"Don't Fail Me Now" is a song by American recording artist Melanie Amaro, the winner of the first season of The X Factor, set to be included on her debut studio album under the label Epic Records. Written by Livvi Franc and produced by Rodney Jerkins, the upbeat pop song features the singer talking about self empowerment and finding a true love. It was first made available for stream on July 31, 2012, and it was released to digital download on September 18, 2012 as Amaro's debut single along with the b-side song "Love Me Now". It received mixed reviews from music critics, who praised the vocal performance, but criticized the use of Auto-Tune. As of December 2012 "Don't Fail Me Now" has sold 20,000 copies in the United States, failing to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 but peaking in the top-ten of the Hot Dance Club Songs chart.
Background and composition
"Don't Fail Me Now" was written by Livvi Franc and produced by Rodney Jerkins, and is the first song from her debut studio album on Epic Records. In an interview with Billboard, Amaro spoke that she "look for songs that are connected to real life scenarios -- love songs, breakups, getting hurt, finding the strength to keep on pushing in life." Described as "an uplifting account of Amaro's road to success", the upbeat pop track features the singer talking about self empowerment and finding a true love, which is perceived in lyrics such as "I've paid my dues, I've paid the price, I've prayed for you almost every night...I've walked the longest road so don't fail me now, feet don't fail me now." "Don't Fail Me Now" was made available to stream through her official SoundCloud account on July 31, 2012, and had been played over 175,000 times, as of 31 October 2012. The song was made available to other media outlets the following day. Amaro's manager Simon Cowell also released the single on TwitMusic, a service which lets users discover and share music uploaded by artists, also on August 1. After a week, "Don't Fail Me Now" garnered over 6,500 plays on the platform, making her one of the more popular singers there. The track was released on digital download on September 18, 2012.
Reception
"Don't Fail Me Now" received mixed reviews from music critics. Gerrick Kennedy of Los Angeles Times gave the song a mixed review, saying Amaro's vocal performance and delivery was "flawless," but called the production and dance style "a complete misfire for a debut - especially when listeners haven't seen or heard Amaro since January and other finalists have already made splashes." He also criticized the lyrics, called them "bland" and "couldn't be interpreted as inspirational or romantic, depending on the listener." Entertainment Weekly contributor Grady Smith called it "a mismash, featuring a thumping club beat, soaring diva notes (some of which sound seemingly and unnecessarily Auto-Tuned), techno flourishes, and a bevvy of inspirational-slash-romantic lyrics. All of it leaves me a little confused - is she singing about her man, or The Man Upstairs?" Scott Shetler of Pop Crush rated it two and a half stars out of five, saying, "unfortunately, her first offering offers a rather bland dance-pop arrangement that doesn't flaunt her winning voice effectively." Idolator writer Becky Bain gave the song a negative review, explaining that the track lacked originality, exemplifying the use of "a techno breakdown thrown in for absolutely no reason other than to poorly follow the current trend. It also doesn't seem to know whether it's a love song or a self-empowerment anthem." Since its release, "Don't Fail Me Now" reached a peak of number 21 on Billboards Hot Dance Club Songs component chart.