the song on his 1986 album Best Loved Ballads.
- The punk rock band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes performed a version of "She Believes in Me" on their 2006 album Love Their Country.
- In 2011, Scotty McCreery sang the song on American Idol during an episode on May 17. The judges chose it for him to perform.
- Around the same time, Dutch singer Dominique van Hulst, known as "Do," performed a version of the song in Dutch titled "Hij gelooft in mij" (He believes in me).
- The song was also covered in Portuguese by Maria de Fátima.
- Spanish singer Dyango performed a Spanish version titled "Ella cree en mí."
- Australian singer Kamahl included the song on his 1979 album She believes in me.