Peak
11
Weeks
26
Score
3,708
Chart Year
1993
The accompanying music video of "What Is Love" was directed by German music video director Volker Hannwacker.[54] It features Haddaway in a mansion pursued by three femme fatales, at least one of whom is a vampire.[55] Some scenes features the singer and the vampire run backwards.[55] Keith Dorwick analyzed the video in his book Love Song, writing, "He is first dressed in a blue suit with a white shirt, but upon being bitten by a white female vampire, he is converted to a boy toy with seeming supernatural powers. Now dressed in tight pants and an open vest that shows off his smooth and surprisingly chiseled chest, he easily leaps onto the fireplace mantel where he begins dancing, then flies down in a smooth leap that demonstrates his new vampiric power."[55] The video received heavy rotation on MTV Europe in May 1993
Haddaway (born Alexander Nestor Haddaway, January 9, 1965) is a Trinidadian Eurodance and House musician. He grew up in Europe and the United States, and has lived in Cologne, Germany since 1989. This was his only big hit in the US, but he had several more in Europe. >> Although the song is an upbeat dance track, the lyrics are rather gut-wrenching, as Haddaway sings about trying to love a girl who won't love him back. The song was written by Haddway's producers, Dee Dee Halligan and Junior Torello. Halligan is a German producer who also goes by the name Tony Hendrik, and Torello is a female producer/lyricist better known as Karin Hartmann. Together, they formed the label Coconut Records, which signed Wolfgang Petry and Andreas Martin. As Halligan tells it, Haddaway was singing on demos in the basement of Coconut's studios when he decided to have him record "What Is Love." Coconut released the single in Germany in 1992, and later that year it was picked up by the UK label Logic and the American label Arista. In the UK, it made #2 in June 1993, and in the US it reached its #11 peak position in October 1993. Halligan and Torello also wrote and produced the next Haddaway hit: "Life (Everybody Needs Somebody To Love)," which made #2 in the UK and #41 in America. This song gained popularity when it was used in a recurring Saturday Night Live sketch about three guys who go clubbing. They dress alike - in outdated fashion - and torment women at the clubs by forcing their dancing upon them. There is very little dialogue in the sketches, and this song plays throughout, with the three men bobbing their heads in unison. In 1998, the skit was extended to a full-lenth movie called A Night At The Roxbury. The two regular performers in the skit (and movie) were SNL cast members Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan. The host of the show would often be their third man in the bits - Jim Carrey and Sylvester Stallone each did a turn as the head-bobbing swingers. In a takeoff on the Saturday Night Live bit, this song was used in a 2008 Super Bowl commercial for Pepsi Max. In the bit, various folks are seen nodding off, but after taking some swigs of Pepsi's elixir, they wake up and their nodding takes on the rhythm of the song. Celebrities appearing in the ad include LL Cool J, Busta Rhymes and Missy Elliott. At the end of the spot, a piqued Chris Kattan yells, "stop it" to some enthusiastic nodders. Eminem sampled this song on his 2010 track "No Love." The Canadian songstress Kiesza covered this Eurodance tune, transforming it into a vulnerable, heart-rending ballad. She explained to Redbull.co.uk: "I've always loved the song, but I noticed that this songs makes you feel great and get up and dance, but then I listened to the lyrics and I was like, 'wait a minute, this song is so depressing. It's so sad. How did I not notice?' There's a whole aspect of the song that you don't tap into." "So I thought I'd strip away everything and let the story of the song be told. I feel like the original is about the vibe and the track than it is about the song. My version is almost like a ballad version of it." In "The Merger" episode of The Office in season three, Andy helps Michael sing this during a meeting when Michael's CD player won't work.
What is love? Oh baby, don't hurt me Don't hurt me No more Baby, don't hurt me, don't hurt me No more What is love? Yeah No, I don't know why you're not there I give you my love, but you don't care So what is right and what is wrong? Gimme a sign What is love? Oh baby, don't hurt me Don't hurt me No more What is love? Oh baby, don't hurt me Don't hurt me No more Whoa, whoa, oh Whoa, whoa, oh Oh, I don't know, what can I do? What else can I say? It's up to you I know we're one, just me and you I can't go on What is love? Oh baby, don't hurt me Don't hurt me No more What is love? Oh baby, don't hurt me Don't hurt me No more Whoa, whoa, oh Whoa, whoa, oh What is love? What is love? What is love? Oh baby, don't hurt me Don't hurt me No more Don't hurt me Don't hurt me I want no other, no other lover This is our life, our time If we are together, I need you forever Is it love? What is love? Oh baby, don't hurt me Don't hurt me No more What is love? Oh baby, don't hurt me Don't hurt me No more Yeah, yeah Whoa, whoa, oh Whoa, whoa, oh What is love? Oh baby, don't hurt me Don't hurt me No more What is love? Oh baby, don't hurt me Don't hurt me No more (whoa, whoa) Oh baby, don't hurt me Don't hurt me No more (whoa, whoa) Oh baby, don't hurt me Don't hurt me No more What is love?
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aug 28, 1993 | 87 | 39 |
| 2 | Sep 4, 1993 | 69 | 57 |
| 3 | Sep 11, 1993 | 57 | 69 |
| 4 | Sep 18, 1993 | 50 | 76 |
| 5 | Sep 25, 1993 | 41 | 85 |
| 6 | Oct 2, 1993 | 29 | 97 |
| 7 | Oct 9, 1993 | 22 | 104 |
| 8 | Oct 16, 1993 | 18 | 108 |
| 9 | Oct 23, 1993 | 13 | 113 |
| 10 | Oct 30, 1993 | 11 | 115 |
| 11 | Nov 6, 1993 | 11 | 115 |
| 12 | Nov 13, 1993 | 11 | 115 |
| 13 | Nov 20, 1993 | 15 | 111 |
| 14 | Nov 27, 1993 | 17 | 109 |
| 15 | Dec 4, 1993 | 15 | 111 |
| 16 | Dec 11, 1993 | 16 | 110 |
| 17 | Dec 18, 1993 | 17 | 109 |
| 18 | Dec 25, 1993 | 22 | 104 |
| 19 | Jan 1, 1994 | 24 | 102 |
| 20 | Jan 8, 1994 | 27 | 99 |