"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 lead single from #willpower on June 1, 2012, and the song made its debut on Capital FM on May 14, 2012.[1] The music video, directed by will.i.am himself, was released on May 25, 2012.[2]
Background and development
The song was co-produced by Swedish House Mafia DJ's, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso.[3][4] 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.[5][6]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,[6]
"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."
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.
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.[10] It has reached the top-ten in 17 countries worldwide, whilst reaching number one in 10 of those.
^ ab"Will.i.am Proclaims 'This Is Love' on New Single: Listen". Billboard. 2012-05-14. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
^"Will.I.Am's "This Is Love" music video ft. Eva Simons". Nova FM. 2012-05-27. Archived from the original on 2012-12-30. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
^"will.i.am - This Is Love". DJ Booth. 2012-05-18. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
^"Listen: Will.I.Am's new song, 'This Is Love'". Hit Flix. 2012-05-14. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
^"will.i.am reveals new song 'This Is Love' - listen". Digital Spy. 2012-05-15. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
^ ab"will.i.am "Still Has That Fire" On "This Is Love," Eva Simons says". Vibe 103 / MTV News. 2012-05-18. Archived from the original on 2013-02-05. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
^"Will.i.am And Eva Simons' "This Is Love" Video Is, Let's Say, Self-Aware". 2012-05-25. Archived from the original on 2012-06-17. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
^ ab"This Is Love (feat. Eva Simons) - Single (AU Store)". iTunes. 2012-06-01. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
^ ab"This Is Love (feat. Eva Simons) - Single (UK Store)". iTunes. 2012-06-01. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
^ abLane, Dan (2013-01-02). "The Official Top 40 Biggest Selling Singles Of 2012 Revealed!". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2013-01-02.
^"will.i.am feat. Eva Simons – This Is Love". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
^"ARIA Dance Singles Chart - 18/6/15" (PDF). ARIA Charts. June 18, 2012. Archived from the original on June 15, 2012.
^"will.i.am feat. Jennifer Lopez & Mick Jagger – T.H.E (The Hardest Ever)" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
^"will.i.am feat. Eva Simons – This Is Love" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
^"will.i.am feat. Eva Simons – This Is Love" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
^"will.i.am Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
^will.i.am feat. Eva Simons — This Is Love. TopHit. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 201234 into search. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
^"will.i.am feat. Eva Simons – This Is Love". Tracklisten. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
^"Will.i.am: This Is Love (Feat. Eva Simons)" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved August 29, 2013.
^"will.i.am feat. Eva Simons – This Is Love" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
^"will.i.am feat. Eva Simons – This Is Love" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
^"Top 50". Fuzion (in Spanish). El Tiempo. 2012-10-04. Archived from the original on 2012-10-07.
^"Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Dance Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
^"Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
^"Italian single certifications – Will.i.am – This Is Love" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Select "Tutti gli anni" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "This Is Love" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
^"New Zealand single certifications – Will.i.am – This Is Love". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
^"The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('This Is Love')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
^"Danish single certifications – will.i.am – This Is Love". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
^"ITunes - Musik - This is Love (Feat. Eva Simons) - Single av will.i.am". itunes.apple.com. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
^"ITunes - Music - This is Love (Feat. Eva Simons) - Single by will.i.am". itunes.apple.com. Archived from the original on 10 February 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
^"FMQB: Radio Industry News, Music Industry Updates, Arbitron Ratings, Music News and more!". Fmqb.com. Archived from the original on 2005-10-31.
^"iTunes – Music – This Is Love (feat. Eva Simons) – Single by will.i.am". iTunes Store (Ireland). Apple. January 2012. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
^"This Is Love (2012) | will.i.am / Eva Simons | MP3 Downloads 7digital United States". us.7digital.com. Archived from the original on 2013-01-26.
^"This is Love (2012) | Will.I.Am | MP3 Musikdownloads | 7digital Deutschland". de.7digital.com. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
External links
will.i.am - "This is Love" featuring Eva Simons on VEVO