Critical Reception
"Better in Time" received generally positive reviews from music critics. In his review of the album, Chung Ah-young of The Korea Times described the single as "one of the best tracks with impressive piano sounds harmonized with powerful vocals". Alex Fletcher from Digital Spy gave a mixed review to the double A-side. He called the single a "placid affair" with "its plinky-plonky piano and R&B groove resting uncomfortably next to Lewis's creamy vocal style". The BBC's reviewer Fraser McAlpine gave "Better in Time" three stars our of five commenting that "The tune's quite nice, fairly hummable without ever actually going anywhere and despite the floaty, Mariah-esque qualities of Leona's vocals, it never goes completely mental in the throat-breakdancing department". Chuck Taylor of Billboard gave a positive review, stating that the song is of "equal caliber to its predecessor, with a one-listen hook, elegant chug-along melody, a lyric about healing and Lewis' unquestionably emotive vocal versatility". Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe called it a "'love takes time' rumination", and along with another song of the album ("I Will Be"), described it as "predictable". Sean Fennessey for Vibe noted that the track "is the best thing, is mannered and takes nearly three minutes to get off the ground". It ranked at number four on the "10 Best Singles of 2008" list by American magazine Entertainment Weekly. "Better in Time" was nominated at the 2009 BRIT Awards in the category of Best British Single, and later the song was included on the awards' compilation album.
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