Lovefool

"Lovefool"
Single by The Cardigans
from the album First Band on the Moon
Released 14 September 1996 (1996-09-14)
Format CD single
Recorded 1995
Genre Pop rock
Length 3:21
Label Stockholm
Mercury
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Tore Johansson
The Cardigans singles chronology
"Hey! Get Out of My Way"
(1995)		 "Lovefool"
(1996)		 "Been It"
(1997)

"Hey! Get Out of My Way"
(1995)		 "Lovefool"
(1996)		 "Been It"
(1997)
Music video
"Lovefool" on YouTube
Re-issue cover

"Lovefool" is a song written by Peter Svensson and Nina Persson for The Cardigans' third studio album, First Band on the Moon (1996). It was released as the album's lead single on 14 September 1996 in the United Kingdom and internationally on 5 October 1996. After a re-release in 1997, the song found international success, peaking at number two on the UK Singles Chart and achieving moderate success on other European charts. In North America, the song reached number three in Canada and number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 Airplay Chart (it did not chart on the Hot 100 due to rules in place at the time). It also made appearances on six other Billboard charts. In Australasia, the single topped the chart in New Zealand and climbed to number 11 in Australia. In both countries, the single was certified Gold.

The song was featured in the film Romeo + Juliet just two months after the release of the single, as well as in the 1999 film Cruel Intentions and the 2007 comedy Decameron Pie.

Background

Nina Persson wrote the lyrics to the song at an airport while waiting for a plane. She said that, at the time, the song had "a slow bossa nova feel". She also added that "the biggest hits are the ones that are the easiest to write".[1]

Music and structure

"Lovefool" is a song that is performed in several keys and modulates based on chorus and verse. The chorus is in the key of A major using a I-IV-ii-V chord progression. The verses use a i-iv-VII-III chord progression in A minor. It is written in common time and moves at 112 beats per minute. The song's middle 8 is four bars long.[2]

Music video

Two videos were shot for the song. The first one for the U.K. and Europe -- "much more bleak, much more our original style" says Nina Persson.[3] "We had an actor playing a sort of handsome-man-love-interest of mine, and he was supposed to be a kind of gangster and the band played his gang members."

The second one was directed by Geoff Moore in New York.[4] It features a man being lost on an island and putting a message in a bottle into the water. A woman implied to be his lover is shown on a dock reading a newspaper and at the end of the video receives and reads the message and smiles. The video also shows the band performing the song in what looks to be the interior of the bottle released by the man lost at sea, as well as Nina Persson looking out from the bottles neck and later through a periscope at the woman. Midway through the song, the band is also interviewed by several scuba equipment-wearing reporters who descend from a ladder into the room.

Track listing

  1. "Lovefool"
  2. "Nasty Sunny Beam"
  3. "Iron Man" (First Try)

Re-issue 1

  1. "Lovefool" (radio edit)
  2. "Lovefool" (Tee's Club Radio)
  3. "Lovefool" (Tee's Frozen Sun Mix)
  4. "Lovefool" (Puck version)

Re-issue 2

  1. "Lovefool" (Radio edit)
  2. "Sick & Tired" (live)
  3. "Carnival" (live)
  4. "Rise & Shine" (live)

Reception

The song was initially a hit in Europe, reaching number 15 on the Swedish Singles Chart and peaking at number 21 on the UK Singles Chart on its first release in 1996, and at number two when reissued in 1997 following its use in Romeo + Juliet. It then achieved international success, becoming a number-one hit in New Zealand and peaking just outside the top 10 in Australia at number 11. "Lovefool" became a crossover hit in the US after peaking at number nine on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart then reaching number two on the Hot 100 Airplay chart. It reached number one on the Top 40 Mainstream chart and number two on the Adult Top 40, staying there for eight nonconsecutive weeks behind No Doubt's "Don't Speak" and Jewel's "You Were Meant for Me".[5] It was not eligible to chart on the Hot 100 at the time as singles not made commercially available in the US were ineligible to chart (these rules were later changed in December 1998).

"Lovefool" came eighteenth in the 1996 Pazz & Jop poll and nineteenth the following year.[6][7] Slant Magazine listed the song number 40 on its "100 Best Singles of the 1990s" list,[8] and Pitchfork Media ranked it number 66 on its "Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s".[9]

Charts

Cover versions

"Lovefool" has also been covered by numerous musical acts since its release:

Usage in media

Apart from Romeo + Juliet, the song has also been used in a season three episode of the American version of The Office, a season one episode of Nip/Tuck, in season one of My Name Is Earl, as well as the films Cruel Intentions, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room and Hot Fuzz (in a parody of Romeo + Juliet). In 1997, the band played the song on the graduation episode of Beverly Hills, 90210. The song was used in a 2003 Cornetto ice cream advertisement shown in the United Kingdom & Lucky Me! La Paz Batchoy in the Philippines in 2017. Furthermore, the song was played on several episodes of Daria, It was also featured in 1997 episodes of the US daytime soap operas All My Children, Sunset Beach, and The Young and the Restless, the high school dance scene in the season 3 penultimate episode of the Syfy series Haven, in the sixth episode of Orphan Black season one, and in the wedding scene of Australian mining magnate Lang Hancock to Rose Porteous in the 2015 telemovie House of Hancock.

Notes

  1. ↑ "Writing". Archived from the original on 2012-02-25. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
  2. ↑ Sheet music for "Lovefool". Hal Leonard Corporation. 1996.
  3. ↑ "The Cardigans' Nina Persson Reflects on Mega-Success of 'Lovefool,' 20 Years Later". Billboard. Retrieved 2018-05-14.
  4. ↑ Rosen, Craig; Sexton, Paul (21 September 1996). "Cardigans wrap up U.S.". Billboard. 108 (38): 9.
  5. ↑ "Radio Songs - The Week of March 1, 1997". Billboard. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  6. ↑ Christgau, Robert (25 February 1997). "The 1996 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll". Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  7. ↑ Christgau, Robert (24 February 1998). "The 1997 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll". Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  8. ↑ Henderson, Eric (9 January 2011). "The 100 Best Singles of the 1990s". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  9. ↑ Greene, Jayson (1 September 2010). "The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  10. ↑ "The Cardigans: Lovefool" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  11. ↑ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (26.09.1996 - 02.10.1996)" (PDF) (in Icelandic). Dagblaðið Vísir - Tónlist. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
  12. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Lovefool". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  13. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – The Cardigans – Lovefool". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  14. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  15. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  16. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – The Cardigans – Lovefool". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  17. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – The Cardigans – Lovefool" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  18. ↑ "Ultratop.be – The Cardigans – Lovefool" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  19. ↑ "Ultratop.be – The Cardigans – Lovefool" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  20. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 3190." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  21. ↑ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 3211." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  22. ↑ "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 8115." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  23. ↑ "Lescharts.com – The Cardigans – Lovefool" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  24. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Cardigans – Lovefool". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  25. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Lovefool". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  26. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 28, 1997" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  27. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – The Cardigans – Lovefool" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  28. ↑ "Charts.nz – The Cardigans – Lovefool". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  29. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  30. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – The Cardigans – Lovefool". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  31. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  32. ↑ "The Cardigans Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  33. ↑ "The Cardigans Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  34. ↑ "The Cardigans Chart History (Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  35. ↑ "The Cardigans Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  36. ↑ "The Cardigans Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  37. ↑ "The Cardigans Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  38. ↑ "The Cardigans Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  39. ↑ "RPM '97 Year End Top 100 Hit Tracks". RPM. Library and ARchives Canada. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  40. ↑ "RPM '97 Year End Top 100 Adult Contemporary Tracks". RPM. Library and ARchives Canada. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  41. ↑ "RPM '97 Year End Top 50 Alternative Tracks". RPM. Library and ARchives Canada. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  42. ↑ "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts 1997". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  43. ↑ "End of Year Charts 1997". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  44. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1997 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  45. ↑ "New Zealand single certifications – The Cardigans – Lovefool". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  46. ↑ "British single certifications – The Cardigans – Lovefool". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 16 April 2018. Select singles in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Lovefool in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  47. ↑ "Love Me by Justin Bieber Songfacts". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  48. ↑ Eakin, Marah (9 June 2015). "Leighton Meester covers The Cardigans". The A.V. Club. Onion, Inc. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2015.

References

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