Format Digital download Label will.i.am, Interscope | Recorded 2011-2012 | |
Released June 1, 2012 (2012-06-01) Genre Dance-pop, hip house, electro house Length 4:42 (Album version)
4:07 (Radio Edit) | ||
"This Is Love" is a song written and recorded by American hip hop artist will.i.am for his fourth studio album, #willpower. The song features vocals from Dutch singer-songwriter Eva Simons. "This Is Love" was released as the first single from #willpower on June 1, 2012, and the song made its debut on Capital FM on May 14, 2012. The music video, directed by will.i.am himself, was released on May 25, 2012.
Contents
Background and development
The song was co-produced by Swedish House Mafia DJ's, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso. Work on the song started in late December 2011, and was partially recorded and completely mixed outside of the recording studios, on will.i.am's personal laptop. Eva Simons, whose vocals are featured on "This Is Love", was personally asked by will.i.am himself to lend vocals to the song. Simons told MTV News,
"He is super creative, and we kind of have the same energy: We can't sit still. We were in the studio, and he had this track, and he's like, 'Yo, Eva, would you like to do this song with me?' And we had been recording a couple tracks before, so he knows what I'm capable of and he trusts me, and we don't really know each other for that long, but he trusts me. I recorded it, and he mixes it straight away from his laptop ... and it's done. That's so beautiful — not only is he super creative and knows what he wants, but he also sees when other people are creative as well. He's not afraid to collaborate."Music video
The music video for "This Is Love" was shot in London, with part of it shot at Potter's Fields on the South Bank of the Thames near Tower Bridge, in mid-May. It was released via VEVO on May 25, 2012.
The music video starts with will.i.am playing a Grand Piano on the grass on the south bank of the Thames near Tower Bridge, engraved with the brand new #willpower era style will.i.am logo. He is accompanied by a laptop, displaying pictures of a nightclub (Cirque Le Soir in Soho, with Eva Simons appearing inside. During Simons' bridges and choruses, the video crosses to the nightclub, displaying pictures of the club in action, Simons and Adams inside singing their respective verses. Over time, the video crosses back and forth between will.i.am at South Bank and Eva Simons inside the night club. It ends with both Adams and Simons at South Bank, with a group of violinists during the final chorus and pyrotechnic displays during Simons' final vocal chorus.
Chart and sales performance
The song is the first solo track by will.i.am to reach number one in the United Kingdom, where it sold 102,000 copies in its first week on sale. The song has sold 403,000 copies in the UK in 2012, and was the 39th best-selling single of 2012. It has reached the top-ten in 17 countries worldwide, whilst reaching number one in 10 of those.