"Pray" is a song recorded by British singer Tina Cousins. It was written by Mark Topham and Karl Twigg, and released in November 1998 as the lead single from her debut album, Killing Time. The song was her second consecutive top-twenty hit in the United Kingdom and her first top-ten hit in Australia, where it achieved Gold status. In Europe, "Pray" also reached the top 10 in Finland and Scotland, and it peaked at number 48 on the Eurochart Hot 100 in November 1998.
Critical reception
AllMusic editor MacKenzie Wilson said that the "high-tempo R&B sounds on "Pray" are so energetic and exciting, the club/dance scene can only be heightened".[1] Chuck Campbell from Knoxville News Sentinel noted that "it's hard to escape the hope of the histrionic first single "Pray"".[2]Music & Media wrote in their review of the song that "Ms. Cousins' first real claim to fame was her presence on Sash!'s huge hit Mysterious Times earlier this year. With this effort, she proves that she is perfectly capable of going it alone. This song is well suited to a fairly broad range of formats, and should do well on the dancefloor as well."[3]
Music video
The original music video for the song was filmed in the North East England town of Whitley Bay. It features scenes shot in the town's Spanish City leisure complex which was by the late 1990s past its heyday and only a few years away from partial demolition and dereliction. Other scenes are staged in St Mary's Lighthouse, around its island, along the coast and in a terraced back street at the rear of Whitley Bay Baptist Church.
