Sacred Love

For other uses, see Sacred Love (disambiguation).

Sacred Love
Studio album by Sting
Released	29 September 2003 (2003-09-29)
Studio	Studio Mega (Paris) The Hit Factory (New York) Capitol (Hollywood)
Genre	Jazz pop [1] R&B [2] world [2]
Length	55:20
Label	A&M
Producer	Kipper Sting
Sting chronology
...All This Time (2001) Sacred Love (2003) Songs from the Labyrinth (2006)
Singles from Sacred Love
"Send Your Love" Released: 30 July 2003 [3] "Whenever I Say Your Name" Released: November 2003 "Stolen Car (Take Me Dancing)" Released: 26 April 2004 [4]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	66/100 [5]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[6]
Entertainment Weekly	B− [7]
Mojo	[5]
PopMatters	[8]
Q	[5]
Rolling Stone	[9]

Sacred Love is the seventh studio album by the English musician Sting. The album was released on 29 September 2003. The album featured smoother, R&B-style beats and experiments collaborating with hip-hop artist Mary J. Blige and sitar player Anoushka Shankar. Some songs like "Inside" and "Dead Man's Rope" were well received, and Sting had experimented with new sounds, in particular the more rock-influenced "This War". ^[10]

Sacred Love received positive reviews from critics and was a commercial success, peaking at number three in the US and UK. It would be Sting's last album of original material until The Last Ship (2013).

Background

Sting adapted the first quatrain of William Blake's Auguries of Innocence for the first four sung lines of "Send Your Love".

Sting's collaboration with Blige, "Whenever I Say Your Name", won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 46th Grammy Awards in 2004. The first single "Send Your Love" was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, but it lost to "Cry Me a River" by Justin Timberlake. ^[10]

In August 2015, Mylène Farmer and Sting duetted on "Stolen Car (Take Me Dancing)" and released it as the lead single from Farmer's tenth studio album, Interstellaires ; ^[11] the track is produced by The Avener. ^[12]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Sting, except "Shape of My Heart" written by Sting and Dominic Miller. All tracks produced by Sting and Kipper; co-production on "Send Your Love" by Victor Calderone, and "Never Coming Home" by BT.

Sacred Love track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Inside"	4:46
2.	"Send Your Love" (featuring Vicente Amigo)	4:38
3.	"Whenever I Say Your Name" (featuring Mary J. Blige)	5:25
4.	"Dead Man's Rope"	5:43
5.	"Never Coming Home"	4:58
6.	"Stolen Car (Take Me Dancing)"	3:56
7.	"Forget About the Future"	5:12
8.	"This War"	5:29
9.	"The Book of My Life" (featuring Anoushka Shankar)	6:15
10.	"Sacred Love"	5:43
11.	"Send Your Love" (Dave Audé remix)	3:15
Total length:		55:20

Bonus track (excluded from US and Canadian editions)

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Shape of My Heart" (live)	2:18
Total length:		57:38

Personnel

• Sting – vocals, keyboards, guitars, bass (1–10, 12), Turkish clarinet
• Kipper – keyboards, programming, backing vocals
• David Hartley – piano and choir arrangements
• Jason Rebello – acoustic piano, Rhodes electric piano
• Jeff Young – Hammond organ
• Dominic Miller – guitars
• Vicente Amigo – flamenco guitar (2)
• Anoushka Shankar – sitar (9)
• Danny Dunlap – bass (11)
• Christian McBride – double bass
• Manu Katché – drums
• Vinnie Colaiuta – drums
• Rhani Krija – percussion
• Valerie Denys – castanets
• Aref Durvesh – tabla
• Levon Minassian – duduk
• Clark Gayton – trombone
• Chris Botti – trumpet
• Jacqueline Thomas – cello
• Mary J. Blige – lead vocals (3)
• Katreese Barnes – backing vocals
• Ada Dyer – backing vocals
• Lance Ellington – backing vocals
• Donna Gardier – backing vocals
• Joy Rose – featured and backing vocals
• Bahija Rhapl – ethnic vocals
• Choeur de Radio France – choir
• Philip White – associate chorus master

Technical credits

• Simon Osborne – recording, mixing
• Steve Miller – mix engineer (11)
• Peter "Hopps" Lorimer – assistant engineer
• Donal Hodgson – Pro Tools engineer and programming
• Claudius Mittendorfer – technical assistant
• Charlie Paakkari – technical assistant
• Rodolphe Plisson – technical assistant
• Dave Audé – remixing and additional production (11)
• Chris Blair – stereo mastering
• Peter Mew – 5.1 mastering
• Danny Quatrochi – personal technician
• Recorded at Studio Mega (Paris, France); The Hit Factory (New York City, New York); Capitol Studios (Hollywood, California).
• Mastered at Abbey Road Studios (London, UK).

Production credits

• Martin Kierszenbaum – A&R
• Andrea Ruffalo – A&R coordinator
• Tam Fairgrieve – production manager
• Richard Frankel – package design
• Paolo Roversi – photography
• Kathryn Schenker – management

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2003–2004) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA) [13] 13 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [14] 2 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [15] 6 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [16] 6 Canadian Albums (Billboard) [17] 3 Danish Albums (Hitlisten) [18] 1 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [19] 3 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [20] 8 French Albums (SNEP) [21] 5 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [22] 2 Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ) [23] 4 Irish Albums (IRMA) [24] 8 Italian Albums (FIMI) [25] 1 Japanese Albums (Oricon) [26] 10 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [27] 13 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [28] 3 Polish Albums (ZPAV) [29] 1 Portuguese Albums (AFP) [30] 2 Scottish Albums (OCC) [31] 3 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) [32] 5 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [33] 3 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [34] 1 UK Albums (OCC) [35] 3 US Billboard 200 [36] 3

Year-end charts Chart (2003) Position Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [37] 45 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [38] 52 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [39] 27 French Albums (SNEP) [40] 112 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [41] 42 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [42] 89 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [43] 19 UK Albums (OCC) [44] 87 US Billboard 200 [45] 122 Worldwide Albums (IFPI) [46] 34 Chart (2004) Position Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [47] 51 US Billboard 200 [48] 130

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [49]	Platinum	100,000^
Czech Republic	—	10,000 [50]
France (SNEP) [51]	Gold	100,000*
Germany (BVMI) [52]	Gold	100,000^
Hungary (MAHASZ) [53]	Gold	10,000^
Japan (RIAJ) [54]	Gold	92,053 [55]
Netherlands (NVPI) [56]	Gold	40,000^
Russia (NFPF) [57]	Platinum	20,000*
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [58]	Platinum	40,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [59]	Gold	100,000^
United States (RIAA) [60]	Platinum	1,000,000^
Summaries
Europe (IFPI) [61]	Platinum	1,000,000*
Worldwide	—	2,500,000 [62]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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2. Giles, Jeff (29 September 2015). "Why Sting Swerved into the Genre-Blending 'Sacred Love'". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
3. "スティング | センド・ユア・ラヴ/ムーン・オーヴァー・バーボン・ストリート2003 version" [Sting | Send Your Love/Moon Over Bourbon Street 2003 Version] (in Japanese). Oricon . Retrieved 24 March 2025.
4. "Sting | Discography | Stolen Car (Take Me Dancing), CD". Sting.com.
5. "Critic reviews for Sacred Love". Metacritic . Retrieved 29 May 2012.
6. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Sacred Love – Sting: Overview". AllMusic . Retrieved 14 February 2013.
7. Sinclair, Tom (3 October 2003). "Music Review: Sacred Love (2003) – Sting". Entertainment Weekly . No. 731. ISSN   1049-0434. Archived from the original on 8 July 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
8. MacNeil, Jason (10 December 2003). "Sting: Sacred Love". PopMatters . Retrieved 11 September 2012.
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10. "Sacred Love". Sting.com. 30 September 2003. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
11. Presse, Prisma (15 September 2015). "Mylène Farmer: Un nouvel album au titre évocateur - Gala" . Retrieved 17 September 2015.
12. "Mylène Farmer et Sting en duo - Stolen Car en écoute intégrale - Mylene.Net".
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29. "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
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32. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN   84-8048-639-2.
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38. "Rapports annuels 2003". Ultratop (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
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41. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
42. "Årslista Album – År 2005" (in Swedish). Hitlistan.se. Sverigetopplistan. Archived from the original on 4 March 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
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45. "Billboard.BIZ – Year-end Charts – Billboard 200 – 2003". Billboard. Archived from the original on 9 October 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
46. "Top 50 Global Best Selling Albums for 2003" (PDF). International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 November 2008. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
47. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2004" (in Dutch). Retrieved 26 January 2014.
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49. "Canadian album certifications – Sting – Sacred Love". Music Canada . Retrieved 14 February 2013.
50. Vlasák, Vladimír (22 December 2003). "Králi roku jsou Bílá, Nohavica a Kabát: NEJPRODÁVANĚJŠÍ ALBA" (in Czech). iDNES.cz. Archived from the original on 12 March 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
51. "French album certifications – Sting – Sacred Love" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique . Retrieved 14 February 2013.
52. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Sting; 'Sacred Love')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie . Retrieved 14 February 2013.
53. "Adatbázis – Arany- és platinalemezek – 2003" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ . Retrieved 14 February 2013.
54. "Japanese album certifications – スティング – セイクレッド・ラヴ" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan . Retrieved 14 February 2013.Select 2004年3月 on the drop-down menu
55. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN   4-87131-077-9.
56. "Dutch album certifications – Sting – Sacred Love" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers . Retrieved 25 January 2020.Enter Sacred Love in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 2003 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
57. "International 2003". 2M (in Russian). Archived from the original on 24 January 2009. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
58. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Sacred Love')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
59. "British album certifications – Sting – Sacred Love". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 14 February 2013.
60. "American album certifications – Sting – Sacred Love". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved 14 February 2013.
61. "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 2003". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 14 February 2013.
62. Melinda Newman (13 December 2003). "Sting - A Portrait of The Artist" (PDF). Billboard . p. 23. Retrieved 14 May 2021– via World Radio History.

External links

• Sacred Love at Metacritic