B-side The River Genre Pop | Recorded 2007 | |
Released June 16, 2007 (as the free iTunes song of the week)
June 19, 2007 (as a single) Format CD single, digital download Length 4:18 (album version)
3:53 (radio edit) | ||
"Love Song" is American singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles' debut single, 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.
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It remained on the Billboard Hot 100 for 41 weeks. It also spent 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. Many consider it her breakout song due to it being her first hit and selling more than any other song by Bareilles.
Inspiration
Speaking of the song's origin, Bareilles said of her label, "They had encouraged me to keep writing, and I just wasn't having any luck. ...I started to get really insecure about it, and then I got really pissed off at myself for caring what anybody thought. ... 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."
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 I 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." In 2014, she stated it was "very tongue-in-cheek" and "nasty in a passive-aggressive way," confirming it was a response to the record label pressuring her to make safe, "radio friendly" songs.
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 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 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.
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 100. After her appearance in a Rhapsody TV commercial, in which she performs "Love Song", it rocketed from #72 to #16 on the Hot 100 and #32 to #5 on the Hot Digital Songs chart.
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. In spite of not reaching the top three, "Love Song" managed to spend 20 weeks in the top ten, in contrast with other songs that reached higher peak but did not maintain such longevity. The single was certified 4x Platinum by the RIAA for over 4 million in sales. As of April 2014, the single had sold 3,717,000 digital copies in the United States.
The song debuted on the UK Singles Chart at #30 and 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. In New Zealand it reached #7 on the Top 40 singles chart and 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.