"What Is Love" | ||||
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Single by En Vogue | ||||
from the album Funky Divas | ||||
Released | October 26, 1993 (US) | |||
Recorded | Autumn 1991–August 1993 [1] | |||
Genre | Pop/R&B | |||
Length | 4:42 | |||
Label | EastWest | |||
Songwriter(s) | Thomas Derrick McElroy & Denzil Delano Foster | |||
En Vogue singles chronology | ||||
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"What Is Love" was the final single from En Vogue's second album, Funky Divas . The song was not released commercially, but was instead shipped to dance clubs across the United States. "What Is Love" reached the Top 10 of the US dance charts. The song appeared again in 1993 as part of the group's Runaway Love EP. This was the only song En Vogue produced for market featuring Maxine Jones and Cindy Herron sharing lead vocals. It was initially to be included on Remix to Sing as a new song, but missed the production deadline and was added to Funky Divas.
Larry Flick from Billboard called the song "the only house-minded moment" on Funky Divas , adding that it "has been nicely retouched with a thick'n'chewy underground groove by Mentalinstrum, who is better known as a member of the Smack Productions posse. He has done a fine job of taking the song to interesting new depths, while wisely keeping those nifty vocals front and center at all times." [2] Arion Berger from Entertainment Weekly said the album "has an awkward charm", especially on "What Is Love", "in which they archly recite dictionary definitions of the word." [3] Pop Rescue noted that "parts of this song" reminds "a bit of Deee-Lite’s What Is Love?, pieces of Madonna‘s ‘Vogue’, Ce Ce Peniston and Kym Sims." They added that "the vocals really belt out here, and at times, it doesn’t sound very much like En Vogue amongst all the spoken word sections, and sampled bits." [4] Cheo H. Coker from Stanford Daily described the song as "a house groove" with "a rather funky, upbeat note", and added that it "will also be a commercial success." [5]
Chart (1993) | Peak position |
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US Dance Club Songs ( Billboard ) [6] | 6 |
US Dance Singles Sales ( Billboard ) [7] with "Runaway love" | 17 |
En Vogue is an American vocal girl group whose original lineup consisted of singers Terry Ellis, Dawn Robinson, Cindy Herron, and Maxine Jones. Formed in Oakland, California, in 1989, En Vogue reached No. 2 on the US Hot 100 with the single "Hold On", taken from their 1990 debut album Born to Sing. The group's 1992 follow-up album Funky Divas reached the top 10 in both the US and UK, and included their second US number two hit "My Lovin' " as well as the US top 10 hits "Giving Him Something He Can Feel" and "Free Your Mind".
Funky Divas is the second studio album by American recording group En Vogue, released by Atlantic Records division East West on March 24, 1992, in the United States. Conceived after the success of their Grammy Award–nominated debut album Born to Sing (1990), En Vogue reteamed with their founders Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy to work on the entire album. As with Born to Sing, the pair borrowed from contemporary R&B, new jack swing, and hip hop, while also incorporating classic soul, blues and doo-wop elements, particularly on its on two Sparkle cover versions, as well as, in the case of "Free Your Mind," heavy metal sounds. The album became the quartet's second album to earn a Grammy Award nomination in the Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals category, while winning the American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Album and the Sammy Davis Jr. Award for Entertainer of the Year at the 1993 Soul Train Music Awards.
"Queen of the Night" is a song co-written by American singer and actress Whitney Houston along with L.A. Reid, Babyface and Daryl Simmons. Produced by Reid and Babyface and performed by Houston, it was released on October 13, 1993 by Arista Records as the fifth and final single from the soundtrack album The Bodyguard (1992), and is played during the closing credits of the film of the same name.
"My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)" is a song by American pop/R&B group En Vogue, released in March 1992 as the lead single from their multi-platinum second album, Funky Divas (1992).
"Free Your Mind" is a song by American female group En Vogue from their second album, Funky Divas (1992). The track was composed and produced by Foster and McElroy. They were inspired by the Funkadelic song "Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow." The guitar and bass tracks for the song were written and recorded by San Francisco-based guitarist Jinx Jones. The opening line: "Prejudice, wrote a song about it. Like to hear it? Here it go!", is adapted from a line originally used by David Alan Grier's character Calhoun Tubbs from Fox's In Living Color.
"Anything Is Possible" is the first single from American singer-songwriter-actress Debbie Gibson's third album of the same title (1990). Written, arranged, and produced by Gibson and Lamont Dozier, LP version was used for the single release worldwide except the United Kingdom and Europe, where an edited version of a remix by Harding and Curnow of PWL Records was used. The single fared relatively well on the US charts, reaching No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1991.
"Hold On" is a song by American girl group En Vogue, released in early 1990 as the first single from their debut album, Born to Sing (1990). It was produced by Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy, and written by the former two and all members of the group. It peaked at number five in the United Kingdom and number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. In the latter country, the song reached number one on the Billboard Dance Club Play, 12-inch Singles Sales, and Hot Black Singles charts. En Vogue performed "Hold On" at the 2008 BET Awards with Alicia Keys. In 2017, it was ranked number four on Spin magazine's ranking of "The 30 Best '90s R&B Songs".
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