This Love (Maroon 5 song)
"This Love" | ||||
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Single by Maroon 5 | ||||
from the album Songs About Jane | ||||
Released | January 27, 2004 | |||
Format | CD single | |||
Recorded | 2001-02; Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |||
Genre | Pop rock | |||
Length |
3:27 (Album Version) 4:25 (Extended Version) | |||
Label | Octone | |||
Writer(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | ||||
Maroon 5 singles chronology | ||||
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"This Love" is a song by the American pop rock band Maroon 5. The song was written by frontman Adam Levine and keyboardist Jesse Carmichael for their debut album, Songs About Jane (2002). The track is built around a piano-led strut, which is immediately followed by synth percussion, and a repeating guitar sound.
The song's lyrics are based on Levine's break-up with an ex-girlfriend. He revealed that the song was written in the "most emotionally trying time" in his life.[1] He has also described that the lyrics in this song are extremely erotic.[2] "This Love" was critically acclaimed by music critics, who noted the track's musicscape. It was released on January 27, 2004, as the second single from Songs About Jane.
The single entered the top ten on most charts, topping several of Billboard magazine's component charts, including reaching the number one spot on the Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks chart. The music video was met with controversy, regarding extended intimate scenes between Levine and his then-girlfriend. "This Love" helped Maroon 5 win the MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist and was the third most played song of 2004. The song won Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 2006 Grammy Awards, and, to date, is one of Maroon 5's most successful songs.[3]
Background
"This Love" was the second single from Maroon 5's 2002 debut album, Songs About Jane. In an interview with MTV News in August 2002, Maroon 5 vocalist Adam Levine revealed that he wrote the song the day his girlfriend moved away when they broke up.[4] In another interview, Levine revealed that the song was written in the "most emotionally trying time" in his life. He also added, "I was in a relationship that was ending, but I was really excited on the other end because the band was about to go make the record and I was ecstatic to go in the studio. She was literally leaving town within days of me writing the lyrics to 'This Love,' so I was in prime emotional condition to write a song with that kind of conflict."[1]
Music and lyrics
During development of "This Love", the band stated that the song was influenced by musician Stevie Wonder.[5][6] The verses being written in the key of C harmonic minor and the chorus being written in the key of Eb Major, the beat is set in common time and moves at a moderate 95 beats per minute.[7] The introduction of "This Love" features a piano-led strut.[8] Maroon 5 has called "This Love" a prime pop-rock song.[9] The music featured in the song has a lot more rock-guitar crunch,[5] and is considered a soulful[3] and pop/rock song.[10] According to Johnny Loftus of Allmusic, the music featured in the song has "a slick channeling of vintage R&B rhythms into punchy pop dynamics".[11] Loftus felt that the song features "Levine's wry falsetto around strutting, bottom-heavy piano and percussion both programmed and live; chirping backup vocals and washes of sunny synth and flute acted as counterweights".[11] Loftus also noted that the band has a "sexual charge" with the lyrics, "I tried my best to feed her appetite / To keep her coming every night / So hard to keep her satisfied".[11] The Boston Globe's Steve Morse described the single's sounds as "a rocking yet soulful tale about the breakup of a relationship".[12] Meghan Bard of The Daily Campus adds that the song has "Stevie Wonder-esque vocals and a funky R&B beat".[6] In the extended version of the song, which is 4 minutes and 26 seconds long, the chorus of the band's next single, "She Will Be Loved", can be heard from 3:21 to 3:42, during the outro.[13]
In an interview with Rolling Stone, when asked about the lyrics "Keep her coming every night" and "Sinking my fingertips into every inch of you", Levine said: "Yep, that's sexual, all right. I was so sick of typical lyrics like 'Ooh, baby' and 'I love you' and all this vague shit. I thought the more explicit I got without being totally explicit was a nice approach. The little girls would enjoy them, and it would go right over my grandparents' heads. But it would hit my ex-girlfriend like a ton of bricks. It was perfect."[2] He also comments on how MTV played an edited version of the song for the music video, with the word "coming" edited out of the line "keep her coming every night".[5] Levine noted, "MTV has now edited the language. They won't let me say, 'Keep her coming every night', and they took the sinking out of 'sinking my fingertips'. It's like communist China. It's totally bizarre."[2]
Reception
The song received critical acclaim from critics. In the Rolling Stone review of the album, critic Christian Hoard wrote: "Adam Levine's urban-romantic swoonings work best when his band really gets up on the good foot, as on 'This Love', which uses piano and James Brown-like guitars to create a foundation on which Levine can obsess about beauty (including his own)."[14] Jason Thompson of PopMatters noted that on the songs "This Love" and "Must Get Out", keyboardist Jesse Carmichael "manages to conjure up both the productions of Britney Spears and The New Radicals respectively".[15] Sam Beresky of the Daily Lobo, who was less enthusiastic about the album, complimented the band on "This Love", in which he noted, "...'This Love', is a happier version of the first with a great backbeat reminiscent of Stevie Wonder's 'Superstition'. It might make a foot tap, a head nod or even a booty shake if played at a loud volume."[16]
In May 2004, musician John Mayer told Rolling Stone that he liked the band's album Songs About Jane. Mayer was also positive towards the song. "Once I heard 'This Love,' it was a light-fuse/stand-back kind of situation. It's one of those perfect songs you always hope to write."[5] The single also strengthened Maroon 5's appeal, and helped position them as one of the year's break-out bands in 2004.[3] It has since been remixed by Kanye West, titled "This Love (Kanye West remix)", in May 2004.[17] The band released an EP titled 1.22.03.Acoustic, which features "This Love", however, in an acoustic version.[18] The song was featured in the video game Guitar Hero: On Tour in 2008.[19]
Chart performance
The single was officially released to radio in North America in January 2004, although the music video was released six months later.[20] "This Love" appeared on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #5.[21] The track's Junior Vasquez Mixes remix topped the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.[22] It also appeared in the Hot Dance Airplay chart at number eighteen.[23] "This Love" reached number one on Billboard's Top 40 Mainstream.[11] It also reached the top spot on Billboard's Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks at the one spot,[11][22] it stayed there for 10 weeks.The song was the top digital download of 2004. In 2007, the song re-entered the chart at the number 36 position on Billboard's Hot Digital Songs.[23] As of June 2014, the song has sold 2,120,000 copies in the US.[24]
"This Love" reached the top ten in twelve countries. In the United Kingdom, it reached the number three spot in the UK Singles Chart on May 1, 2004.[25][26] It entered the top ten in France, Belgium, and Australia.[27][28] The single reached the top five in Norway, Switzerland, Netherlands, Austria, and New Zealand.[27] Elsewhere, "This Love" appeared on the Italy, Swiss, Germany, and Ireland music charts.[28]
Music video
![](../I/m/Maroon_5_This_Love_music_video.jpg)
The music video for "This Love" was directed by Sophie Muller. The video combines performance footage from the band in a courtyard built at Mack Sennett Studios and scenes of Adam Levine parting ways with a woman.[1] According to Levine, the concept behind the music video was based on Prince. "An overt sexuality confuses people, too. That video was a very 'pop star' thing to do."[29]
The music video for "This Love" also features Levine and his then-girlfriend, model Kelly McKee, in a few intimate scenes. The video used creative camera angles, thereby avoiding possible FCC action.[30] A version of the video where a stream of computer-generated flowers cover up more was created for more conservative markets.[31] When asked about the video, Levine said: "It was surprisingly not weird and surprisingly not sexual. It was totally comfortable. I didn't get horny or anything, which was weird since I shot it with my girlfriend."[32]
The video was controversial enough to cause critics to comment on it.[32] Sylvia Patterson of The Daily Telegraph described the video as a "porno-pop video".[29] Bass player Michael Madden, asked to comment on the controversy, said that it was "an absurd over-reaction."[33]
Live performances and cover versions
Maroon 5 performed "This Love" live on Saturday Night Live (SNL) in February 2004.[34] The band won the MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist for the music video of "This Love" in 2004.[35][36] Also in 2004, the song was nominated for Choice Rock Track at the Teen Choice Awards.[37] In the Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems, "This Love" was the third played song of 2004, having 438,589 total plays.[38] At the 48th Grammy Awards, the song won a Grammy Award in the category for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.[39][40]
The song appeared as a track in the Nintendo DS video game Guitar Hero: On Tour as well as being a part of the downloadable content library for Guitar Hero 5 (and by association, Band Hero as they share the same catalog).
Track listing
CD single | ||
---|---|---|
No. | Title | Length |
1. | "This Love" (Album version) | 3:27 |
2. | "This Love" (Video) | 3:24 |
3. | "Harder to Breathe" (Acoustic) | |
4. | "The Sun" (Acoustic) |
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
All-time charts
Sales and certifications
|
Other versions
- A remix of this song has been produced by Kanye West and Miri Ben-Ari with background vocals by John Legend.
- A South Korean singer, G-Dragon bought the song, then penned and sang the Korean version. The music video was released on October 2, 2008 on YG Entertainment's YouTube channel.[87]
- In 2013, American singer Marlow Rosado covered the song in salsa and released it as a single.[88] His version peaked at No. 36 on the Billboard Tropical Songs chart.[89]
References
- 1 2 3 Moss, Corey (August 21, 2003). "Tattooed, Request-Line-Ringing Fans Afford Maroon 5 Another Video". MTV News. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
- 1 2 3 Scaggs, Austin (March 24, 2004). "Q&A: Adam Levine". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
- 1 2 3 D'Angelo, Joe (March 8, 2004). "Maroon 5: A Room Of Their Own". MTV News. p. 1. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
- ↑ Moss, Corey (August 27, 2002). "Maroon 5 Aspire To Inspire Sexuality, Crying". MTV News. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
- 1 2 3 4 Hoard, Christian (May 19, 2004). "Maroon 5's Whiter Shade of Funk". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
- 1 2 Bard, Meghan (April 1, 2003). "Get down with Maroon 5". The Daily Campus. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
- ↑ "Maroon 5 Digital Sheet Music: This Love". Musicnotes. Retrieved February 11, 2010.
- ↑ Batey, Angus (August 14, 2004). "The gonna be famous five". The Times. p. 1. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
- ↑ Cairns, Dan (April 22, 2007). "Five wise up in LA". The Times. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
- ↑ "Rick, Star 94.1". San Diego Reader. Star 94.1. November 8, 2007. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "This Love — Maroon 5". Allmusic. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
- ↑ Morse, Steve (May 21, 2004). "Maroon 5". The Boston Globe. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
- ↑ http://home.no/telefonbok9/Maroon5.jpg.mp3
- ↑ Hoard, Christian (March 11, 2003). "Maroon 5: Songs About Jane". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
- ↑ Thompson, Jason (June 25, 2002). "Maroon 5: Songs About Jane". PopMatters. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
- ↑ Beresky, Sam (July 31, 2003). "Maroon 5 falls short of their influences". Daily Lobo. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
- ↑ D'Angelo, Joe (May 13, 2004). "Maroon 5 Turn To Kanye West For 'This Love' Remix; Record Track For Spidey". MTV News. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
- ↑ Moss, Corey (June 7, 2004). "Maroon 5 Plan To Keep It Hot And Steamy In Next Video". MTV News. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
- ↑ Lammers, Dirk (June 30, 2008). "For Those About to Rock, Wii Salute You". Fox News. Associated Press. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
- ↑ "Total Request Live". 2004-07-12. 60 minutes in. MTV. Missing or empty
|series=
(help) - ↑ "Maroon 5 tops singles chart with record leap". Billboard. Reuters. May 3, 2007. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
- 1 2 "Maroon 5 > Charts & Awards". Allmusic. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
- 1 2 "This Love — Maroon 5". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on February 15, 2010. Retrieved February 15, 2010.
- 1 2 Trust, Gary (June 15, 2014). "Ask Billboard: MAGIC!'s 'Rude' Revives Reggae". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media.
- ↑ "Maroon 5 crowns US album charts". BBC News Online. May 31, 2007. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
- ↑ "Chart Stats — Maroon 5 - This Love". Chart Stats. May 1, 2004. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
- 1 2 "Maroon 5 - This Love". Austrian Charts. March 21, 2004. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
- 1 2 "Maroon 5 - This Love — Music Charts". Music Square. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
- 1 2 Patterson, Sylvia (August 24, 2007). "Maroon 5: They will be loved". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
- ↑ Uncensored music video for "This Love" on YouTube
- ↑ "This Love — Maroon 5 - Music Video". MTV. Retrieved May 7, 2009.
- 1 2 D'Angelo, Joe; Evan James (January 26, 2004). "Chart Topping And Topless Girl All Part Of Maroon 5 Singer's Plan". MTV News. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
- ↑ Bergmann, Caitlin. "An iVillage Exclusive Q&A with Maroon 5". iVillage. Retrieved July 25, 2007.
- ↑ "Christina Aguilera/Maroon 5". Saturday Night Live. Season 29. Episode 558. 2004-02-21. 90-92 minutes in. NBC.
- ↑ Silverman, Stephen M. (August 30, 2004). "Jay-Z, OutKast Tie for 4 MTV Video Awards". People. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
- ↑ "OutKast, Jay-Z Big Winners at Patriotic VMAs". Fox News. August 30, 2004. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
- ↑ "Maroon 5 to Release Live/Acoustic EP; Nabs Five Teen Choice Nominations; Announces Summer Slate of Television Appearances". Business Wire. June 8, 2004. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
- ↑ Vineyard, Jennifer (January 5, 2005). "Usher's 'Yeah!' Was Most Played Song Of 2004". MTV News. VH1. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
- ↑ "List of Grammy winners". CNN: Showbiz/Music. February 9, 2006. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
- ↑ "Complete List of 48th Annual Grammy Award Winners". Fox News. Associated Press. February 8, 2006. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
- ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Maroon 5 – This Love". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
- ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Maroon 5 – This Love" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Maroon 5 – This Love" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Maroon 5 – This Love" (in French). Ultratop 50.
- ↑ "Lescharts.com – Maroon 5 – This Love" (in French). Les classement single.
- ↑ "Musicline.de – Maroon 5 Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
- ↑ "Top 50 Singles - Εβδομάδα 10-16/10" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on October 17, 2004. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
- ↑ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved December 9, 2010.
- ↑ "Chart Track: Week 25, 2004". Irish Singles Chart.
- ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Maroon 5 – This Love". Top Digital Download.
- ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Maroon 5 search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
- ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Maroon 5 – This Love" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
- ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Maroon 5 – This Love". Top 40 Singles.
- ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Maroon 5 – This Love". VG-lista.
- ↑ "Nielsen Music Control". Archived from the original on October 27, 2007.
- ↑ Arhiva romanian top 100: Editia 41, saptamina 11.10 - 17.10, 2004 at the Wayback Machine (archived January 18, 2005)
- ↑ "Archive Chart: 2004-05-01". Scottish Singles Top 40. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
- ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Maroon 5 – This Love". Singles Top 100.
- ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Maroon 5 – This Love". Swiss Singles Chart.
- ↑ "Archive Chart: 2004-05-01" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
- ↑ "Maroon 5 – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Maroon 5.
- ↑ "Maroon 5 – Chart history" Billboard Adult Contemporary for Maroon 5.
- ↑ "Maroon 5 – Chart history" Billboard Adult Pop Songs for Maroon 5.
- ↑ "Maroon 5 – Chart history" Billboard Dance/Mix Show Airplay for Maroon 5.
- ↑ "Maroon 5 – Chart history" Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs for Maroon 5.
- ↑ "Maroon 5 – Chart history" Billboard Pop Songs for Maroon 5.
- ↑ "Pop Rock". Record Report. April 24, 2004. Archived from the original on April 24, 2004.
- ↑ "2012년 07주차 Digital Chart" (in Korean). Gaon Chart. January 5, 2013. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
- ↑ "ARIA Charts - End Of Year Charts". Retrieved May 4, 2013.
- ↑ "JAHRESHITPARADE SINGLES 2004". Retrieved October 9, 2015.
- ↑ "JAAROVERZICHTEN 2004". Retrieved October 9, 2015.
- ↑ "RAPPORTS ANNUELS 2004". Retrieved October 9, 2015.
- ↑ "TOP 100 SINGLE-JAHRESCHARTS". Retrieved October 9, 2015.
- ↑ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 2004" (in Dutch). Retrieved October 9, 2015.
- ↑ "JAAROVERZICHTEN - SINGLE 2004" (in Dutch). Retrieved October 9, 2015.
- ↑ "Top Selling Singles of 2004". Retrieved October 9, 2015.
- ↑ "SCHWEIZER JAHRESHITPARADE 2004". Retrieved October 9, 2015.
- ↑ "End of Year 2004" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
- ↑ "Top 100 Hits of 2004". Retrieved September 9, 2014.
- ↑ "Greatest of All Time Adult Pop Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 30, 2016.
- ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2004 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association.
- ↑ "Canadian single certifications – Maroon 5 – This Love". Music Canada.
- ↑ "Japanese single certifications – Maroon 5 – This Love" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved January 27, 2016. Select 2014年3月 on the drop-down menu
- ↑
- "South Korea Gaon Chart - 2011 Year End International Download Chart". Gaon Digital Chart. 2012. Archived from the original on October 15, 2013. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
- "South Korea Gaon Chart - 2012 Year End International Download Chart". Gaon Digital Chart. 2013. Archived from the original on October 15, 2013. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
- "South Korea Gaon Chart - 2013 Year End International Download Chart". Gaon Digital Chart. 2014. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
- "South Korea Gaon Chart - 2014 Year End International Download Chart". Gaon Digital Chart. 2015. Archived from the original on January 10, 2015. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
- ↑ "British single certifications – Maroon 5 – This Love". British Phonographic Industry. Enter This Love in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
- ↑ "American single certifications – Maroon 5 – This Love". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
- ↑ Video on YouTube
- ↑ "This Love/Que Amor (Spanglish Salsa Version) - Single". Amazon.com. Retrieved June 20, 2013.
- ↑ "Marlow Rosado: Awards". Allmusic. Rovi. Retrieved June 20, 2013.
External links