"(What Is) Love?" is a song recorded by American entertainer Jennifer Lopez. Originally entitled "What Is Love?", the song appeared on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...

to ''

The Back-up Plan ''The Back-up Plan'' (previously known as ''Plan B'') is a 2010 American romantic comedy film directed by Alan Poul, starring Jennifer Lopez and Alex O'Loughlin.Siegel, Tatiana, and Michael Fleming"Jennifer Lopez going with 'Plan B': CBS Films ...

'' (2010), a film in which Lopez stars, version presented in Italy at the

Sanremo Music Festival 2010 The Sanremo Music Festival 2010 was the 60th annual Sanremo Music Festival, held at the Teatro Ariston in Sanremo, province of Imperia, during the five nights between 16 February 2010 and 20 February 2010. The show was broadcast by Rai 1 and pres ...

. The song was later included on Lopez's seventh studio album '' Love?'' (2011), as the album's title track. "(What Is) Love?" is a midtempo electropop song written by Diana "Wynter" Gordon, with the song's producer Emile "D'Mile" Dernst II. The song is about "not knowing what love is," according to Gordon. A remix of "(What Is) Love?", entitled "What Is Love? Part II", was produced by Jean-Baptiste. It was considered for inclusion on ''Love?'' and was

leak A leak is a way (usually an opening) for fluid to escape a container or fluid-containing system, such as a tank or a ship's hull, through which the contents of the container can escape or outside matter can enter the container. Leaks are usually ...

ed onto the internet in April 2013. The song was due to be released as a

promotional single A promotional recording, or promo, or plug copy, is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as ...

from ''Love?'' on April 26, 2011, but was "unlocked" and released on April 22, 2011 by Island Records through a campaign on Lopez's Facebook page. Upon its promotional release, the song debuted at number 97 on the South Korea Gaon International Chart and at 33 on the

Productores de Música de España Productores de Música de España (English: Spanish Music Producers, shortened as Promusicae) is the national organisation responsible for the music charts of Spain. It is a trade association that represents more than 90% of the Spanish recorded m ...

Writing and production

"(What Is) Love?" written by Diana "Wynter" Gordon and Emile "D'Mile" Dernst; the latter who also produced the song. Lopez's vocals for the song were recorded and produced by

Kuk Harrell Thaddis Laphonia "Kuk" Harrell ( ) is an American songwriter, vocal producer, arranger and engineer. He was a member of a songwriting–production team composed of himself, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and Terius "The-Dream" Nash. In 2011, Kuk ...

, with recording assistance from Jim Annunziato and Josh Gudwin at Conway Studios in Hollywood, California. Annunziato and Eric Eylands handled audio engineering of "(What Is) Love?", while the song was later mixed by Mike "Handz" Donaldson at Chalice Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California. "(What Is) Love?" deals with the topic of "not knowing what love is". The song's co-writer Gordon stated that: "I felt like so many woman have that same story. No fathers, families, abusive boyfriends and husbands..no parental support, they feel alone .. I've had my few relationships and have yet to feel love ."

Leak and release

"What Is Love?" was leaked onto the internet in May 2009.

Wynter Gordon Diana Gordon, previously known by her stage name Wynter Gordon, is an American singer and songwriter. She began her career writing music for other artists, later signing with Atlantic Records where she started to work on her own album. Her deb ...

, the co-writer of "What Is Love?", expressed her dismay at the "unfinished and unmastered" song's leak in a post on her official MySpace blog. She stated: "I wrote this song from a deep place in my heart. If the world was gonna hear it, I wanted them to hear it right... It's as good as gone to me now... The story was given a Lifetime TV special instead of a movie... sad." Gordon did note that she was dissatisfied with the circumstances, but was in "no way dissing Lopez." A mastered version of "What Is Love?" was included on the

to ''

'' (2010), a film in which Lopez stars. "What Is Love?" was re-titled as "(What Is) Love?" and appeared on '' Love?'' (2011). "(What Is) Love?" was due to be released as a

from ''Love?'' on April 26, 2011, but was "unlocked" and released four days earlier, on April 22, 2011 by through a campaign on Lopez's Facebook page. It was released in many European countries on April 25.

Critical response

The song received a positive review from Digital Spy's Robert Copsey, who although stating that it isn't any "we haven't heard before," Lopez carries "it off with her unrivalled glamour and effortless sophistication." He concluded by stating that the song was worthy of a standalone release. Monica Herrera from '' Billboard'' commented that on the song, Lopez channels "J.Lo circa 2003." Herrera added the song would have been "slayed if the gender had been flipped", and it had been sung by

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...

. Joey Guerra from the ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With i ...

'' said that Lopez uses "(What Is) Love?" (and the album cut "Starting Over") to play the jilted lover. ''

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'' noted the song's lyrics to be pointing "a few fingers" at Lopez's previous relationships, seen in the line dissing "blind dates" and the declaration of: "Musicians are the worst."

"What Is Love? (Part II)"

During the first album listening party for ''Love?'' in 2009, '' Rap-Up'' magazine revealed that Jean-Baptiste had produced a second version of the song called "What Is Love? (Part II)". It was considered for included on the album but ultimately did not make the final track listing. It samples the "club-friendly" riff of

Edwin Starr Charles Edwin Hatcher (January 21, 1942 – April 2, 2003), known by his stage name Edwin Starr, was an American singer and songwriter. Starr was famous for his Norman Whitfield-produced Motown singles of the 1970s, most notably the number-one ...

's 1970 single "

War War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

".Jennifer Lopez’s “What Is Love (Part II)”: Listen To The Leaked Song , Idolator
/ref> "What Is Love? Part II" was

ed onto the internet on April 22, 2013.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Love?''. *Jim Annunziato – audio engineer, vocal recording engineer *Anesha Birchett –

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

*Mike "Handz" Donaldson – mixing engineer *Emile Dernst II (

D'Mile Dernst "D'Mile" Emile II (born January 24, 1985) is an American record producer and songwriter from Brooklyn, New York City. He was sometimes referred to as D. Emile, Dernst Emile II, or Dee'Mile and is most commonly known and accredited as D'Mil ...

) – songwriter, producer *Eric Eylands – assistant audio engineer *

– vocal producer, vocal recording engineer *Shani Gonzales – additional A&R * Dianna "Wynter" Gordon – songwriter, background vocals *Josh Gudwin – vocal recording engineer *John "J-Banga" Kercy –

Pro Tools Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture ( sound design, audio post-produ ...

engineer * Jennifer Lopez – lead vocals

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:What Is Love? 2011 songs Jennifer Lopez songs Island Records singles Electropop songs Song recordings produced by Kuk Harrell Songs written by D'Mile Songs written by Wynter Gordon