"I Hope You Find It" is a country pop and adult contemporary ballad by American entertainer Miley Cyrus. It was written by Steven Robson and Jeffrey Steele for inclusion on the soundtrack of Cyrus' 2010 film The Last Song. Although "I Hope You Find It" was not released as a single from the album, it debuted at #8 on Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart in the week ending April 10, 2010 and peaked at #5 a week later, on the basis of a large amount of digital downloads alone. It dropped out in the week ending April 24, 2010.
The song is played during the final credits of the movie.
The sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Kobalt Music Publishing America indicates that it is a moderately timed ballad written in the key of Bb major with a tempo of 69 beats per minute.
According to Jackie Willis of Entertainment Tonight, Cher showed Cyrus "the highest form of flattery" by covering her song, after going back on disparaging comments regarding Cyrus' controversial 2013 MTV Video Music Awards performance.
Chart performance
Cher version
In 2013, "I Hope You Find It" was covered by American singer Cher, who released it as the second single from her twenty-fifth album Closer to the Truth. Her rendition is prominently a country pop ballad. "I Hope You Find It" became Cher's biggest radio hit in the United Kingdom in the 21st century, reaching number thirty-four on the official UK Airplay Chart. On the UK Singles Chart, the song debuted at number twenty-five, becoming Cher's first top 40 hit since "The Music's No Good Without You" in 2001. On September 24, 2013, Cher talked about "I Hope You Find It", calling it "an emotional ballad". She further stated- "Love songs are [usually about] 'I'm looking for love' or 'I've lost love'... They're usually not 'I found love, I lost love, and now I hope you find love with someone else'. Usually we're not that charitable."
Critical response
The song received generally favorable reviews. John Hamilton of Idolator described that Cher "brings an appropriate world-weariness to the song." Tim Sendra of AllMusic stated that the second half of the album, which also includes "I Hope You Find It", wasn't successful, writing, "These songs aren't as successful, thanks to the somewhat syrupy melodies and clichéd lyrics, but also because Cher's vocals sound a little worn and frayed around the edges." Philip Matusavage of MusicOMH provided a favorable review, writing, "It invokes the Diane Warren-penned Cher classics of old and soars effortlessly in comparison to the laborious grunting of much preceding it."
A critic from So So Gay noted that the song "flexed the oft-overlooked soulful register of Cher's husky contralto." USA Today inducted the song to their download list. Michael Callahan of Philly gave a positive review, writing, "Cher's too-rarely-heard falsetto pierces right to the heart."
Live performances and promotion
On September 23, 2013, Cher performed "I Hope You Find It" for the first time along with "Believe" and the album's lead single "Woman's World" as part of the Today Show concert series. Furthermore, she performed it a day later on CBS's Late Show with David Letterman, on the morning show Live! with Kelly and Michael and in Europe on Wetten, dass..?, The X Factor UK, Vivement dimanche! and The Graham Norton Show. On November 4, 2013, Cher appeared as a guest judge on the eighth week of season 17 of Dancing With Stars; she performed this song during the course of the program.
To further promote the single, Cher released a lyric video for the song on her official YouTube channel. The video was uploaded on September 24, 2013 and it has since gathered over 4,000,000 views. It includes handwritten letters and cards by Cher. Yahoo! Music provided a positive review for the video, praising the "beautiful treatment of this beautiful song, as well as the bittersweet message Cher delivers".
"I Hope You Find It" was on the setlist of Cher's 2014 Dressed to Kill Tour, where she performed it floating on a grottoed platform above the audience. Brad Wheeler of The Globe and Mail provided a negative review of the performance, writing, "The encore ballad I Hope You Find It was a bum-note ending. Cher performed the song dressed as a sort of religious icon, floating above the crowd in a papalish carrier. She had blessed her fans with her presence, but this was far too much symbolism. Perhaps her pedestal status had gone to her headdress." Dave McKenna of The Washington Post stated that the performance of "'I Hope You Find It" was perhaps a sign that Cher "turned over the outrageous mantle to the younger pop star [Cyrus], known to purvey Cheresque outrageousness."