I Want to Know What Love Is

Song information

Written and composed by Mick Jones, with an uncredited portion (somewhere between 5% according to Jones and 40% according to Gramm) by Lou Gramm, and produced by Jones and Alex Sadkin, "I Want to Know What Love Is" was the first single released from Foreigner's album Agent Provocateur (1984). The song features backing vocals from the New Jersey Mass Choir affiliated with the Gospel Music Workshop of America, Dreamgirls star Jennifer Holliday, and featured keyboard work by Thompson Twins frontman Tom Bailey. The choir also appears in the song's music video.

"I Want to Know What Love Is" reached #1 in the UK Singles Chart on January 15, 1985, displacing Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?", staying there for three weeks, and knocked Madonna's long-running "Like a Virgin" out of #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on February 2, 1985. It was Foreigner's first and only pop chart topper in either country, although the band had four #1 Mainstream Rock hits and a #1 Adult Contemporary radio hit 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, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, and Sweden, peaking at #2 in Switzerland and South Africa.

The song has received positive retrospective reviews from critics, with Bret Adams of AllMusic writing: "It's not hard to see why it became Foreigner's first #1 single. Its dreamy, hypnotic feel is due in part to Lou Gramm's soulful lead vocals and the New Jersey Mass Choir's background vocals."

The song was also issued as a 12" single with a 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 (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 that it also titled I Want to Know What Love Is. The choir's 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 #4 Billboard Hot 100 single of 1985. It was the band's third Platinum 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.

New Jersey Mass Choir version

In 1985, the New Jersey Mass Choir released the Prelude Records album entitled I Want to Know What Love Is. The album's fifth track, "I Want to Know What Love Is", was released as a single in the gospel music market which garnered several awards within the industry.

Tina Arena version

"I Want to Know What Love Is" was covered by Australian singer Tina Arena 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 helped write the song. This version of the song includes a previously unrecorded bridge between the second and third choruses, specifically written for Tina Arena by Mick Jones.

Track listings

1. "I Want to Know What Love Is" (Single Edit)
2. "I Want to Know What Love Is" (R & B Mix)
3. "I Want to Spend My Lifetime Loving You" (G-Vo Extended Mix)
4. "Not For Sale"

1. "I Want To Know What Love Is" (Single Edit)
2. "Now I Can Dance" (Spanglish Version)
3. "Now I Can Dance" (Live)
4. "If I Didn't Love You" (Remix)

1. "I Want to Know What Love Is" (R'n'B Mix)
2. "I Want to Know What Love Is" (Urban Mix)
3. "I Want to Know What Love Is" (Extended Urban Mix)
4. "I Want to Know What Love Is" (Single Edit)

Charts

The song peaked at #13 in France and finished 60th on the end-of-year chart of 1999.

Wynonna Judd version

"I Want to Know What Love Is" was covered by American country 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 for her work with 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.

Track listings

1. "I Want To Know What Love Is" — 5:41

1. "I Want To Know What Love Is" (Piper Remix) — 4:05
2. "I Want To Know What Love Is" (Piper Club Mix) — 7:42

Charts

In the US, the song peaked at #14 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary. On the Hot Dance Club Songs of Billboard, it debuted at #50 and peaked at #12. It is also her first single to chart in Sweden, where it debuted at #67 and peaked at #15.

Mariah Carey version

"I Want to Know What Love Is" was covered by American singer Mariah Carey 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."

Critical reception

The single was generally well received by critics; 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.com 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".

Writing in a Los Angeles Times music blog, Todd Martens 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."

Performances and promotion

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 Williams. 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.

Formats and track listings

1. "I Want to Know What Love Is" (album version) — 3:26

1. "I Want to Know What Love Is" (album version) — 3:26
2. "I Want to Know What Love Is" (Moto Blanco Club Edit) — 3:25
3. "I Want to Know What Love Is" (Chew Fu Radio Fix) — 3:51

1. "I Want to Know What Love Is" — 3:39
2. "Obsessed" (Cahill club edit) — 6:21

Chart performance

The song peaked on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart at #10 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 #1 in 2010. However, it peaked at #60 on the US Hot 100. On the UK Singles Chart, the song debuted at #19 on the week ending November 29, 2009, becoming her highest debuting and peaking song since 2008's "Touch My Body", which peaked at #5.

The song debuted at #6 in France, selling 1,910 physical CDs in its first week and 39,720 copies in all formats as of late 2009, becoming the best charting version of this song there. It placed 93rd on the Year-End Chart.

In Brazil, the song stayed at #1 for a record 27 weeks. 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.

Other covers