I Want to Know What Love Is
Encyclopedia
"I Want to Know What Love Is" is a 1984 power ballad recorded by the British
-American
rock band
Foreigner
. The song hit #1 in both the UK and the U.S. and is the band's biggest hit. It remains one of the band's best known songs and most enduring radio hits, charting in the top 25 in 2000, 2001 and 2002 on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Recurrents chart.
, and produced by Jones and Alex Sadkin
, it was the first single
released from the album Agent Provocateur (1984). The song features backing vocals from the New Jersey Mass Choir (of the GMWA
), Dreamgirls star Jennifer Holliday
, and the Thompson Twins
. The choir appears in the song's music video
.
"I Want to Know What Love Is" reached number one in the UK Singles Chart
on 15 January 1985 and stayed there for three weeks. It reached the top of the US Billboard Hot 100
on 2 February 1985 where it stayed for two weeks. It was Foreigner's first and only pop chart topper in either country, although the band had four #1 Mainstream Rock and one #1 Adult Contemporary radio hits in the US. This was the band's third of four #1 singles on the mainstream rock chart. The song spent five weeks at #1 in Australia and also hit the top of the charts in Canada, Norway, and Sweden, peaking at #2 in Switzerland and South Africa.
The song was also issued as a 12" single with a slightly longer time length of 6:23. This version contains a slightly longer intro and an extended vocal chorus/fadeout ending.
The single's B-Side "Street Thunder (Marathon Theme)" is an instrumental track originally appearing on The Official Music of the XXIII Olympiad - Los Angeles 1984 and later on the band's 2-CD compilation Jukebox Heroes: The Foreigner Anthology in 2000.
Soon after Foreigner's single topped the charts, the New Jersey Mass Choir released its own similar-sounding version of the song on an album also titled I Want to Know What Love Is. Their single peaked at #37 on the Hot Black Singles
chart and #12 on the Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales chart.
The Foreigner song was ranked by Billboard as the number four Hot 100 single of the year 1985. It was the band's fourth Gold single in the U.S. and their first and only Gold single in the UK.
Originally consisting of three verses, a pre-chorus and a chorus, the song was extended with a bridge
written by original songwriter Mick Jones specifically for Tina Arena's cover in 1998.
In 2004 "I Want to Know What Love Is" was voted #476 on Rolling Stone
s list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. In 2006 this song was included on VH1
's program "Top 100 Songs of the 80's" at #65.
The song was used on the 16th episode of Miami Vice
in the first season, entitled "Rites of Passage" on 8 February 1985. The song was made part of the videogame Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
soundtrack in 2006, and was the background music for the game's first trailer and intro cutscene. In 2007, the game SingStar '80s included the song. The song was played in a scene in Larry The Cable Guy: Health Inspector
and in the "Valentine's Day" episode of the TV show Ed
. The song also features in the 1998 Swedish film Show Me Love. The song was sung twice on General Hospital
in 2009; first by the character Spinelli to his girlfriend Maxie at Jake's karaoke night, and second by guests at a reception, to Spinelli and Maxie. The song appears in Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
.
and her recording was released as a single in 1998 from her album In Deep. Arena's version of the song was produced by Foreigner band member Mick Jones
, who was the song's writer. This version of the song includes a previously unrecorded bridge
between the second and third choruses, specifically written for Tina Arena by Mick Jones.
Australian CD1 Maxi Single
Australian CD2 Maxi Single - The Remixes
singer Wynonna Judd
and her recording was released in August 24, 2004 from her album What the World Needs Now Is Love
as fourth single. Wynonna's version of the song was produced by Narada Michael Walden
, known to produce for Mariah Carey
, Whitney Houston
, Diana Ross
, Aretha Franklin
and George Michael
, and Wynonna. This version of the song was included in a popular Brazilian soap opera, Senhora do Destino.
Remixes
, it debuted at number 50 and peaked at number 12. It is also her first single to chart in Sweden, where it debuted at number 67 and peaked at number 15.
and released as the second single from her twelfth studio album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel
(2009). The single, produced by Carey, C. "Tricky" Stewart
and James "Big Jim" Wright, was sent to European radio stations on August 28 and official impacted U.S. radio on September 14, 2009. Mick Jones said of her version: "I think she's actually retained the integrity of the song. You know, the arrangement is very similar to the original. They haven't tampered with the song too much. She's captured a certain emotional thing, a feeling."
said that "Mariah Carey's new version could leave you speechless. The diversity of vocal coloring expressed in this recording is stunning. While the single Obsessed
remains disappointing, this single is a reminder of just how formidable Carey's talents are given a strong production and arrangement". Los Angeles Times
said "[T]ackling a well-known power ballad seems like a safe choice. It's a comfortable fall-back plan after "Obsessed" performed well, but did far from blockbuster numbers. It will undoubtedly be a hit, but it's giving me more reason to fear Imperfect Angel. The sort-of-real/sort-of-not feud with Eminem seemed largely a ploy to keep Carey in the headlines, and covering Foreigner seems just as calculated to steer Carey back onto familiar ground". Entertainment Weekly
said "Mariah + Gospel Choir + "I Want to Know What Love Is" = Ecstasy".
Carey performed the song live on The Oprah Winfrey Show
on September 18. Carey taped a performance of the song in front of The Views studio audience on September 28 for an episode aired on October 2. On October 2, Carey performed the song live on The Today Show.A New York radio station contest featured as its prize a mini concert by Carey at the P.C. Richard Theater in TriBeCa, New York on October 5, where she sang the song as well as "Obsessed" and "H.A.T.E.U.", also from the album.
During an international promotional trip, Carey taped an appearance performing the song on the television show Sketchbook in South Korea on October 13, for an episode to air on October 23. Carey performed the song in Japan on the television show Music Station on October 16.
Carey performed the single on Italy's X factor
on November 11, and in France
where she did various radio interviews.
The Mariah Carey: T4 Special aired in the UK featuring an interview and a performance on November 14. On November 19 she was interviewed and performed on the first show of the second series of Alan Carr
's Chatty Man
and switched on the Christmas lights at the Westfield London
shopping center. Carey performed the song on The X Factor
on November 22, GMTV
on the 23rd and This Morning
on the 24th.
.
The video premiered on Mariah's official website on November 13, 2009.
The video features Carey singing in Yankee Stadium
, intercut with shots of audience members, often accompanied by loved ones, and some glimpses into the tough times in their past, as they grow emotional from the song's performance. A gospel choir joins Carey at the center of the stadium at the video's end. Carey wears the signature curly hairstyle from the initial stages of her career ca. 1990–1993, maintaining the Memoirs theme of the album.
UK digital single
European CD single
chart at number ten, bringing Carey's total number of Top Ten hits on that chart to 20, one short of Celine Dion
's record. She has since surpassed this and is now tied with Celine Dion after her single Oh Santa!
reached number one in 2010. However, on the U.S. Hot 100
, it peaked at number 60. On the UK Singles Chart
, the song debuted at number 19 on the week ending November 29, becoming her highest debuting and peaking song since 2008's "Touch My Body
", which peaked at number five.
The song debuted at number six in France, selling 1,910 physical CDs in its first week, and 39,720 copies of all formats there as of late 2009. becomes the best charting version of this song there.It placed 93rd on the Year-End Chart.
It also reached number three in Japan.
In Brazil
, the song stayed at number one for a record 27 weeks the album is pending Platinum certification for shipments of over 60,000 copies, though it has been certified Gold. One of the reasons for the song's radio success there was its frequent inclusion in a popular new soap opera, Viver a Vida
. According to Crowley Broadcast Analysis
, Carey's version has broken the record for longest Brazilian Hot 100 Airplay Chart run at 27 consecutive weeks.
and John Farnham
performed a duet to the song on live television for the 1986 Logie Awards, an Australian awards show.
In 1997 this song was also covered by slain South African reggae
star Lucky Dube
on his Taxman album. It featured strong South African reggae
drum beats by ace drummer Mnca Mtshali. Filipina singer Regine Velasquez
covered the song in her 1997 album Retro
, a collection of remakes.
A Spanish-language version by The Barrio Boyzz, entitled "Quiero Saber Que Es Amor/I Want to Know What Love Is", hit #40 on Billboards Latin Tropical/Salsa Airplay chart on April 7, 2001. In 2001, singer Rhona covered it on her debut self-titled album. A cover by Gloria Gaynor
appears on the 2002 K-Tel compilation Tina Turner & Gloria Gaynor, Back to Back.
In 2002, the victims of fires in a disco in Sweden and a bar in the Netherlands recorded this song as a way for these young people to learn to cope with their memories and their injuries. Their single, released under the artist name Volendam meets Göteborg, reached #39 in the Dutch charts.
In 2004, a cover by Sarah Geronimo
from her album Sweet Sixteen
was a hit in her native Philippines. That year, the song was performed on Australian Idol
Season 2 by eventual runner-up Anthony Callea
on the Top 6 '80s show. The performance was well received by the judges and audience and a studio cover by Callea was included on the album Australian Idol Season 2: The Final 10 Cast Album.
The song was one of several covers chosen by Clay Aiken
to appear on his 2006 album A Thousand Different Ways
.
French-Canadian singer Nathalie Simard
covered this song on her 2007 album Il Y Avait Un Jardin.
In 2008 this song was covered by David Phelps
on his album The Voice. The song was also performed by Celtic Thunder
's Keith Harkin in concert, and it appears on that band's 2008 album Act Two.
Alvin and the Chipmunks
covered the song for the 2009 movie Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
and its soundtrack. Leela James
covered the song on her 2009 sophomore release Let's Do It Again
.
Other covers of this song have been recorded by familiar artists as diverse as Progressive rock
keyboardist Geoffrey Downes, pop chanteuses Rita Coolidge
and Shirley Bassey
, Latin crooner Julio Iglesias
, Memphis soul
singer Ann Peebles
and Christian pop artist Kathy Troccoli
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rock band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
Foreigner
Foreigner (band)
Foreigner is a British-American rock band, originally formed in 1976 by veteran English musicians Mick Jones and ex-King Crimson member Ian McDonald along with American vocalist Lou Gramm...
. The song hit #1 in both the UK and the U.S. and is the band's biggest hit. It remains one of the band's best known songs and most enduring radio hits, charting in the top 25 in 2000, 2001 and 2002 on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Recurrents chart.
Song information
Written by Mick JonesMick Jones (Foreigner)
Michael Leslie "Mick" Jones is an English guitarist, songwriter, and record producer best known as the founding member of the rock band Foreigner.-Life and career:...
, and produced by Jones and Alex Sadkin
Alex Sadkin
Alex Sadkin is best remembered as a record producer in the early 1980s, but actually got his start in the music industry as a saxophonist for the Las Olas Brass in Fort Lauderdale, Florida....
, it was the first single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
released from the album Agent Provocateur (1984). The song features backing vocals from the New Jersey Mass Choir (of the GMWA
Gospel Music Workshop of America
Gospel Music Workshop of America is an international music convention founded by Rev. James Cleveland along with Albertina Walker in 1967.-GMWA membership:...
), Dreamgirls star Jennifer Holliday
Jennifer Holliday
Jennifer-Yvette Holliday is an African-American singer and Tony Award-winning actress. She started her career on Broadway in musicals such as Dreamgirls, and later became a successful recording artist...
, and the Thompson Twins
Thompson Twins
The Thompson Twins were a British pop group that were formed in April 1977 and disbanded in May 1993. They achieved considerable popularity in the mid 1980s, scoring a string of hits in the United Kingdom, the United States and around the globe. The band was named after the two bumbling detectives...
. The choir appears in the song's music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
.
"I Want to Know What Love Is" reached number one in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
on 15 January 1985 and stayed there for three weeks. It reached the top of the US Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
on 2 February 1985 where it stayed for two weeks. It was Foreigner's first and only pop chart topper in either country, although the band had four #1 Mainstream Rock and one #1 Adult Contemporary radio hits in the US. This was the band's third of four #1 singles on the mainstream rock chart. The song spent five weeks at #1 in Australia and also hit the top of the charts in Canada, Norway, and Sweden, peaking at #2 in Switzerland and South Africa.
The song was also issued as a 12" single with a slightly longer time length of 6:23. This version contains a slightly longer intro and an extended vocal chorus/fadeout ending.
The single's B-Side "Street Thunder (Marathon Theme)" is an instrumental track originally appearing on The Official Music of the XXIII Olympiad - Los Angeles 1984 and later on the band's 2-CD compilation Jukebox Heroes: The Foreigner Anthology in 2000.
Soon after Foreigner's single topped the charts, the New Jersey Mass Choir released its own similar-sounding version of the song on an album also titled I Want to Know What Love Is. Their single peaked at #37 on the Hot Black Singles
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
chart and #12 on the Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales chart.
The Foreigner song was ranked by Billboard as the number four Hot 100 single of the year 1985. It was the band's fourth Gold single in the U.S. and their first and only Gold single in the UK.
Originally consisting of three verses, a pre-chorus and a chorus, the song was extended with a bridge
Bridge (music)
In music, especially western popular music, a bridge is a contrasting section which also prepares for the return of the original material section...
written by original songwriter Mick Jones specifically for Tina Arena's cover in 1998.
In 2004 "I Want to Know What Love Is" was voted #476 on Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
s list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. In 2006 this song was included on VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
's program "Top 100 Songs of the 80's" at #65.
The song was used on the 16th episode of Miami Vice
Miami Vice
Miami Vice is an American television series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami. It ran for five seasons on NBC from 1984–1989...
in the first season, entitled "Rites of Passage" on 8 February 1985. The song was made part of the videogame Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories is a 2006 sandbox-style action video game developed by Rockstar Leeds in association with Rockstar North. It was published by Rockstar Games for the PlayStation Portable in late 2006 and later for the PlayStation 2 in March 2007. The game is the eighth...
soundtrack in 2006, and was the background music for the game's first trailer and intro cutscene. In 2007, the game SingStar '80s included the song. The song was played in a scene in Larry The Cable Guy: Health Inspector
Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector
Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector is a 2006 comedy film starring American stand-up comedian Larry the Cable Guy. Larry, a municipal restaurant health inspector, is assigned a new rookie partner after recklessly closing restaurants for code violations, Amy Butlin , by his boss, Bart Tatlock...
and in the "Valentine's Day" episode of the TV show Ed
Ed (TV series)
Ed is an NBC television program co-produced by David Letterman's Worldwide Pants Incorporated, NBC Productions, and Viacom Productions that aired from 2000 to 2004....
. The song also features in the 1998 Swedish film Show Me Love. The song was sung twice on General Hospital
General Hospital
General Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
in 2009; first by the character Spinelli to his girlfriend Maxie at Jake's karaoke night, and second by guests at a reception, to Spinelli and Maxie. The song appears in Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel is a 2009 American comedy film directed by Betty Thomas. The film stars Zachary Levi, David Cross, Jason Lee, and the voices of Justin Long, Jesse McCartney, Matthew Gray Gubler, Christina Applegate, Amy Poehler, and Anna Faris...
.
Chart performance
| Chart (1984/1985) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| US Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock Tracks Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock tracks are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981, issue... (Billboard) |
1 |
Tina Arena version
"I Want to Know What Love Is" was covered by Australian singer Tina ArenaTina Arena
Filippina Lydia "Tina" Arena is an Australian singer, songwriter and musical theatre actress. She has won several awards, most notably 6 ARIA Awards and in both 1996 and 2000 she received the World Music Award for the world's best selling Australian artist...
and her recording was released as a single in 1998 from her album In Deep. Arena's version of the song was produced by Foreigner band member Mick Jones
Mick Jones (Foreigner)
Michael Leslie "Mick" Jones is an English guitarist, songwriter, and record producer best known as the founding member of the rock band Foreigner.-Life and career:...
, who was the song's writer. This version of the song includes a previously unrecorded bridge
Bridge (music)
In music, especially western popular music, a bridge is a contrasting section which also prepares for the return of the original material section...
between the second and third choruses, specifically written for Tina Arena by Mick Jones.
Track listings
European Maxi Single- "I Want to Know What Love Is" (Single Edit)
- "I Want to Know What Love Is" (R & B Mix)
- "I Want to Spend My Lifetime Loving You" (G-Vo Extended Mix)
- "Not For Sale"
Australian CD1 Maxi Single
- "I Want To Know What Love Is" (Single Edit)
- "Now I Can Dance" (Spanglish Version)
- "Now I Can Dance" (Live)
- "If I Didn't Love You" (Remix)
Australian CD2 Maxi Single - The Remixes
- "I Want to Know What Love Is" (R'n'B Mix)
- "I Want to Know What Love Is" (Urban Mix)
- "I Want to Know What Love Is" (Extended Urban Mix)
- "I Want to Know What Love Is" (Single Edit)
Charts
The song peaked at number 13 in France and finished 60th on the end-of-year chart of 1999.| Chart (1998/99) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| European Hot 100 Singles | 50 |
Sales
| Country | Certification | Date | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | Silver Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... |
June 30, 1999 | 194,000+ |
Wynonna Judd version
"I Want to Know What Love Is" was covered by American countryCountry
A country is a region legally identified as a distinct entity in political geography. A country may be an independent sovereign state or one that is occupied by another state, as a non-sovereign or formerly sovereign political division, or a geographic region associated with a previously...
singer Wynonna Judd
Wynonna Judd
Wynonna Ellen Judd is an American country music singer. Her solo albums and singles are all credited to the singular name Wynonna. Wynonna first rose to fame in the 1980s alongside her mother, Naomi, in the country music duo The Judds...
and her recording was released in August 24, 2004 from her album What the World Needs Now Is Love
What the World Needs Now Is Love (album)
What the World Needs Now Is Love is the title of American country music artist Wynonna Judd's sixth studio album. Released in 2003 as her first album for Asylum-Curb Records, the album produced four chart singles. The first of these, which was the title track, reached #14 on the Billboard country...
as fourth single. Wynonna's version of the song was produced by Narada Michael Walden
Narada Michael Walden
Narada Michael Walden is an American producer, drummer, singer, and songwriter. He was given the name Narada by guru Sri Chinmoy in the early 1970s and his musical career spans three decades, in which he was awarded several gold, platinum and multi-platinum awards...
, known to produce for Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
, Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...
, Diana Ross
Diana Ross
Diana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...
, Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
and George Michael
George Michael
George Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...
, and Wynonna. This version of the song was included in a popular Brazilian soap opera, Senhora do Destino.
Track listings
Digital download- "I Want To Know What Love Is" — 5:41
Remixes
- "I Want To Know What Love Is" (Piper Remix) — 4:05
- "I Want To Know What Love Is" (Piper Club Mix) — 7:42
Charts
In the US, the song peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary. On the Hot Dance Club Songs of BillboardBillboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
, it debuted at number 50 and peaked at number 12. It is also her first single to chart in Sweden, where it debuted at number 67 and peaked at number 15.
| Chart (2004/2005) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... ) |
15 |
| US Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Adult Contemporary |
14 |
| US Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Hot Dance Club Songs |
12 |
Release history
| Country | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | August 24, 2004 | Digital download, CD single | Asylum Asylum Records Asylum Records is an American record label founded in 1971 by David Geffen, and partner Elliot Roberts, who had previously worked as agents at the William Morris Agency. Founded specifically to provide a record contract for Jackson Browne, the label signed Tom Waits, Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell... |
| United States | Remixes | Curb Records Curb Records Curb Records is a record label started by Mike Curb originally as Sidewalk Records in 1963... |
|
| Sweden | February 20, 2005 | Digital download, CD single | Curb Records Curb Records Curb Records is a record label started by Mike Curb originally as Sidewalk Records in 1963... |
Mariah Carey version
"I Want to Know What Love Is" was covered by American singer Mariah CareyMariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
and released as the second single from her twelfth studio album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel
Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel
Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel is the twelfth studio album by American R&B singer Mariah Carey. It was released on September 29, 2009 through Island Records in the U.S. and November 23, 2009 with Mercury Records in the UK...
(2009). The single, produced by Carey, C. "Tricky" Stewart
Christopher Stewart (music producer)
Christopher "Tricky" Stewart is an American songwriter, music producer, music publisher, executive producer, recording industry executive and recording studio owner. In a career spanning 16 years, Stewart, at the helm of his company RedZone Entertainment, is responsible for over 25 million...
and James "Big Jim" Wright, was sent to European radio stations on August 28 and official impacted U.S. radio on September 14, 2009. Mick Jones said of her version: "I think she's actually retained the integrity of the song. You know, the arrangement is very similar to the original. They haven't tampered with the song too much. She's captured a certain emotional thing, a feeling."
Critical reception
The single garnered universal acclaim; Australian magazine Rhyme & Reason stated that "[While Carey stayed] [...] true to the original, this piano-led remake is less an overhaul of the classic '80s hit than it is a modest but impressive update." The UK Daily Star gave it a 5 out of 5 rating: "[The song is] given the Carey treatment and [is] complete with choir and karaoke climax. It's a great rework." Bill Lamb from About.comAbout.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
said that "Mariah Carey's new version could leave you speechless. The diversity of vocal coloring expressed in this recording is stunning. While the single Obsessed
Obsessed (song)
"Obsessed" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, taken from her twelfth studio album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel . It was written and produced by Carey, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and Terius "The-Dream" Nash, and was released as the album's lead single on June 16, 2009...
remains disappointing, this single is a reminder of just how formidable Carey's talents are given a strong production and arrangement". Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
said "[T]ackling a well-known power ballad seems like a safe choice. It's a comfortable fall-back plan after "Obsessed" performed well, but did far from blockbuster numbers. It will undoubtedly be a hit, but it's giving me more reason to fear Imperfect Angel. The sort-of-real/sort-of-not feud with Eminem seemed largely a ploy to keep Carey in the headlines, and covering Foreigner seems just as calculated to steer Carey back onto familiar ground". Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
said "Mariah + Gospel Choir + "I Want to Know What Love Is" = Ecstasy".
Performances and promotion
- Carey debuted "I Want to Know What Love Is" at her
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
on September 18. Carey taped a performance of the song in front of The Views studio audience on September 28 for an episode aired on October 2. On October 2, Carey performed the song live on The Today Show.
X Factor (Italy)
X Factor is a successful TV show airing on prime time in Italy. The singing competition is the Italian version of The X Factor franchise...
on November 11, and in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
where she did various radio interviews.
Alan Carr
Alan Carr is an English comedian and television personality. Born in Weymouth, he was raised in Northampton before moving to Manchester during his early 20's....
's Chatty Man
Alan Carr: Chatty Man
Alan Carr: Chatty Man is a British comedy chat show presented by comedian Alan Carr. The award-winning show is on Channel 4. The show features interviews with celebrity guests, sketches, topical chat and music....
and switched on the Christmas lights at the Westfield London
Westfield London
Westfield London is a shopping centre in White City in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. The centre was developed by the Westfield Group at a cost of £1.6bn,...
shopping center. Carey performed the song on The X Factor
The X Factor (UK)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...
on November 22, GMTV
GMTV
GMTV was the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 to 3 September 2010. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of ITV plc. in November 2009. Shortly after, ITV plc announced the programme would end...
on the 23rd and This Morning
This Morning (TV series)
This Morning is a British daytime television programme broadcast on ITV. As of September 2011, its main presenters are Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, and Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes, with various other presenters standing in for illness or contributing to sections of the programme.The...
on the 24th.
Music video
Carey filmed a music video for "I Want to Know What Love Is" in September 2009 in New York City, directed by Hype WilliamsHype Williams
Harold "Hype" Williams , previously known as HYPE, is an American music video and film director of African-American and Honduran descent. His nickname "Hype" comes from his hyperactive nature as a child....
.
The video premiered on Mariah's official website on November 13, 2009.
The video features Carey singing in Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium was a stadium located in The Bronx in New York City, New York. It was the home ballpark of the New York Yankees from 1923 to 1973 and from 1976 to 2008. The stadium hosted 6,581 Yankees regular season home games during its 85-year history. It was also the former home of the New York...
, intercut with shots of audience members, often accompanied by loved ones, and some glimpses into the tough times in their past, as they grow emotional from the song's performance. A gospel choir joins Carey at the center of the stadium at the video's end. Carey wears the signature curly hairstyle from the initial stages of her career ca. 1990–1993, maintaining the Memoirs theme of the album.
Formats and track listings
Digital download- "I Want to Know What Love Is" (album version) — 3:26
UK digital single
- "I Want to Know What Love Is" (album version) — 3:26
- "I Want to Know What Love Is" (Moto BlancoMoto BlancoMoto Blanco is an English DJ and electronic music duo consisting of Danny Harrison and Arthur Smith.They are also regularly joined by british record producer Jon Cohen.-History:...
Club Edit) — 3:25 - "I Want to Know What Love Is" (Chew Fu Radio Fix) — 3:51
European CD single
- "I Want to Know What Love Is" — 3:39
- "ObsessedObsessed (song)"Obsessed" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, taken from her twelfth studio album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel . It was written and produced by Carey, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and Terius "The-Dream" Nash, and was released as the album's lead single on June 16, 2009...
" (CahillCahill (band)Cahill are a dance group, based in Liverpool, UK consisting of producers Anton Powers, Tim Condran and Scott Rosser. They are best known for their 2008 single, Trippin' On You, which features vocals from Nikki Belle.-Background:...
club edit) — 6:21
Charts
The song peaked on the U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary TracksHot Adult Contemporary Tracks
The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...
chart at number ten, bringing Carey's total number of Top Ten hits on that chart to 20, one short of Celine Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
's record. She has since surpassed this and is now tied with Celine Dion after her single Oh Santa!
Oh Santa!
"Oh Santa!" is a pop song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It was released by Island Records on October 11, 2010 as the lead single from her second Christmas album, Merry Christmas II You . The song was co-written and co-produced by Carey, Jermaine Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox...
reached number one in 2010. However, on the U.S. Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, it peaked at number 60. On the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, the song debuted at number 19 on the week ending November 29, becoming her highest debuting and peaking song since 2008's "Touch My Body
Touch My Body
"Touch My Body" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, taken from her eleventh studio album, E=MC² . It was written and produced by Carey, along with Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, Crystal "Cri$tyle" Johnson and Terius "The Dream" Nash, and was released as the album's lead single on...
", which peaked at number five.
The song debuted at number six in France, selling 1,910 physical CDs in its first week, and 39,720 copies of all formats there as of late 2009. becomes the best charting version of this song there.It placed 93rd on the Year-End Chart.
It also reached number three in Japan.
In Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, the song stayed at number one for a record 27 weeks the album is pending Platinum certification for shipments of over 60,000 copies, though it has been certified Gold. One of the reasons for the song's radio success there was its frequent inclusion in a popular new soap opera, Viver a Vida
Viver a Vida
Viver a Vida is a Brazilian telenovela , broadcast by Rede Globo at 9 P.M. It is written by Manoel Carlos in collaboration with Ângela Chaves, Cláudia Lage, Daisy Chaves, Juliana Perez and Maria Carolina. The telenovela is directed by Teresa Lamprey, Frederico Mayrink, Luciano Sabino, Leonardo...
. According to Crowley Broadcast Analysis
Crowley Broadcast Analysis
Crowley Broadcast Analysis is an official institution of research, which monitors the radios in Brazil since 1997. Currently the company provides data to the Escritório Central de Arrecadação e Distribuição and the Brazilian Association of Record Producers and besides being the standard for the...
, Carey's version has broken the record for longest Brazilian Hot 100 Airplay Chart run at 27 consecutive weeks.
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Brazil (Hot 100 Airplay Brasil Hot 100 Airplay Brasil Hot 100 Airplay is the official music singles charts in Brazil. It has been compiled by Crowley Broadcast Analysis and published monthly by Billboard Brasil since the release of the magazine, in October 2009.... ) |
1 |
Release history
| Country | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | September 15, 2009 | Digital download | Island Records Island Records Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group... |
| Norway | October 20, 2009 | The remixes (digital) | Universal Music |
| Korea | CD single | ||
| United Kingdom | November 22, 2009 | Digital download | Mercury Records Mercury Records Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal... |
| France | November 30, 2009 | CD single | Universal Music |
| Germany | December 4, 2009 |
Other covers
Laura BraniganLaura Branigan
Laura Ann Branigan was an American singer-songwriter and actress of Italian and Irish ancestry. She is best known in the United States for her 1982 Platinum-certified hit "Gloria" and in Europe for the number-one single "Self Control"...
and John Farnham
John Farnham
John Peter Farnham, AO, formerly billed as Johnny Farnham , is an English-born Australian pop singer. He was a teen pop idol from 1964 to 1979, and has since forged a career as an adult contemporary singer. His career has mostly been as a solo artist although he briefly replaced Glenn Shorrock as...
performed a duet to the song on live television for the 1986 Logie Awards, an Australian awards show.
In 1997 this song was also covered by slain South African reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
star Lucky Dube
Lucky Dube
Lucky Philip Dube was a South African reggae musician. He recorded 22 albums in Zulu, English and Afrikaans in a 25-year period and was South Africa's biggest selling reggae artist...
on his Taxman album. It featured strong South African reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
drum beats by ace drummer Mnca Mtshali. Filipina singer Regine Velasquez
Regine Velasquez
Regina Encarnacion Ansong Velasquez , better known as Asia's Songbird, Regine Velasquez, is a Filipino singer, actress, record producer and TV host...
covered the song in her 1997 album Retro
Retro
Retro is a culturally outdated or aged style, trend, mode, or fashion, from the overall postmodern past, that has since that time become functionally or superficially the norm once again. The use of "retro" style iconography and imagery interjected into post-modern art, advertising, mass media, etc...
, a collection of remakes.
A Spanish-language version by The Barrio Boyzz, entitled "Quiero Saber Que Es Amor/I Want to Know What Love Is", hit #40 on Billboards Latin Tropical/Salsa Airplay chart on April 7, 2001. In 2001, singer Rhona covered it on her debut self-titled album. A cover by Gloria Gaynor
Gloria Gaynor
Gloria Gaynor is an American singer, best known for the disco era hits; "I Will Survive" , "Never Can Say Goodbye" , "Let Me Know " and "I Am What I Am" .-Early career:Gaynor was a singer with the Soul...
appears on the 2002 K-Tel compilation Tina Turner & Gloria Gaynor, Back to Back.
In 2002, the victims of fires in a disco in Sweden and a bar in the Netherlands recorded this song as a way for these young people to learn to cope with their memories and their injuries. Their single, released under the artist name Volendam meets Göteborg, reached #39 in the Dutch charts.
In 2004, a cover by Sarah Geronimo
Sarah Gerónimo
Sarah Asher Tua Geronimo is a Filipino recording artist, actress and dancer. Geronimo started her career appearing in children's variety shows such as Pen-pen de Sarapen, Ang TV and NEXT...
from her album Sweet Sixteen
Sweet Sixteen (Sarah Geronimo album)
Sweet Sixteen is the second studio album by Filipino singer Sarah Geronimo, released on November 16, 2004 under VIVA Records. To date, the album has reached triple platinum status by the PARI, selling more than 90,000 copies in the Philippines.-Singles:...
was a hit in her native Philippines. That year, the song was performed on Australian Idol
Australian Idol
Australian Idol is a Logie Award-winning Australian singing competition, which began its first season on July 2003 and ended its run in November 2009. As part of the Idol franchise, Australian Idol originated from the reality program Pop Idol, which was created by British entertainment executive...
Season 2 by eventual runner-up Anthony Callea
Anthony Callea
Anthony Cosmo Callea is an Australian singer-songwriter who rose to prominence in the 2004 season of Australian Idol when he became runner up. He was signed to Sony Music Australia until 2009 and is now an independent artist...
on the Top 6 '80s show. The performance was well received by the judges and audience and a studio cover by Callea was included on the album Australian Idol Season 2: The Final 10 Cast Album.
The song was one of several covers chosen by Clay Aiken
Clay Aiken
Clayton Holmes "Clay" Aiken is an American singer, songwriter, actor, producer and author who began his rise to fame on the second season of the television program American Idol in 2003. RCA Records offered him a recording contract, and his multi-platinum debut album Measure of a Man was released...
to appear on his 2006 album A Thousand Different Ways
A Thousand Different Ways
A Thousand Different Ways is the third studio album by Clay Aiken. The album, which was executive produced by Jaymes Foster, consists of ten covers and four new songs. It was released by RCA on September 19, 2006...
.
French-Canadian singer Nathalie Simard
Nathalie Simard
Nathalie Simard is a pop singer from Quebec, Canada and sister of performer René Simard.She was discovered by producer Guy Cloutier. Her first role was in a Laura Secord pudding commercial at age 2...
covered this song on her 2007 album Il Y Avait Un Jardin.
In 2008 this song was covered by David Phelps
David Phelps
David Norris Phelps is an American Christian vocalist, songwriter and vocal arranger, who is best known for singing tenor in the Gaither Vocal Band. He has also released several solo albums, including four Christmas collections...
on his album The Voice. The song was also performed by Celtic Thunder
Celtic Thunder
Celtic Thunder is a singing group composed of male soloists who perform both solo and ensemble numbers. Celtic Thunder debuted in August 2007 at The Helix in Dublin, Ireland...
's Keith Harkin in concert, and it appears on that band's 2008 album Act Two.
Alvin and the Chipmunks
Alvin and the Chipmunks
Alvin and the Chipmunks is an American animated music group created by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. in 1958. The group consists of three singing animated anthropomorphic chipmunks: Alvin, the mischievous troublemaker, who quickly became the star of the group; Simon, the tall, bespectacled intellectual;...
covered the song for the 2009 movie Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel is a 2009 American comedy film directed by Betty Thomas. The film stars Zachary Levi, David Cross, Jason Lee, and the voices of Justin Long, Jesse McCartney, Matthew Gray Gubler, Christina Applegate, Amy Poehler, and Anna Faris...
and its soundtrack. Leela James
Leela James
Leela James is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter. James cites singers James Brown, Roberta Flack, Marvin Gaye, Donny Hathaway, Gladys Knight, Mavis Staples, and Stevie Wonder as her influences...
covered the song on her 2009 sophomore release Let's Do It Again
Let's Do It Again (Leela James album)
Let's Do It Again is the second studio album by American soul singer-songwriter Leela James, released in the United States on March 24, 2009 by Shanachie Records...
.
Other covers of this song have been recorded by familiar artists as diverse as Progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
keyboardist Geoffrey Downes, pop chanteuses Rita Coolidge
Rita Coolidge
Rita Coolidge is a multiple Grammy Award-winning American vocalist. During the 1970s and 1980s, she charted hits on Billboard's Pop, Country, Adult Contemporary and Jazz charts.-Career:...
and Shirley Bassey
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...
, Latin crooner Julio Iglesias
Julio Iglesias
Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva , better known simply as Julio Iglesias, is a Spanish singer who has sold over 300 million records worldwide in 14 languages and released 77 albums. According to Sony Music Entertainment, he is one of the top 15 best selling music artists in history,...
, Memphis soul
Memphis soul
Memphis soul, also known as Memphis Sound, is stylish, funky, uptown soul music that is not as hard-edged as Southern soul. It is a shimmering, sultry style produced in the 1960s and 1970s at Stax and Hi Records in Memphis, Tennessee, featuring melodic unison horn lines, organ, bass, and a driving...
singer Ann Peebles
Ann Peebles
Ann Peebles is an African American singer-songwriter who gained celebrity for her Memphis soul albums of the 1970s on the Hi Records label...
and Christian pop artist Kathy Troccoli
Kathy Troccoli
Kathleen Colleen "Kathy" Troccoli is a contemporary Christian singer, author, and speaker.-Personal:Born in Brooklyn, New York, on June 24, 1958, Troccoli moved at age three and was raised in Islip Terrace, Long Island, New York, graduating from East Islip High School. At 15, she lost her father...
.