Collins sings the song from a third-person perspective, as he observes a man ignoring a homeless woman, and he implores listeners not to turn a blind eye to homelessness because, by drawing a religious allusion, "it's just another day for you and me in paradise". Collins also appeals directly to God by singing: "Oh Lord, is there nothing more anybody can do? Oh Lord, there must be something you can say."
The song was Collins' seventh and finalBillboard Hot 100 No. 1 single, the last No. 1 single of the 1980s and the first No. 1 single of the 1990s. It was a worldwide success, eventually becoming one of the most successful songs of his solo career. It won Collins and Padgham theGrammy Award forRecord of the Year at the1991 awards ceremony, while it was also nominated forSong of the Year,Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male andBest Music Video, Short Form. "Another Day in Paradise" also won an award forBritish Single at the1990 Brit Awards. Despite the awards gained following its release, the song also generated controversy over its subject matter and has received a largely unfavourable reaction from music critics.
The live performance of the song at the1991 Grammy Awards by Collins andDavid Crosby, who provided backing vocals on the track, was released on the 1994 albumGrammy's Greatest Moments Volume I.[4] In 2009, Collins' version was listed 86th onBillboard's Greatest Songs of All Time.[5] "Another Day in Paradise" has since been covered by several artists, includingBrandy and her brotherRay J,Jam Tronik,Axxis,Novecento,Brad Arnold[6] andHank Marvin.
Collins wrote "Another Day in Paradise" under theworking title "Homeless". Collins cited an encounter with an unhoused individual with two kids asking for financial assistance and the witnessing of people sleeping on an outdoor grill after the conclusion of one of Collins' concerts. He found the contrast of people lacking adequate shelter within viewing distance ofCapitol Hill to be "an extraordinary contradiction". Collins discussed how these encounters informed the lyrical direction of "Another Day in Paradise".[7]
What (the song) also deals with is people's awkwardness with it. When it happened to me, I just walked straight past. I thought, I'm doing the same thing as everybody else. I felt awkward...That's what the song deals with, people just sort of starting to pretend it's not happening.[7]
David Crosby, who had met Collins at theAtlantic Records 40th Anniversary concert inMadison Square Garden, provided some vocals on "Another Day in Paradise". Collins said that "David did exactly what I expected him to do. He just picked a few notes out of the air that I would never have thought of." He had originally wanted Crosby to overdub some vocals on his first solo album,Face Value, but Crosby was unable to attend those sessions.[7]
When determining which song to release as the first single from his solo album...But Seriously, Collins selected "Another Day in Paradise" as he felt that it was different from what he had done before.[8] The single version is slightly different from the album version in that it uses a shorter intro.[citation needed]
"Another Day in Paradise" entered theBillboard Hot 100 at number 43 on the week dated 4 November 1989. Seven weeks later, on the 23 December 1989 edition of the chart, it became his seventh (and, to date, final[update]) No. 1 single in the U.S as a solo artist and his eighth number one hit when accounting for "Invisible Touch" as a member ofGenesis.[3][7] The song was also the final No. 1 song of the 1980s in the U.S., and remained at that position for four weeks.[7] The song had already reached No. 2 in the UK in November of that year.
The song's music video was directed by Jim Yukich and produced by Paul Flattery of FYI.[9] The video, shot entirely in black and white, features Collins singing in a dark background, interspersed with images of the homeless, the refugees and the poverty of children in the streets. The music video also features many messages about the homeless, to convey the full message of the song. Collins' part was shot in less than an hour in New York.
"Another Day in Paradise" provoked controversy upon release and was widely criticised.[10][11] Some critics found the wealthy Collins unqualified to sing about the poor,[12] while others accused him of profiteering from homelessness.[13] Collins responded, "When I drive down the street, I see the same things everyone else sees. It's a misconception that if you have a lot of money you're somehow out of touch with reality."[12]Billboard gave a positive review, calling it a "poignant" track whose "subject matter is complemented nicely by a subdued, ethereal musical context".[14]
Singer-songwriter and political activistBilly Bragg gave a 2000 interview in which he negatively compared Collins tothe Clash, stating, "Phil Collins might write a song about the homeless, but if he doesn't have the action to go with it he's just exploiting that for a subject."[15] In 2003,Andrew Collins described the song as a "bland redress" for the subject of homelessness in theNew Statesman.[16] In 2007,Blender remarked that Collins "wrote the worst song ever about homelessness",[17] while Caroline Sullivan ofThe Guardian called it "a song that addressed the issue of homelessness with the same insight asSporty Spice's 'If That Were Me'".[18] Writing for theBBC in 2010, David Sheppard described the song's lyrics as "cringe-worthy" and gave it as an example of Collins "painting the bull's-eye on his own forehead" when it came to his negative status with music critics.[19] In 2016,Mark Beaumont ofNME called it "arguably the corniest multi-millionaire-notices-homelessness-from-gold-plated-limousine ballad ever recorded".[20]
It was reported that Collins left the UK for Switzerland in 1997, in response to the election of aLabour government;[21][22] Collins had actually left previously to be with his future wife Orianne Cevey.[23][22] In 2013,MSN's Hugh Wilson said this relocation led to further accusations of hypocrisy, since Collins "bemoaned the plight of the homeless in the song 'Another Day in Paradise' " then "lugged his estimated £130 million fortune to Switzerland where the tax regime is far less punishing for the super wealthy".[24]
In a 2016 article forThe Guardian, Michael Hann wrote, "Collins has been unfairly criticised for many things, but 'Another Day in Paradise' is not one of them. Criticism of that is manifestly fair." Hann argued that the song patronizes the general public, who "almost certainly encounter poverty more often than [Collins]", and chided Collins for "[equating] his material wealth with his listener's by pointing out that both 'you and me' are in paradise".[25]
Jamie Wales ofGigwise described the track as a "classic", and said of the hypocrisy allegations levelled at Collins, "The truth is Phil collected money for homeless charities from fans who attended his concerts and then donated double the total takings out of his own money."[26]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
Less than six months after the release of the original Phil Collins version, a cover version by German dance actJam Tronik was released as their debut single. In the United Kingdom, the song first charted in March 1990, reaching a peak of number 19 on theUK Singles Chart in the first week of April. It also charted in Germany and Belgium. Sampled in this version is the drum loop from the 1988Raze song "Break 4 Love". The B-side, "Get on the Raze", also samples "Break 4 Love".
In 2001, siblings Brandy and Ray J covered the song for the Phil Collins tribute albumUrban Renewal. Produced by Guy Roche and released as the album'slead single in March 2001, the cover version became a top-10 success in Australia and across Europe, receiving gold certifications in Australia, France, Germany, and Switzerland. In 2002, this version of the song was included on the European edition of Brandy'sFull Moon album.
The music video follows a homeless woman wandering the streets being chastised by various people, including a waitress, a businessman, and a police officer. The video is intercut with scenes of Brandy and Ray J singing on a fire escape and along alleyways, while also following the woman and taking photographs of each incident with a camera. The homeless woman then walks into a luxurious shoe boutique, and the receptionist calls the police to escort her out. When she is dropped back to her makeshift shelter in an alleyway, one of the policemen comes across a series of Polaroids depicting all of the previous characters, including himself, in the homeless woman's place. At the end of the video, Brandy and Ray J come to pick up the homeless woman and walk off with her into the distance.
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
