Love_Song_(Sara_Bareilles_song)

Love Song (Sara Bareilles song)

Love Song (Sara Bareilles song)

2007 single by Sara Bareilles


"Love Song" is the debut single by American singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles, released in June 2007 via Epic Records from her major-label debut album, Little Voice (2007). It was nominated for 2009 Grammy Awards in the categories Song of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Quick Facts Single by Sara Bareilles, from the album Little Voice ...

"Love Song" spent 19 weeks in the top ten and an overall 41 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number four there. Similarly, it peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart and the Australian ARIA Charts. It also reached number one on the Canadian Hot 100, while topping the US Mainstream Top 40 airplay chart.[1] It also spent many weeks atop the Hot Adult Pop Songs and Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks charts, ending up number one at the year-end tally of both charts.

Background

Speaking of the song's origin in an interview with MTV, Bareilles said of her label, "They had encouraged me to keep writing, and I just wasn't having any luck. [...] I went to a rehearsal space one day. I sat down and wrote something for me. And 'Love Song' basically wrote itself. It's totally honest, and I'm very lucky the label liked it as well."[2]

Later in 2011, she explained: "It was actually written for my record label. I had been turning in new music. I was getting the red light. I couldn't go into the studio yet because they were waiting for something. But they wouldn't [...] nobody said what they were waiting for. So I kept turning in new songs, thinking like, 'Is this what you want? Is this what you want?' And it was always a big thumbs down, and I ended up writing 'Love Song' out of frustration."[3] In 2014, she stated it was "very tongue-in-cheek,” confirming it was a response to the record label pressuring her to make safe, "radio-friendly" songs.[4]

Chart performance

Featured initially as the free iTunes song of the week on June 16, 2007, the song was a sleeper hit, debuting a few months later at number 100 on the US Billboard Hot 100. After her appearance in a Rhapsody TV commercial, in which she performs "Love Song", it rocketed from number 72 to number 16 on the Hot 100 and from number 32 to number five on the Hot Digital Songs chart.[5] In the first week of 2008, the song cracked the top 10 on the Hot 100, jumping to number nine, where it stayed for four non-consecutive weeks before reaching a peak of number four. In spite of not reaching the top three, "Love Song" managed to spend 19 weeks in the top 10, in contrast with other songs that reached higher peak but did not maintain such longevity. The single was certified quadruple platinum by the RIAA for over four million in sales.[6]

As of April 2014, the single had sold 3,717,000 digital copies in the United States.[7] The song was listed at number seven 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.

The song debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number 30 and later peaked at number four. The song debuted at number 100 on the Canadian Hot 100 the week of January 31, 2008, and reached number one on the chart the week of March 29, 2008. In Australia, "Love Song" peaked at number four during its ninth week on the country's chart. In New Zealand, it reached number seven on the RIANZ Singles Chart.

Music video

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 observe 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 gonna 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 British actor Adam Campbell as the owner of the booth.

Charts

More information Chart (2007–2009), Peak position ...

Certifications

More information Region, Certification ...

See also


References

  1. Kaufman, Gil. "Sara Bareilles' 'Love Song' 'Basically Wrote Itself' -- After She Struggled For Years". MTV. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
  2. "How Sara Bareilles Got Her Start in Music". VOA. August 17, 2011. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
  3. "Sara Bareilles: The Sweet Author of Tough Songs" (January 5, 2014). CBSNews.com. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
  4. Paul Grein (April 30, 2014). "Chart Watch: Pharrell Steps Up". Yahoo Music.
  5. "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 200833 into search. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  6. "Hits of the World – Eurocharts" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 120, no. 27. July 5, 2008. p. 67. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  7. "Sara Bareilles: Love Song" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  8. "Sara Bareilles – Love Song" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  9. "Nielsen Music Control Airplay - Germany Top 5". Nielsen Music Control on behalf of BVMI. Archived from the original on June 1, 2008. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
  10. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  11. "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 200833 into search. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  12. "Jaaroverzichten 2008" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  13. "Canadian Hot 100: 2008 Year-End Charts". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
  14. "Top Canada AC Songs". R&R. December 12, 2008. p. 67.
  15. "Top Canada Hot AC Songs". R&R. December 12, 2008. p. 67.
  16. "Year End Charts: European Hot 100 Singles". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 4, 2012. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  17. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-10-19. Retrieved 2011-09-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 2008" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  19. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2008". hitparade.ch (in German). Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  20. Official Charts list, ukchartsplus. Retrieved August 2011
  21. "Hot 100 Year End 2008". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2 January 2013. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
  22. "The Decade End Music Charts" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 121, no. 50. December 19, 2009. p. 160. Retrieved October 5, 2016.
  23. "Guld og platin i juli". IFPI Denmark. Archived from the original on October 8, 2011. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
  24. "Music in Italy" (PDF). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 25, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2010.

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