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Love Song (Sara Bareilles song)
Encyclopedia
"Love Song" is Sara Bareilles
' first single, released in 2007. She has stated during live performances that it was actually written in response to her record label's request that she write a "marketable love song," rather than about an actual person. It was nominated for 2009 Grammy Awards in the categories Song of the Year
and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
.
It remains Bareilles' biggest hit single in the USA to date, and remained on the Billboard Hot 100
for 54 weeks, becoming one of few songs that managed to spent a whole year on the chart. It also spent many, many weeks atop the Hot Adult Pop Songs and Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks charts, ending up #1 at the year-end tally of both charts.
Directed by Josh Forbes, the music video features a miniature Bareilles playing the piano inside a coin-operated jukebox that plays love songs. A steady stream of men and women enter the booth and insert coins to hear Bareilles play, observing her through a pinhole as she plays the same song day after day. The lyrics express her growing frustration as she declares that she is "not going to write you a love song today," whereupon Bareilles grabs the next coin that rolls inside, and uses it to jam the gears. The next morning, the owner of the booth (who was seen at the beginning of the video) enters; he notices that the jukebox has gone dark, and appears amazed when he discovers Bareilles inside the jukebox. He retrieves the jammed coin from the gears and hands it to Bareilles.
The music video features the Album Version of the song.
The video also features English actor Adam Campbell
as the owner of the booth.
. After her appearance in a Rhapsody
TV commercial, in which she performs the song, "Love Song" rocketed from #72 to #16 on the Hot 100 and #32 to #5 on the Hot Digital Songs
chart. It has gone on to sell more than 1.3 million copies.
In the first week of 2008, the song cracked the top ten on the Hot 100, jumping to #9, where it stayed for four non-consecutive weeks before peaking at #4. The single was recently certified 4x Platinum by the RIAA.
As of February 2011, the single was sold 4,144,000 times. The song debuted on the UK Singles Chart
at #30 and also peaked at #4. The song debuted at #100 on the Canadian Hot 100
the week of January 31, 2008, and reached #1 on the chart the week of March 29, 2008. In Australia, "Love Song" peaked at #4 in its ninth week on the country's chart. It is a growing hit in New Zealand, where it has reached #7 on the Top 40 singles chart but held the #1 position on the Radio Airplay chart for six weeks. It was the most played song of 2008 on New Zealand radio. In Spain, the song debuted at #33 and has so far peaked at #13.
The song is listed at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 year-end chart of 2008. It also topped both the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
and Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks
charts in 2008.
. It has been covered
twice: pop-punk band Four Year Strong
recorded a version of the song for the compilation album Punk Goes Pop 2
, and "Love Song" was also covered on the album Kidz Bop 14
.
Sara Bareilles
Sara Beth Bareilles is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She achieved mainstream success in 2007 with the hit single "Love Song", which brought her into the number one spot on the Billboard Pop 100 chart. She has sold over 1 million records in the United States alone and has been...
' first single, released in 2007. She has stated during live performances that it was actually written in response to her record label's request that she write a "marketable love song," rather than about an actual person. It was nominated for 2009 Grammy Awards in the categories Song of the Year
Grammy Award for Song of the Year
The Song of the Year is one of the four most prestigious awards in the Grammy Awards ceremony, if not in all of the American music industry. It has been awarded since 1959 and unlike the Record of the Year award, which goes to the performer and production team of a single song, Song of the Year...
and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance is the latest in a series of awards recognizing superior vocal performance by a female in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. The award goes to the artist...
.
It remains Bareilles' biggest hit single in the USA to date, and remained on the 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...
for 54 weeks, becoming one of few songs that managed to spent a whole year on the chart. It also spent many, many weeks atop the Hot Adult Pop Songs and Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks charts, ending up #1 at the year-end tally of both charts.
Inspiration
Sara Bareilles was inspired to write Love Song after initially failing to produce what Epic deemed commercially successful hits; one such critic suggested that she needed to write "a marketable love song." Bareilles has since affirmed that that critic's statement imbued her with the drive and anger necessary to write "Love Song," proving that she could indeed write a hit, and that she had no double standards.Music video
The music video features the Album Version of the song.
The video also features English actor Adam Campbell
Adam Campbell (actor)
Adam Campbell is an English actor. Among his credits are roles in the American film parodies Date Movie, Epic Movie, and portrayed Cal Vandeusen in the horror miniseries Harper's Island.-Career:...
as the owner of the booth.
Chart performance
Featured initially as the free iTunes song of the week on June 16, 2007, the song debuted a few months later at #100 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100Billboard 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...
. After her appearance in a Rhapsody
Rhapsody (online music service)
Rhapsody is an online music store subscription service, launched in December 2001, and available in the United States only. On April 6, 2010, Rhapsody officially declared its independence from RealNetworks. Downloaded files come with restrictions on their use, enforced by Helix, Rhapsody's version...
TV commercial, in which she performs the song, "Love Song" rocketed from #72 to #16 on the Hot 100 and #32 to #5 on the Hot Digital Songs
Hot Digital Songs
The Hot Digital Songs chart ranks the best-selling digital singles in the United States, according to Billboard.Beginning in February 2005, digital sales have been incorporated into many of Billboards music single charts. It was decided to do so mainly because of the dramatic rise in popularity of...
chart. It has gone on to sell more than 1.3 million copies.
In the first week of 2008, the song cracked the top ten on the Hot 100, jumping to #9, where it stayed for four non-consecutive weeks before peaking at #4. The single was recently certified 4x Platinum by the RIAA.
As of February 2011, the single was sold 4,144,000 times. The song debuted 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 ...
at #30 and also peaked at #4. The song debuted at #100 on the Canadian Hot 100
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...
the week of January 31, 2008, and reached #1 on the chart the week of March 29, 2008. In Australia, "Love Song" peaked at #4 in its ninth week on the country's chart. It is a growing hit in New Zealand, where it has reached #7 on the Top 40 singles chart but held the #1 position on the Radio Airplay chart for six weeks. It was the most played song of 2008 on New Zealand radio. In Spain, the song debuted at #33 and has so far peaked at #13.
The song is listed at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 year-end chart of 2008. It also topped both the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
Hot 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...
and Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks
Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks
Adult Top 40 is a variation on the United States Billboard charts...
charts in 2008.
| Chart (2008) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
4 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 18 |
| Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders) | 10 |
| Belgian Singles Chart (Wallonia) | 12 |
| Canadian Hot 100 Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... |
1 |
| Danish Singles Chart Tracklisten Tracklisten is a Danish top 40 record chart that is presented every Thursday midnight at .The weekly Danish Singles Chart also known as Track Top-40 combines the 40 best selling tracks from legal music downloads and the sales of music singles on either CD or vinyl... |
9 |
| Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
5 |
| Eurochart Hot 100 | 1 |
| German Singles Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
13 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
5 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 11 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 7 |
| Swedish Singles Chart 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 .... |
17 |
| Swiss Singles Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
16 |
| 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 ... |
4 |
| 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... Pop 100 Pop 100 The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009... |
1 |
Year-End charts
| Chart (2008) | Position |
|---|---|
| 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 100 |
7 |
| 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... Pop 100 Pop 100 The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009... |
12 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... ) |
14 |
| US Adult Contemporary (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... ) |
1 |
| US Adult Pop Songs (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... ) |
1 |
| 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 ... |
55 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 6 |
| Australian Singles Chart | 8 |
| Canadian Hot 100 Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... |
4 |
| Chart (2009) | Position |
|---|---|
| Hungarian Singles Chart | 149 |
Release history
"Love Song" has appeared on the international soundtrack of the Brazilian soap opera Beleza PuraBeleza Pura
Beleza Pura is a Brazilian telenovela produced and broadcast by Rede Globo from February, 18 to September 12, 2008, with a total of 179 chapters. It replaced Sete Pecados, by Walcyr Carrasco at the 19h timeslot...
. It has been covered
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
twice: pop-punk band Four Year Strong
Four Year Strong
Four Year Strong is an American pop punk band from Worcester, Massachusetts, formed in 2001. The group consists of vocalists and guitarists Dan O'Connor and Alan Day, bassist Joe Weiss, and drummer Jackson Massucco...
recorded a version of the song for the compilation album Punk Goes Pop 2
Punk Goes Pop 2
Punk Goes Pop 2 is the eighth compilation album released from the Punk Goes... series created by Fearless Records to feature covers by various artists of pop songs, and is the eighth album in the series overall. It was released on March 9, 2009, in the United Kingdom, and March 10, 2009, in the...
, and "Love Song" was also covered on the album Kidz Bop 14
Kidz Bop 14
Kidz Bop 14 is the 14th edition of the Kidz Bop series. The album was released on July 29, 2008.-Track listing:All songs are performed by the Kidz Bop Kids...
.
See also
- List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 2008 (Canada)
- List of Mainstream Top 40 number-one hits of 2008 (U.S.)
- List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 2008 (U.S.)
- List of Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks number-one singles of 2008