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"Better Days"
"Better Days"
Single by Dermot Kennedy
from the album Sonder
Released	28 July 2021
Length	3:18
Label	Island
Songwriter(s)	Daniel Nigro; Carey Willetts; Dermot Kennedy; Sam Roman; Scott Harris;
Producer(s)	Daniel Nigro; Ryan Linvill;
Dermot Kennedy singles chronology
Music video
	"Better Days" on YouTube

"Better Days" is a song by Irish singer-songwriter Dermot Kennedy. It was released on 28 July 2021 via Island Records. Kennedy wrote the song with Daniel Nigro, Carey Willetts, Sam Roman and Scott Harris, and it was produced by Nigro and Ryan Linvill.^[1]

Background

In an interview with Songwriter Universe, Kennedy stated he wrote the song in February 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.^[2] In September, during his tour of America, he told American Songwriter: "The way I saw it, that was almost the voice of my mother and father telling me to hold out and to know that my music would work out someday. Anytime I felt disheartened, felt down, like it wasn't going to work out—that's where this song sits for me".^[3]

Content

In a press release, Kennedy explained: "This is a song about patience. It's about believing in something brighter, and never losing sight of better days, no matter how hard things might get. In a time where so many people feel worried and exhausted, I would love for this song to remind even one person that things will improve. As an artist, I feel somewhat responsible to try to make people feel a little better, whether that’s making them think of someone they love, or just taking their mind off their problems for the length of a song. So this is my contribution to hopefully providing some people with a moment's solace. Better days will come".^[4] The song "come[s] with the kind of optimism and hopes Dermot has been so vocal about throughout his career, providing support and solace to so many".^[5]

Critical reception

Nora Onanian of WERS wrote that the song "feels like being lifted out of fog. [And] also gives a taste of a new direction Kennedy seems to be going in musically".^[6] Ed Power of The Irish Times commented that it "skilfully binds together elements of every popular Irish artist of the past 25 years", like The Script, and " in the choral backing sung in Irish, of The Cranberries at their most ethereal".^[7]

Music video

The music video was directed by Paul Gore. It showcases Kennedy "fighting a powerful jet stream underwater, push[ing] forward in scenes filled with tension, energy and movement", with him eventually "prevailing in his physical struggle".^[8]

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic.^[9]

Clarence Coffee Jr. – vocal producer
Curtis Elvidge – vocal producer
Neil Goody – vocal producer
Matty Green – engineer, mixing
Laurence Guy – primary artist
Scott Harris – composer
Dermot Kennedy – composer, primary artist, vocals
Ryan Linvill – drum programming, producer, recording, saxophone, synthesizer programming
Mitch McCarthy – mixing
Randy Merrill – mastering engineer
Daniel Nigro – bass, composer, drum programming, keyboards, piano, producer, vocals (background)
Chappell Roan – vocals (background)
Sam Romans – composer
Carey Willetts – composer, vocal engineer

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for "Better Days"
Chart (2021–2022)	Peak position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)^[10]	30
Czech Republic (Rádio – Top 100)^[11]	4
Ireland (IRMA)^[12]	4
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)^[13]	21
Netherlands (Single Top 100)^[14]	42
New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)^[15]	20
Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)^[16]	15
UK Singles (OCC)^[17]	16

Year-end charts

2021 year-end chart performance for "Better Days"
Chart (2021)	Position
Ireland (IRMA)^[18]	33

2022 year-end chart performance for "Better Days"
Chart (2022)	Position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)^[19]	171

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)^[20]	Platinum	70,000^‡
Austria (IFPI Austria)^[21]	Gold	15,000^‡
Canada (Music Canada)^[22]	Gold	40,000^‡
United Kingdom (BPI)^[23]	Platinum	600,000^‡
United States (RIAA)^[24]	Gold	500,000^‡
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.