Lovefool
Encyclopedia
"Lovefool" is a pop rock
song written by Peter Svensson
and Nina Persson
for The Cardigans
' third studio album First Band on the Moon
, released as a single on 14 September 1996, in the United Kingdom and internationally on 5 October 1996. The song was featured in the film William Shakespeare
's Romeo + Juliet, released just two months after the release of the single, as well as Cruel Intentions
. It was released as the album's lead single
in 1996. The single topped the charts in New Zealand, and was certified gold in Australia. "Lovefool" has also been covered by The Hush Sound
, and they have played the song at several of their shows. More recently the song has been covered by New Found Glory
in their album "From the Screen to Your Stereo Part II" and by Canadian trumpeter and singer Bria Skonberg on her album "Fresh."
The song became the Cardigans' first real hit single, topping the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart and making appearances on six other Billboard charts
. In 1997, the song found international success, peaking at #2 on the UK singles chart
and finding moderate success on most European charts.
. It is written in common time
and moves at 112 beats per minute. The song uses a vi-ii-V-I chord progression
. The song's middle 8 is four bars long.
features Lemuel Gulliver
from Gulliver's Travels
being lost on an island holding a gold bottle being put in the water.
Re-issue 1
Re-issue 2
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
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 advert shown in the United Kingdom
. The song also featured in the film Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
(2005). You can also find the song in many episodes of Daria
, the MTV
cartoon.
Pop rock
Pop rock is a music genre which mixes a catchy pop style and light lyrics in its guitar-based rock songs. There are varying definitions of the term, ranging from a slower and mellower form of rock music to a subgenre of pop music...
song written by Peter Svensson
Peter Svensson
Anders Peter Svensson is a guitarist with the band, The Cardigans.His role in the group is as a guitarist and composer, but he also plays keyboard, vibraphone, and bass guitar, plus he provides some backing vocals...
and Nina Persson
Nina Persson
is the lead singer and lyricist for the Swedish pop group The Cardigans. She has also worked as a solo artist, releasing two albums as A Camp and appearing on the tribute album to Serge Gainsbourg entitled Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited...
for The Cardigans
The Cardigans
The Cardigans are a Swedish rock band formed in the town of Jönköping in October 1992.Their debut album Emmerdale gave them a solid base in their home country and enjoyed some success abroad, especially in Japan. It was not until their second album Life that an international reputation was secured...
' third studio album First Band on the Moon
First Band on the Moon
First Band on the Moon is the third studio album by The Cardigans. It features the international single "Lovefool".It was first released on August 12, 1996 and later internationally on September 9, 1996....
, released as a single on 14 September 1996, in the United Kingdom and internationally on 5 October 1996. The song was featured in the film William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's Romeo + Juliet, released just two months after the release of the single, as well as Cruel Intentions
Cruel Intentions
Cruel Intentions is a 1999 American drama film starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon, and Selma Blair. The film is an adaptation of the 18th-century French epistolary novel Les Liaisons dangereuses by Laclos and is set among wealthy teenagers living in modern New York...
. It was released as the album's lead single
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
in 1996. The single topped the charts in New Zealand, and was certified gold in Australia. "Lovefool" has also been covered by The Hush Sound
The Hush Sound
The Hush Sound was an indie quartet originating in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. Initially named "The Hush," the band later changed their name to "The Hush Sound" due to the discovery of a rapper with the same name...
, and they have played the song at several of their shows. More recently the song has been covered by New Found Glory
New Found Glory
New Found Glory is an American rock band from Coral Springs, Florida. Formed in the summer of 1997, founding members were lead vocalist Jordan Pundik, guitarists Chad Gilbert and Steve Klein, bassist Ian Grushka and drummer Joe Marino...
in their album "From the Screen to Your Stereo Part II" and by Canadian trumpeter and singer Bria Skonberg on her album "Fresh."
The song became the Cardigans' first real hit single, topping the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart and making appearances on six other Billboard charts
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
. In 1997, the song found international success, peaking at #2 on the UK singles chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
and finding moderate success on most European charts.
Music and structure
"Lovefool" is a pop song composed in the key of C MajorC major
C major is a musical major scale based on C, with pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature has no flats/sharps.Its relative minor is A minor, and its parallel minor is C minor....
. It is written in common time
Common Time
"Common Time" is a science fiction short story written by James Blish. It first appeared in the August 1953 issue of Science Fiction Quarterly and has been reprinted several times: in the 1959 short-story collection Galactic Cluster; in The Testament of Andros ; in The Penguin Science Fiction...
and moves at 112 beats per minute. The song uses a vi-ii-V-I chord progression
Chord progression
A chord progression is a series of musical chords, or chord changes that "aims for a definite goal" of establishing a tonality founded on a key, root or tonic chord. In other words, the succession of root relationships...
. The song's middle 8 is four bars long.
Music video
The song's US music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
features Lemuel Gulliver
Lemuel Gulliver
Lemuel Gulliver is the protagonist and narrator of Gulliver's Travels, a novel written by Jonathan Swift, first published in 1726.-In Gulliver's Travels:...
from Gulliver's Travels
Gulliver's Travels
Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World, in Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships, better known simply as Gulliver's Travels , is a novel by Anglo-Irish writer and clergyman Jonathan Swift that is both a satire on human nature and a parody of...
being lost on an island holding a gold bottle being put in the water.
Track listing
- "Lovefool"
- "Nasty Sunny Beam"
- "Iron ManIron Man (song)"Iron Man" is a song by British heavy metal band Black Sabbath from their second studio album Paranoid released in 1970. It was later included on their initial greatest hits compilation We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll , as well as all subsequent greatest hits compilations.-Writing and...
" (First Try)
Re-issue 1
- "Lovefool" (Radio Edit)
- "Lovefool" (Tee's Club Radio)
- "Lovefool" (Tee's Frozen Sun Mix)
- "Lovefool" (Puck Version)
Re-issue 2
- "Lovefool" (Radio Edit)
- "Sick & Tired" (Live)
- "Carnival" (Live)
- "Rise & Shine" (Live)
Sales chart performance
| Chart (1996) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Finnish Singles Chart | 5 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 11 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 15 |
| UK Singles Chart | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Airplay | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Adult Top 40 | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks | 9 |
| Chart (1997) | Peak position |
| Australian ARIA Singles Chart | 11 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 7 |
| French Singles Chart | 31 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 1 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 10 |
| Irish Singles Chart (re-issue of single) | 13 |
| U.S. Billboard Top 40 Adult Recurrents | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play | 5 |
| U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 40 | 18 |
| U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary | 23 |
Cover versions
- American band New Found GloryNew Found GloryNew Found Glory is an American rock band from Coral Springs, Florida. Formed in the summer of 1997, founding members were lead vocalist Jordan Pundik, guitarists Chad Gilbert and Steve Klein, bassist Ian Grushka and drummer Joe Marino...
(feat. Adam LazzaraAdam LazzaraAdam Burbank Lazzara , is the lead singer of the American rock band, Taking Back Sunday. Along with singing lead vocals, Adam Lazzara occasionally plays guitar and harmonica.-Biography:...
of Taking Back SundayTaking Back SundayTaking Back Sunday is a rock band from Long Island, NY, formed in 1999 by guitarist Eddie Reyes. Current members of the band are Adam Lazzara , John Nolan , Eddie Reyes , Shaun Cooper and Mark O'Connell ....
) covered the song on their album From the Screen to Your Stereo Part IIFrom the Screen to Your Stereo Part II-Release history:-Credits:Band* Jordan Pundik – Vocals* Chad Gilbert – Guitar* Steve Klein – Guitar* Ian Grushka – Bass* Cyrus Bolooki – Drums / PercussionAdditional Musicians* Michael Bethancourt – KeyboardsGuest Appearances...
in 2007. - Just JackJust JackJack Christopher Allsopp , known by the stage name Just Jack, is an English musician from Camden Town, London. He first came to prominence with the release of his 2007 single "Starz in Their Eyes", which reached number two on the UK Singles Chart...
covered "Lovefool" on the complication album Radio 1 Established 1967Radio 1 Established 1967The compilation album Radio 1 Established 1967 is a collection of covers especially recorded for Radio 1 by a number of artists. The album celebrates the 40th anniversary of BBC Radio 1. There are 40 songs recorded by 40 different artists . Each artist was given a year, and were allowed to cover a...
, that features collection of covers recorded for the 40th anniversary of Radio 1, by a number of artists. - Jolin TsaiJolin TsaiJolin Tsai was born on 15 September 1980. She is a Taiwanese Golden Melody Award-winning Mandopop singer, dancer and actor. She is managed by Mars Entertainment Ltd .-Career:...
- Olivia OngOlivia OngOlivia Ong is a Singaporean singer. She sings mostly in English but developed her career singing in English and Japanese. In addition, she has released rare tracks, recorded in Mandarin, and Cantonese which can be found on limited edition albums.-Biography:...
covered the song on her album A Girl Meets BossanovaA Girl Meets Bossanova (album)A Girl Meets Bossanova is debut album released in 2005 by Olivia Ong.-Track listing:# "Fly Me to the Moon" – 3:03# "Meditation" – 4:03# "Feelin' So Good" – 5:03# "Where Is The Love" – 2:55# "My Favorite Things" – 3:28# "Lovefool" – 3:28...
in 2005. - Isabella LeongIsabella LeongIsabella Leong Lok-Sze is a Hong Kong-based actress and former singer.- Career :Her father was a descendant of a prominent Macanese family of Portuguese-English heritage, and her mother is Chinese...
- In 2009, Canadian pop singer Justin BieberJustin BieberJustin Drew Bieber is a Canadian pop/R&B singer, songwriter and actor. Bieber was discovered in 2008 by Scooter Braun, who came across Bieber's videos on YouTube and later became his manager...
restructured the chorus of the Cardigans version and used it in his third single, "Love MeLove Me (Justin Bieber song)"Love Me " is a song by Canadian recording artist, Justin Bieber. The track was written by Bruno Mars, Ari Levine, and Phillip Lawrence, and produced by Bill Malina and DJ Frank E. It was released exclusively to iTunes as the first promotional single from his debut studio release, My World on...
" from his EP My World. - Solange KnowlesSolange KnowlesSolange Piaget Knowles , who performs under the mononym Solange, is an American singer-songwriter, actress, model, dancer, and DJ. Knowles was born and raised in Houston, Texas along with her older sister singer Beyoncé, a former member of R&B group Destiny's Child...
cover the song at many of her live shows in 2009. - PerfumePerfume (group)Perfume is a Japanese all-girl trio from Hiroshima, Japan, consisting of Ayano Ōmoto, Yuka Kashino, and Ayaka Nishiwaki. They debuted locally in 2001 and made their transition to a major label in 2005, focusing more on electropop...
did a cover of the song's chorus in a Japanese television commercial for PepsiPepsiPepsi is a carbonated soft drink that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo...
in June 2010. - The Morning BendersThe Morning BendersThe Morning Benders are an indie rock band from Berkeley, California, now based in Brooklyn, New York.In 2008, they released their debut album Talking Through Tin Cans on +1 Records...
– The Bedroom Cover - Kat Edmonson
Uses in other media
Apart from Romeo + Juliet, the song has also been used in a season three episodeInitiation (The Office episode)
"Initiation" is the fifth episode of the third season of the American comedy television series The Office—the show's 33rd overall. Written by B. J...
of the American version of The Office
The Office (US TV series)
The Office is an American comedy television series broadcast by NBC. An adaptation of the original BBC series of the same name, it depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company...
, a season one episode of Nip Tuck, in season one of My Name Is Earl
My Name Is Earl
My Name Is Earl is an American television comedy series created by Greg Garcia that was originally broadcast on the NBC television network from September 20, 2005, to May 14, 2009, in the United States...
, as well as the films Cruel Intentions
Cruel Intentions
Cruel Intentions is a 1999 American drama film starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon, and Selma Blair. The film is an adaptation of the 18th-century French epistolary novel Les Liaisons dangereuses by Laclos and is set among wealthy teenagers living in modern New York...
and Hot Fuzz
Hot Fuzz
Hot Fuzz is a 2007 British action dark comedy film written by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, and starring Pegg and Nick Frost. The three had previously worked together on the 2004 film Shaun of the Dead as well as the television series Spaced...
(in a parody of Romeo + Juliet). In 1997, the band played the song on the graduation episode of Beverly Hills, 90210
Beverly Hills, 90210
Beverly Hills, 90210 is an American drama series that originally aired from October 4, 1990 to May 17, 2000 on Fox and was produced by Spelling Television in the United States, and subsequently on various networks around the world. It is the first series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise...
. The song was used in a 2003 Cornetto
Cornetto (ice cream)
Cornetto is a branded frozen ice cream cone manufactured by Unilever and marketed throughout the world under various company names, but with the same Heartbrand logo.- Manufacturing:...
ice cream advert shown in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The song also featured in the film Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room is a 2005 documentary film based on the best-selling 2003 book of the same name by Fortune reporters Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind, a study of one of the largest business scandals in American history...
(2005). You can also find the song in many episodes of Daria
Daria
Daria is an American animated television series produced by Paramount Television, and created by Glenn Eichler and Susie Lewis Lynn for MTV. The series focuses on Daria Morgendorffer, a smart, acerbic, and somewhat misanthropic teenage girl who observes the world around her...
, the MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
cartoon.