Let Love Lead the Way
"Let Love Lead the Way" | ||||
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Single by Spice Girls | ||||
from the album Forever | ||||
A-side | "Holler" | |||
Released | 23 October 2000 | |||
Genre | R&B | |||
Length | 4:57 | |||
Label | Virgin | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) |
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Spice Girls singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Let Love Lead the Way" on YouTube |
"Let Love Lead the Way" is a song by British girl group
"Let Love Lead the Way" received mixed reviews from
A
Background and release
After finishing the Spiceworld Tour in September 1998 and releasing their single "Goodbye" in December, the Spice Girls went into a hiatus period, during which the members of the group launched their solo careers and focused on their personal lives.[1] The group resumed work on their third studio album, Forever, in August 1999.[2] They recruited American recording producers such as Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis to work on the album; Darkchild was signed up to give the project a "tougher" sound.[3][4] He stated, "I went out to dinner with a couple of the Spice Girls about a month and a half ago and they told me that they want me to, you know, do some work on their album".[5] At the time, he hoped to give an "urban, danceable" vibe for the project and revealed that it would still have a pop appeal, but the beats would be "a little harder".[5] Darkchild traveled to London to work with the group, and together they wrote three songs in five days, revealing that "everybody I've been playing them for can't believe it's the Spice Girls".[6]
Regarding the sessions, band member Melanie C commented that the record was "a bit more mature, but it's not a mature album, but you know, a little bit more mature than the first two. Still very poppy, quite
Composition
"Let Love Lead the Way" was written by the group's members
"Let Love Lead the Way" is an R&B ballad,
Critical reception
"Let Love Lead the Way" received mixed reviews from
For Will Stroude from Attitude, while "parts of the Spice Girls’ attempts to embrace R&B-tinged noughties pop trends worked for them", the song "most definitely didn’t. Thank you, next."[16] In a similar vein, Nick Levine of Digital Spy wrote that "Jerkins' slick, stuttering R&B numbers" from Forever failed to capitalise on the group's "very British sense of mischief."[14] Writing for the same publication, Lewis Corner opined that "Let Love Lead the Way" was "nice enough, but isn't packed with the Spice personality their early material conquered the world with."[30] Whitney Matheson of USA Today criticised the lyrics and wrote that "I've heard catchier jingles on feminine product commercials, although I must admit I'm impressed with the deeply imaginative third-person perspective".[31] The Guardian's Alexis Petridis opined that "this is not a bad ballad in polished, Heart FM-friendly style, but there is nothing spectacular about it".[32] Peter Robinson of British music magazine NME commented that the group had "chosen a deeply unfashionable R&B; sound" for the track.[33] According to Cyd Jaymes from Dotmusic, "Holler" and "Let Love Lead The Way" were the best songs on Forever "by a country mile", but they still did not "deserve to be singles".[34] From the same publication, Jenny North said, "Sadly, 'Let Love Lead The Way' doesn't take up where '2 Become 1' or 'Goodbye' (ballads that didn't bore) left off. It sounds like something Celine Dion would have rejected on the grounds that it was 'too soppy'."[35]
Commercial performance
In the UK, early sales figures reported that "Holler"/"Let Love Lead the Way" was set to debut at number one. It sold 31,000 copies during its first day on sale.
Around the world, "Holler"/"Let Love Lead the Way" was also successful. In Europe, it reached number two on the
Music video
The music video for "Let Love Lead the Way" was filmed in two days in summer 2000, and was directed by Greg Masuak, who had previously directed the video for the Spice Girls' "Who Do You Think You Are" (1997).[56] Beckham stated that the video was easier to be filmed when compared to that of "Holler", which was filmed around the same time.[56] Before its release, Chisholm revealed that the girls would play one of the four elements each – water, air, fire and earth – in both videos: "We liked the theme ‘coz [sic] we’re all so different and we all come together and make the Spice Girls and the elements come together to make the earth."[57]
In the video, Bunton appears representing earth and wearing a green dress. She is shown reclining in a forest, underneath a large tree. Brown portrays the element air, dressed entirely in white and dancing in a white room with the canvas walls billowing outwards as if being blown by the wind, while white feathers continuously fall from the sky. Beckham is wearing a dark red dress, representing fire. She is slowly dancing in a barren desert at night, with bursts of fire flaring up behind her. Chisholm plays the part of water, dressed in predominantly blue clothes. She is standing on a blue platform as water cascades from the ceiling to the floor.
Throughout the verses of the song, the girls sing in their own areas, before coming together in one of the rooms for the chorus. Towards the end of the song, each of the elements begin to mix, such as water falling down in the fiery desert and wind blowing through the forest. The four girls are then seen singing together in the desert where all the elements are present plus a shower of sparks behind the girls. The song finishes with a slow-motion shot of each of the girls in their own areas, and then a final shot of each of them together in the white room.
Live performances
Upon its release in 2000, the Spice Girls performed "Let Love Lead the Way" on British televised shows such as The National Lottery Stars, CD:UK, and Top of the Pops, as well as on the latter's Christmas special.[58][59][60][61] The group have also performed the song on two of their concert tours.[62][63] On the 2007-08 Return of the Spice Girls Tour, they sang the track without Halliwell, although she had returned to the group by this point.[64] Writing for the Vancouver Sun, Amy O'Brien opined that "there was clearly a void in the group's dynamic" with Halliwell's absence.[65]
It was also included on the setlist for their
Track listings
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Credits and personnel
Credits and personnel adapted from the liner notes of Forever.[17]
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Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA)[52] | Platinum | 70,000^ |
New Zealand (RMNZ)[54] | Gold | 5,000* |
United Kingdom (BPI)[41] | Silver | 287,000[42] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Release history
Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
United Kingdom | 23 October 2000 | Virgin | ||
France | 24 October 2000 | Maxi CD | EMI | |
Japan | 22 November 2000 | Toshiba EMI | ||
France | 28 November 2000 | CD | EMI |
References
Notes
- ^ "Let Love Lead the Way" charted along with "Holler".
- ^ On physical formats, "Let Love Lead the Way" was released as a double A-side single with "Holler".
Citations
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- ^ Rubin, Daniel (9 February 1999). "Master Of Beat At 21, Songwriter And Producer Rodney Jerkins Jr. Is An R&b Wunderkind Who Goes For Energy With Beat". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
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Bibliography
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- Sinclair, David (2008). ISBN 978-1-84609-068-4.