Better Than I Know Myself

Did You Know?

• The song debuted at number 76 on the Billboard Hot 100 on the chart dated January 7, 2012.
• It charted in the top ten in Finland and Japan.
• Lambert first performed the song on January 17, 2012 on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Background and composition

RCA Records announced on December 15, 2011 that the song would be the lead single from Trespassing, due for March 2012. It premiered online the following day and was released via iTunes in the United States on December 20, 2011. The song reached adult contemporary radio on January 23, 2012, and Top 40/Mainstream radio the next day. Musically, it is a synthpop ballad built around a thumping bass beat, keyboard, and retro synth washes. Lyrically, it deals with romantic regret and a lover who knows you inside and out.

Critical reception

Critical response was mostly positive. Contessa Gayles of AOL Music Blog called it an epic piano ballad and praised Lambert's gifted vocals. Bill Lamb of About.com noted that Lambert's voice is a unique and powerful instrument but felt that when the song and production are dull, even the best voice cannot completely turn things around. Liz Barker of MTV described it as one of Lambert's biggest, boldest and most beautiful tracks to date. Billboard's Jason Lipshutz compared its winning pop-rock formula to Lambert's 2009 breakthrough single Whataya Want from Me, writing that repeated listenings amplify the untamed vulnerability that has become Lambert's defining asset. Rolling Stone's Jody Rosen highlighted Lambert's superhuman vocal range while calling the song formulaic pop.

Music video

Ray Kay directed the music video, which first appeared on Lambert's Vevo channel on February 3, 2012. The clip explores the theme of duality and the struggle between Lambert's light and dark sides, a topic also present on the album. Two characters are initially shown in a room divided by a glass window. An argument breaks out, and the dark figure contaminates the light figure's air. In the end, the dark side smashes through the glass to save his counterpart, and they unite into a single being.