Love Ballad (Tove Lo song)
"Love Ballad" | ||||
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Single by Tove Lo | ||||
Released | 5 November 2012 | |||
Recorded | 2012 | |||
Genre | Pop | |||
Length | 3:28 | |||
Label | Self-released | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | The Struts | |||
Tove Lo singles chronology | ||||
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"Love Ballad" is a song by Swedish singer
She eventually sent her debut single "Love Ballad" to Swedish radio stations on 15 October 2012. It was digitally released on 5 November 2012. The track was later included on Lo's debut
The song drew the attention of music blogs and received positive reviews from some critics but failed to chart anywhere. A music video for the song, which was directed by Motellet Film and Lo, was released on 5 October 2012. It shows the singer covered in black paint and performing acrobatics in the middle of a road and on a football field. Lo performed the track several times, including on the Swedish campaign Musikhjälpen and at Notting Hill Arts Club in London, United Kingdom.
Background and release
After the dissolution of her band Tremblebee, Tove Lo focused on writing songs and she signed a publishing deal with
Lo eventually self-released "Love Ballad" as her first single. It was sent to Swedish radio station
Inspiration and composition
"Love Ballad" is an uptempo pop song featuring drum instrumentation.[2][12][13][14]
According to Lo, the songs on her extended play Truth Serum are about her "most intense" failed relationship.
According to Rich Thane of The Line of Best Fit, the track details the "carefree beginnings of a new romance".[18] Michael Cragg of The Guardian described the song as an "ode to falling dangerously in love with someone".[2] Cragg also said the singer is "willing to share her drugs" with her lover in the verse "Jump off a cliff / I'd give you my last spliff / I'd do it for you / Ain't love sweet?".[2] According to Mark Savage of BBC News, the track "parodies the preposterous promises" made by musicians in love songs; he cited the line "Chop off my hands / Chop off my feet / I'd do it for you / Ain't love sweet?" as an example.[15]
Reception
"Love Ballad" received positive reviews by some critics. Doron Davidson-Vidavski of The Line of Best Fit called it an "infectious debut single",
Despite the positive reviews and its popularity among music blogs, "Love Ballad" failed to chart anywhere. In an interview with Gulf Times, Lo said she thought the song's poor commercial reception was due to her change of stage name. She stated, "['Love Ballad'] didn't sell particularly well. I'd used my real name, Tove Nilsson, when I was in Tremblebee so perhaps no-one knew who I was".[22]
Music video
The music video for "Love Ballad" was co-directed by Tove Lo and Motellet Film.
The video begins with Lo covered in black paint and walking in the middle of a road. In the next scene, she covers four men, who go to play rugby on a football field, in paint. Later, Lo is shown walking upside-down and performing other acrobatics on the road and the football field. Then, she appears wearing a hibiscus dress while singing the song in a rubbish dump. In the next scenes, Lo is walking topless through a field of flowers. Near the end, she is standing on the football field while the four men run up to her and cover her in paint. The video is interspersed with scenes of Lo performing the song with images of cities and explosions projected onto her.[24][25]
Live performances
On 10 December 2012, Lo performed "Love Ballad" and "Paradise" on the Swedish campaign
On 1 October 2014, Lo performed "Love Ballad" and other songs at
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Truth Serum.[6]
- Locations
- Recorded at Warner/Chappell Studios, Stockholm
- Mastered at Cutting Room, Stockholm
- Personnel
- Songwriting – Tove Lo, Jakob Jerlström, Ludvig Söderberg
- Production – The Struts
- Lead vocals – Tove Lo
- Mixing– Lars Norgren
- Programming – The Struts
- Mastering– Björn Engelmann
- Instrumentation – The Struts
Release history
Country | Date | Format | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
Sweden | 15 October 2012 | Mainstream radio | [7] |
Worldwide | 5 November 2012 | Digital download | [8] |
References
- ^ a b Davidson-Vidavski, Doron (21 May 2013). "Tove Lo". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f Cragg, Michael (11 October 2012). "New music: Tove Lo – Love Ballad". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
- ^ Carley, Brennan (23 June 2014). "Everything to Know About Tove Lo, Sweden's Newest Pop Sensation". Vulture. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
- ^ a b c d White, Caithlyn (26 March 2014). "Tove Lo: Swedish pop's Janis Joplin". Noisey. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
- Complex. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
- ^ a b c Truth Serum (liner notes). Tove Lo. Sweden: Universal Music Group. 2014. 060253776053.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ a b "Svepet: Nytt med Noonie Bao, Icona Pop, Tove Lo, Jade, Kanye West The Very Best". Sveriges Radio (in Swedish). Sveriges Radio P3. 15 October 2012. Archived from the original on 17 January 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
- ^ a b "Tove Lo – Love Ballad". Musixmatch. Archived from the original on 3 April 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
- ^ Cragg, Michael (4 April 2014). "Tove Lo – Stay High (Habits Remix) feat Hippie Sabotage: New music". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
- ^ Rubenstein, Holly (24 April 2014). "In Tove Lo Veritas". Interview. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
- ^ Queen of the Clouds (liner notes). Tove Lo. United States: Universal Music Group. 2014. B0021923-01.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ a b "Introducing... Tove Lo". Scandipop. 1 September 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
- ^ Morris, Jacob (14 May 2014). "Tove Lo Talks Love, Music and 'Habits'". And Pop. Archived from the original on 20 February 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
- Allmusic. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
- ^ a b Savage, Mark (11 April 2014). "Tove Lo: A Swedish pop star in waiting". BBC News. Archived from the original on 21 October 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
- ^ "Bylarm 2014". Sched.org. Archived from the original on 27 March 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
- ^ a b c "Tove Lo: Singer to love – Interview". Klap Magazine. 27 April 2013. Archived from the original on 14 February 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
- ^ Thane, Rich (26 February 2014). "Listen: Tove Lo – 'Not On Drugs'". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
- ^ "New music: Tove Lo – 'Habits'". Nu Wave Pony. 25 March 2013. Archived from the original on 19 January 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
- Redbull.com. Archived from the originalon 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
- ^ "Katy Perry's birthday suit and seven other songs you may have missed". Discopop. 11 April 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
- ^ Rowlands, Geoffrey (2 June 2014). "Musical high for the 'saddest girl in Sweden'". Gulf Times. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
- ^ "Tove Lo – Facebook". Facebook. 5 October 2012. Archived from the original on 21 December 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
- ^ a b "Tove Lo – Love Ballad". YouTube. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
- ^ "Video Premiere: Tove Lo – Love Ballad". Slack-Time. Archived from the original on 7 February 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
- ^ "Musikhjälpen 2012: Tove Lo". Scandipop. 11 December 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
- ^ Thane, Rich (11 April 2013). "Listen: Tove Lo live in session for Sweden's P3 Radio". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
- ^ O'Brien, George (3 April 2014). "Tove Lo and Kill J play joint debut London shows at Notting Hill Arts Club". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
- ^ a b "Review: Tove Lo at Notting Hill Arts Club". Discopop. 3 April 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
- ^ Cragg, Michael (3 April 2014). "Tove Lo review – 'A punchy UK debut'". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
- ^ Bell, John (7 May 2014). "Tove Lo plays second UK gig at sold out Hoxton Bar & Kitchen". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
- ^ Rhoades, Lindsey (2 October 2014). "Tove Lo – Webster Hall 10/1". The Village Voice. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
- ^ a b Maher, Amelia (2 April 2015). "Tove Lo: Live review". London in Stereo. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
- ^ "Tove Lo omfamnar Slottsskogen i Göteborg" (in Swedish). Sveriges Radio P3. 23 September 2015. Archived from the original on 8 February 2016. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
- ^ Batlle, Patricia (11 September 2015). "Tove Lo: Schwedisches Dynamit im Deutschen Theater" (in German). Norddeutscher Rundfunk. Archived from the original on 6 February 2016. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
External links
- "Love Ballad" on YouTube