"Lovefool" is a song written by Peter Svensson and Nina Persson for Swedish rock band

the Cardigans The Cardigans is a Swedish rock band formed in Jönköping, Sweden, in 1992 by guitarist Peter Svensson, bassist Magnus Sveningsson, drummer Bengt Lagerberg, keyboardist Lars-Olof Johansson and lead singer Nina Persson. Post-hiatus shows sin ...

' third studio album, '' First Band on the Moon'' (1996). It was released as the album's

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

in Sweden in mid-1996 and on 9 September 1996 in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the song was serviced to radio in August 1996. A few months after its release, the track was included in the Baz Luhrmann film ''

Romeo + Juliet Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Lord Montague and his wife, Lady Montague, he secretly loves and marries Juliet, a member of the rival House of Capulet, through a pries ...

'', helping the song gain international recognition. "Lovefool" peaked at number two on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

following a re-release in 1997 and achieved moderate success on other European charts. In North America, it reached number three in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

and number two on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' Hot 100 Airplay Chart (it did not appear on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

due to rules in place at the time). In

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologic ...

, the song topped the

New Zealand Singles Chart The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Music ...

and climbed to number 11 in Australia, earning

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

sales certifications in both regions.

Background

Persson wrote the lyrics to the song at an airport while waiting for a plane. She later said that the song is "quite a sad love song; the meaning of it is quite pathetic, really." She also added that "the biggest hits are the ones that are the easiest to write". She said that, at the time, the song "was slower and more of a

bossa nova Bossa nova () is a style of samba developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is mainly characterized by a "different beat" that altered the harmonies with the introduction of unconventional chords and an innovat ...

". Persson noted that the band knew the potential commercial appeal of the song, saying, "We definitely were aware that it was a single and a catchy song when we wrote it, but the direction it took is not something we could have predicted. It wasn't necessarily our character; it felt like a bit of a freak on the record — which, objectively, it still is. But then when we were recording, by chance, our drummer started to play that kind of disco beat, and there was no way to get away from it after that".

Music and structure

"Lovefool" is a song that is performed in several keys and modulates based on chorus and verse. The chorus is in the key of

A major A major (or the key of A) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The key of A major is the only k ...

using a I–IV–ii–V

chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...

. The verses use a i–iv–VII–III

A minor A minor is a minor scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has no flats and no sharps. Its relative major is C major and its parallel major is A major. The A natural minor scale is: : Changes ...

. It is written in

common time The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note val ...

and moves at 112

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ...

. The song's middle 8 is four bars long.

Release

The song was initially a hit in several European countries, reaching number 15 on the

Swedish Singles Chart Sverigetopplistan (, lit. "the Sweden top list") is the Swedish national record chart, formerly known as Topplistan (1975–1997) and Hitlistan (1998–2007) and known by its current name since October 2007, based on sales data from the Swedish ...

and peaking at number 21 on the

during its first release in 1996. Following its appearance in ''

'', the song gained international attention, eventually reaching a new peak of number two on the UK Singles Chart following a re-release in April 1997. It then achieved international success, becoming a number-one hit in New Zealand and peaking just outside the top 10 in Australia at number 11. "Lovefool" became a crossover hit in the US after peaking at number nine on the ''Billboard'' Modern Rock Tracks chart, reaching number two on the Hot 100 Airplay chart. It reached number one on the Top 40 Mainstream chart and number two on the

Adult Top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems ...

, staying there for eight nonconsecutive weeks. The single was not eligible to chart on the

at the time since singles not made commercially available in the US were ineligible to chart. In Persson's words, the immense commercial success of "Lovefool" "freaked erout". She explained, "We were kind of snobs. We felt like these things were glitzy, and we felt like, 'No, no, we're a rock band!'"

Critical reception

Tom Moon from ''

Knight-Ridder Newspapers Knight Ridder was an American media company, specializing in newspaper and Internet publishing. Until it was bought by McClatchy on June 27, 2006, it was the second largest newspaper publisher in the United States, with 32 daily newspaper b ...

'' noted that the "mercilessly catchy" song "has become a rallying cry for jilted lovers everywhere." Sara Scribner from ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' opined that Persson "begs for lies" on a "almost criminally catchy" tune. Bryan Lark from ''

The Michigan Daily ''The Michigan Daily'' is the weekly student newspaper of the University of Michigan. Its first edition was published on September 29, 1890. The newspaper is financially and editorially independent of the University's administration and other stu ...

'' called it a "sugary sing-along". Thanos Lolis from ''

Miscellany News ''The Miscellany News'' (known colloquially as ''The Misc'') is the student newspaper of Vassar College. Established in 1866, it is one of the oldest student newspapers in the country. The paper is distributed every Thursday evening during Vassa ...

'' said it is "three minutes of sparkly,

ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The grou ...

esque

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric p ...

, very danceable and very capable of making a global hit." He also described it as "catchy kitsch-in-sync". Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' stated that it's a "trademark Cardigans track", adding that "this energetic mid-tempo single suggests summertime follies and lazy craziness. The cheerful

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

hints at old time disco." A reviewer from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' rated it four out of five, commenting, "Prepare for world domination by these Swedish popsters, whose first single (...) takes their candy pop style and injects it with a distinct Seventies disco feel." Editor Alan Jones added, "It's a quaint and quirky pop nugget with a smooth, caressing vocal and a sublime hook. It seems certain to earn the group their biggest hit yet." Mark Sutherland from '' NME'' described it as "dizzy disco". A reviewer from ''

People A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of prope ...

'' magazine labeled it as "boppy". Jason Cohen from ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' noted that Persson's "airy lack of affectation actually deepens her dark, romantic sentiments when she chirps cheerily about her status as a willingly deceived doormat".

Charles Aaron Charles Aaron is an American music journalist and editor, formerly for ''Spin'' magazine, where he worked for 23 years. Personal Charles Aaron was born in Rockingham, North Carolina, and raised in Asheboro, North Carolina and Rome, Georgia. He ...

from ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally ...

'' called it "

lounge music Lounge music is a type of easy listening music popular in the 1950s and 1960s. It may be meant to evoke in the listeners the feeling of being in a place, usually with a tranquil theme, such as a jungle, an island paradise or outer space. The rang ...

so chilly with irony that you better bring a sweater, binky." Nick Mirov from ''

The Stanford Daily ''The Stanford Daily'' is the student-run, independent daily newspaper serving Stanford University. ''The Daily'' is distributed throughout campus and the surrounding community of Palo Alto, California, United States. It has published since the U ...

'' noted that Persson is "sounding self-assured and confident" when she is "getting her own heart broken". Jaime Holguin from ''

Star-News ''Star-News'' is an American, English language daily newspaper for Wilmington, North Carolina, and its surrounding area (known as the Lower Cape Fear). It is North Carolina's oldest newspaper in continuous publication. It was owned by Halifax M ...

'' viewed it as a "kitschy pop gem" and "sticky sweet". Ian Hyland from ''

Sunday Mirror The ''Sunday Mirror'' is the Sunday sister paper of the ''Daily Mirror''. It began life in 1915 as the ''Sunday Pictorial'' and was renamed the ''Sunday Mirror'' in 1963. In 2016 it had an average weekly circulation of 620,861, dropping marke ...

'' stated that it is the "best pop song" of 1997.

Retrospective response

Justin Chadwick from Albumism said "Lovefool" is "one of the more exciting straight-ahead pop songs of the contemporary era", declaring it as "pure, exquisitely produced pop perfection." John Bush from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

deemed it a "depressing lament of unrequited affection".

Annie Zaleski Annie Zaleski is an American music journalist and author. Career Zaleski is a regular writer for mainstream media outlets such as The A.V. Club and NPR Music, and a columnist at ''Salon''. She is based in Cleveland, Ohio where she has won fir ...

from '' The A.V. Club'' described it as "giddy". Dave Fawbert from ''

ShortList A short list or shortlist is a list of candidates for a job, prize, award, political position, etc., that has been reduced from a longer list of candidates (sometimes via intermediate lists known as "long lists"). The length of short lists varie ...

'' commented, "It’s one of the best things in life when a song comes along, you listen to it, and you just think: “Well, that’s perfect isn’t it?” Every little bit of this three minutes and 14 seconds is absolutely, utterly unimprovable, from the little bllllrrrrring guitar intro, all the way through to that gorgeous ritardando and final chord at the end. Impossibly stylish, groovy and ice cool, this is, you’ll be unsurprised to hear, still brilliant, fully 20 years on. The Swedes, they build things to last –

Volvo The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...

s and ‘Lovefool’, two sides of the same coin." Sal Cinquemani from '' Slant'' declared it as a "tongue-in-cheek smash", and noted that "Lovefool" "criminally crowned the band as one-hit wonders in the U.S." ''Treblezine'' wrote that "it’s not difficult to understand the effect of this song. It’s got that certain quality that digs right down into your being and glows with a precise sense of rhythm and pleasure." "Lovefool" ranked 18th in ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...

''s 1996 Pazz & Jop poll and 19th the following year. ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yo ...

'' listed the song number 40 on its ''100 Best Singles of the 1990s'' list, and ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'' ranked it number 66 on its ''Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s'' in 2010 and number 64 on its ''The 250 Best Songs of the 1990s'' in 2022. Treblezine placed the song at number 50 in their ''Top 100 Singles of the ’90s'' in 2007. In 2012, ''Porcys'' listed it at number two in their ranking of ''100 Singles 1990-1999''.

Music video

Three

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

s were shot for the song. The first one for Europe—"much more bleak, much more our original style" says Nina Persson. "We had an actor playing a sort of handsome-man-love-interest of mine, and he was supposed to be a kind of gangster and the band played his gang members." The second one was directed by Geoff Moore in New York. It features a man being lost on an island and putting a message in a bottle into the water. A woman implied to be his lover is shown on a dock reading a newspaper and at the end of the video receives and reads the message and smiles. The video also shows the band performing the song in what looks to be the interior of the bottle released by the man lost at sea, as well as Nina Persson looking out from the bottle's neck and later through a

periscope A periscope is an instrument for observation over, around or through an object, obstacle or condition that prevents direct line-of-sight observation from an observer's current position. In its simplest form, it consists of an outer case with ...

at the woman. Midway through the song, the band is also interviewed by several

scuba equipment Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Christ ...

-wearing reporters who descend from a ladder into the room. The third and last music video was created to promote Baz Luhrmann's movie ''

''. Similar to the second music video, this video replaces some scenes with movie clips featuring Leonardo DiCaprio,

Claire Danes Claire Catherine Danes (born April 12, 1979) is an American actress. She is the recipient of three Primetime Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. In 2012, '' Time'' named her one of the 100 most influenti ...

and

John Leguizamo John Alberto Leguizamo Peláez (; ; born July 22, 196013:04) is an American actor, comedian, and film producer. He has appeared in over 100 films, produced over 20 films and documentaries, made over 30 television appearances, and has produced ...

Track listings

Original release

* European CD single, UK 7-inch and cassette single # "Lovefool" – 3:16 # "Nasty Sunny Beam" – 2:53 * UK, Australasian, and Japanese CD single # "Lovefool" – 3:16 # "Nasty Sunny Beam" – 2:53 # "

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The cha ...

" (first try) – 3:39

Re-release

* European CD1 # "Lovefool" (radio edit) – 3:16 # "Lovefool" ( Tee's's club radio) – 3:21 # "Lovefool" (Tee's Frozen Sun mix) – 7:50 # "Lovefool" (Puck version) – 3:14 * European CD2 and UK cassette single # "Lovefool" (radio edit) – 3:17 # "Lovefool" (Tee's club radio) – 3:20 * UK CD1 # "Lovefool" (radio edit) – 3:17 # "Lovefool" (Tee's club radio) – 3:21 # "Lovefool" (Tee's Frozen Sun mix) – 7:50 * UK CD2 # "Lovefool" (radio edit) – 3:17 # " Sick & Tired" (live) – 3:34 # "

Carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival t ...

" (live) – 3:32 # " Rise & Shine" (live) – 4:01

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Release history

Twocolors version

The German electronic duo Twocolors recorded a cover of the song in 2020. It charted in Germany and many European charts. It topped the charts in Poland and achieved great success in post-Soviet countries, especially in Russia as well. A version of the song featuring American singer

Pia Mia Pia Mia Perez (born September 19, 1996) is an American singer, songwriter, and model. She began her career by posting videos of herself singing on the video sharing site YouTube, and went on to star in commercials and music videos. Pia Mia sign ...

was released on 12 November 2020.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Other cover versions

* American rock band

New Found Glory New Found Glory (formerly A New Found Glory) is an American rock band from Coral Springs, Florida, formed in 1997. The band currently consists of Jordan Pundik (lead vocals), Ian Grushka (bass guitar), Chad Gilbert (lead guitar, backing vocals ...

recorded a cover version for their album ''

From the Screen to Your Stereo Part II ''From the Screen to Your Stereo Part II'' is a cover album by American band New Found Glory, and is the follow-up from the 2000 EP '' From the Screen to Your Stereo''. All the tracks are covers of songs from motion picture soundtracks. In 2019 ...

''. * American actress and singer

Leighton Meester Leighton Marissa Meester (; born April 9, 1986) is an American actress, singer, and model. She is best known for her starring role as the devious socialite Blair Waldorf on '' Gossip Girl'' on The CW (2007–2012). She has also appeared in fil ...

performed a version of the song in June 2015 for '' The A.V. Club'' A.V. Undercover series. * Japanese pop singer Dream Ami has recorded a cover of the song. * Musical collective Postmodern Jukebox has recorded a cover of this song in the style of

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...

and big band music.

Samplings

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 ...

interpolated the chorus for his 2009 song " Love Me". * Claire Rosinkranz interpolated the chorus for her 2021 single "Frankenstein".

References

External links

"Lovefool" lyrics
* {{Authority control 1996 songs 1996 singles 1997 singles The Cardigans songs Bubblegum pop songs Mercury Records singles Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Poland Number-one singles in Russia Number-one singles in Scotland Songs written by Nina Persson Songs written by Peter Svensson Stockholm Records singles