Always was released by Bon Jovi in 1994 as a single from the band's Cross Road greatest-hits collection, written by frontman Jon Bon Jovi as a sweeping power ballad about devotion and regret. It became one of the group's most enduring slow songs, helped by its emotional vocal performance and its regular place on radio, in karaoke and at weddings. Decades later, short clips of its opening circulate in fan edits and social videos because the melody is instantly recognisable even without the full track.