"Listen to Your Heart" is a song by Swedish rock duo Roxette, which was originally released in Sweden in September 1988 as the second single from the duo's second studio album, Look Sharp! (1988). It was written by Per Gessle with former Gyllene Tider guitarist Mats "M.P." Persson. The song went on to become one of the most successful singles of 1989, reaching number one in both the United States and Canada around November 1989.[2] The track was the first song to reach number one in the US without a commercially released 7-inch single.[3]
"Listen to Your Heart" originally peaked at number 62 in the UK when it was released there in October 1989. However, following the success of "It Must Have Been Love", the track was reissued as a double A-side with "Dangerous" in August 1990, upon which it reached a chart peak of number six on the UK Singles Chart. In 2005, Belgian trance act DHT released a remixed version of the song, which became a top 10 hit in numerous territories, including France, the Netherlands, the UK and the US.
Composition and styleedit
Per Gessle described "Listen to Your Heart" in the liner notes of Roxette's 1995 greatest hitscompilationDon't Bore Us, Get to the Chorus! as "The Big Bad Ballad. This is us trying to recreate that overblown American FM-rock sound to the point where it almost becomes absurd. We really wanted to see how far we could take it."[4] Its lyrics were inspired by a close friend of Gessle's, who was in "emotional turmoil, stuck between an old relationship and a new love. A year later, I call him up in the middle of the night after a few too many glasses of champagne, saying 'Hey, you're number one in the States.'"[1]
According to Ultimate Guitar, the track is an alternative rockballad, with a moderately slow tempo of 86 beats per minute. The verses are made up of three repeating sequences of Bm[5]–G–A and one additional sequence of Bm–G–Em. The first two choruses are composed of two repetitions of a Bm–G–D–A sequence, followed by an extended sequence of D–A–G–D–Bm–G–A–Bm. The bridge consists of E–C♯m–B–A–B–C♯. The final chorus has been modified up by two full tones it consists of two repetitions of D♯m–B–F♯–C♯, followed by a sequence of F♯–C♯–B–F♯–D♯m–B–C♯–D♯m–B, with the final four notes being repeated for the outro.[6]
Seven different versions of the song were released: the original album version; the "Swedish Single Edit", a slightly edited version included on subsequent greatest hits compilations; the "US Remix", used in the music video; the "AC Mix", which is similar to the 'US remix' but with the guitar in the bridge replaced by a saxophone; shorter edits of the aforementioned 2 versions, which cut some parts from the last refrain; and the 7-inch single version, which fades out shortly after the last refrain, omitting most of the outro.[7]
Critical receptionedit
In his review of the Look Sharp! album, Bryan Buss from AllMusic felt the song is "bland" and "overproduced".[8] Pan-European magazine Music & Media commented, "Already doing well in the US, this semi-ballad has all the ingredients of a major worldwide hit. This time it seems that the Swedes have beaten the Americans at their own game."[9] In 1990, David Giles from Music Week called it "another big hit", adding that "this single is anything to go by — it made history by reaching number one despite being available on cassette only."[10]
Music videoedit
Doug Freel directed the song's music video, which was filmed during a live performance at the Borgholm Castle ruin on the Swedish Baltic Sea island of Öland.[11] Freel and the video's production crew believed the ruin to have been created especially for the video. Gessle said: "It took some time to convince them that the place actually was for real."[4]
The song has been performed on all of Roxette's concert tours. On the Look Sharp! Live Tour and Join the Joyride! Tour, it was performed in its original, power ballad style, although it has been performed in an acoustic version on all tours since the Crash! Boom! Bang! Tour in 1994.[7]
Formats and track listingsedit
All lyrics were written by Per Gessle. All music was composed by Gessle except "Listen to Your Heart" by Gessle and Mats Persson and "Half a Woman, Half a Shadow" by Marie Fredriksson.
European 7-inch single (Sweden 1363237 · UK EM108)
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
Belgian dance group DHT recorded a dance cover of "Listen to Your Heart" with vocals from Belgian singer Edmée. It was initially released on November 30, 2003, as the first single from DHT's debut studio album Listen to Your Heart (2005).
By June 2005, the song had reached number one on the US BillboardHot Dance Airplay chart and the top 10 on the BillboardHot 100, peaking at number eight in August. Worldwide, the cover reached the top 10 in the Czech Republic, France, and the United Kingdom while becoming a top-twenty success in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, and Norway. The same year, the group also released the "Edmée's unplugged vocal edit", an acoustic ballad version of the song, which also received substantial airplay.
Compositionedit
The Furious F. EZ version of the song is in the key of B minor with a tempo of 145 beats per minute.[54]
"Habla El Corazón", a Spanish version of the song, was released in March 2007 by Mexican artist Yuridia, who covered the track for her second album of the same name. This version peaked at number 44 on the BillboardHot Latin Songs chart.[98]
^ ab"Roxette Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
^Shuker, Roy (5 May 2017). Wax Trash and Vinyl Treasures: Record Collecting as a Social Practice. Routledge. ISBN 9781351537186.
^ ab"Don't Bore Us, Get to the Chorus! liner notes". Archived from the original on 23 March 2010.
^Mats, Persson; Per, Gessle; Roxette; D.H.T (3 November 2008). "Listen to Your Heart". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
^"Listen To Your Heart by Roxette chords". Ultimate-Guitar.com. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
^ abThorselius, Robert (May 2003). The Look for Roxette: The Illustrated Worldwide Discography & Price Guide (1st ed.). Sweden: Premium Förlag Publishing. ISBN 978-9197189484.
^ "Roxette Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
^ Whitburn, Joel (2014). Cash Box Pop Hits 1952-1996. Sheridan Books, Inc. ISBN 978-0-89820-209-0.
^"Offiziellecharts.de – Roxette – Listen To Your Heart" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
^"ARIA Australian Top 40 Digital Tracks". Australian Recording Industry Association. 15 December 2019. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
^"De Single Top 100 1989 Over" (PDF) (in Dutch). Radio 538. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
^"Jaahroverzichten 1989" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
^"Billboard Top 100 – 1989". Billboardtop100of.com. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
^"Awards – Top 50 Pop Singles" (PDF). Cash Box. Vol. LIII, no. 25. 30 December 1989. p. 9. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
^"Jaaroverzichten 1990" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
^"Eurochart Hot 100 1990" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 7, no. 51. 22 December 1990. p. 60. OCLC 29800226. Retrieved 15 January 2020 – via World Radio History.
^"Top 100 Single–Jahrescharts 1990" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
^"Austrian single certifications – Roxette – Listen to Your Heart" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
^"Danish single certifications – Roxette – Listen to Your Heart". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
^"Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
^"British single certifications – Roxette – Listen to Your Heart". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
^"New Singles". Music Week. 7 October 1989. p. 55.
^"New Singles". Music Week. 11 November 1989. p. 42.
^"リスン・トゥ・ユア・ハート | ロクセット" [Listen to Your Heart | Roxette] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
^Breihan, Tom (20 August 2021). "The Number Ones: Roxette's 'Listen To Your Heart'". Stereogum. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
^"Key & BPM for Listen to Your Heart - Furious F. EZ Radio Edit by DHT, Edmee". Tunebat. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
^Listen to Your Heart (Belgian CD single liner notes). DHT. Impart Productions, Hardbounze. 2003. SUN 2010 CDS.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Listen to Your Heart (US CD single liner notes). DHT. Robbins Entertainment. 2004. 76869-72116-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^"DHT feat. Edmée – Listen to Your Heart" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
^"DHT feat. Edmée – Listen to Your Heart" (in French). Ultratop 50.
^"R&R Canada CHR/Pop Top 30" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1621. 26 August 2005. p. 26. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 200621 into search.
^"DHT feat. Edmée – Listen to Your Heart". Tracklisten.
^"The ARIA Report: European Top 20 Charts – Week Commencing 19th December 2005" (PDF). ARIA. 19 December 2005. p. 25. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 February 2008. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
^"Rapports annuels 2005" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
^"Tops de L'année | Top Singles 2005" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
^"Single top 100 over 2005" (PDF) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
^"Jaaroverzichten – Single 2005" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
^"The Official UK Singles Chart 2005" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
^"Billboard Top 100 – 2005". Billboardtop100of.com. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
^"2005 The Year in Music & Touring: Hot Adult Contemporary Songs" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 117, no. 52. 24 December 2005. p. YE-76. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
^"2005 The Year in Music & Touring: Hot Dance Airplay". Billboard. Vol. 117, no. 52. 24 December 2005. p. YE-60.
^"2005 The Year in Music & Touring: Hot Dance Singles Sales". Billboard. Vol. 117, no. 52. 24 December 2005. p. YE-58.
^"ARIA Top 100 Singles for 2006". ARIA. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
^"ARIA Charts – End of Year Charts – Top 50 Dance Singles 2006". ARIA. Archived from the original on 15 April 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
^"The Official UK Singles Chart 2006" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
^"DHT Featuring Edmée – Listen to Your Heart". Impart Productions. Archived from the original on 30 July 2009. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
^"DHT Featuring Edmée – Listen to Your Heart". Impart Productions. Archived from the original on 5 September 2007. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
^"The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 21st November 2005" (PDF). ARIA. 21 November 2005. p. 28. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 December 2005. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
^"New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 3 December 2005. p. 29.