Peak
8
Weeks
25
Score
4,842
Chart Year
2003
The music video for "Where Is the Love?" was shot in East Los Angeles and features the Black Eyed Peas and various other people, including various young children, asking the world where the love really is. In the video, will.i.am and Taboo act as a soul music road duo who use music to tell people what is wrong with the world, Fergie appears as a peacemaker who places stickers with question marks on them all over the place to ask people where the love is in the world, and apl.de.ap is a criminal who is arrested for using criminal offenses to tell people the truth. Justin Timberlake does not appear in the video, as he was promoting his album Justified at the time,[16] though several different people are seen mouthing his part. The video features posters from the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, with the question mark symbol plastered over said posters in an apparent protest over the game's violent content.[17] The video later shows gameplay footage from the controversial first-person shooter Postal 2, in which a group of young children are seen playing the game, suggesting that violence in the media and entertainment industry is a corrupting influence to the youth.[18][19] Running With Scissors, creators of the Postal franchise, later claimed in a tweet in 2021 that they were paid for the use of the game's footage
This song is about the state of post 9/11 world, which all but calls for US withdrawal from Iraq. Group member Ron Fair started writing it late in 2001, and another member, will.i.am, added the socially conscious lyrics. This was co-written by Justin Timberlake, who also sang on the track. He came up the chorus after hearing the song on the phone. The group talked about the initial inspiration for this song when they made a new version 13 years later: Taboo: "I just remember the day of 9/11, Will comes in running to the room and he says, 'Yo! We're being attacked." apl.de.ap: "And then we saw the second plane and then reality sets in." will.i.am: "My grandma said a prayer, and said that we shouldn't stay at home afraid when you're being called on to do as much healing as you can with the gift that was given to us." Taboo: "There was a lot of separatism, racism, and we felt like the question we had been asking was like, 'Yo, where's the love?'" The song took a long time to develop. By the time they recorded the version on the Elephunk, The Black Eyed Peas added a string section and recorded vocals by their new member: a female singer named Fergie. They had also changed their sound to appeal to a wider audience. Justin Timberlake was not listed as a featured singer on this and did not appear in the video. His record company wanted to keep his contribution to this low-key because they didn't want it to interfere with his album Justified. Report this ad This song got lots of love in the UK, where it was #1 for six weeks, remarkable since the band was little-known in Britain. It was the longest-serving British #1 in five years and the best selling record of 2003 in the UK. The group performed this on the Grammy Awards, where it was nominated for Record of the Year but lost to "Clocks" by Coldplay. The ceremony took place February 8, 2004, exactly one week after Justin Timberlake tore off a piece of Janet Jackson's outfit during the Super Bowl halftime show to reveal her bare breast. Jackson was pilloried and uninvited to the Grammy Awards, but Timberlake got to perform on the show and collect two awards. On stage, they kept him far away from Fergie at all times. The Black Eyed Peas released a new version of the song on August 31, 2016. Will.i.am said the remake was inspired by tragic events that were happening throughout the world. "I remember when the attack in Paris happened, people would say 'We need 'Where Is The Love?' again.' And then Belgium happened, and then Turkey, and then Orlando, and then Philando, and then Alton before him, and then Dallas," he said. "Everyone was calling on us, like, we need that song again." The Peas roped in some of their famous friends for the reworking including Justin Timberlake, Usher, Jamie Foxx, The Game, Mary J. Blige, Jessie J, Jessica Szohr, Nicole Scherzinger, Diddy, DJ Khaled, Andra Day, Tori Kelly, Ty Dolla $ign, Jaden Smith and ASAP Rocky. Proceeds from the new version benefit several charities including the Alton Sterling Fund, Dallas Police Officers, the Philando Castile Fund and will.i.am's non-profit i.am.angel Foundation, which helps communities in crisis. The video for the remake features cameos from several additional stars including Kendall Jenner, Quincy Jones, Vanessa Hudgens and Wiz Khalifa. Dallas Police Chief David O Brown and Sandra Sterling, the aunt who raised the late Alton Sterling, also make appearances. On the remix, DJ Khaled changes his trademark "They don't want you to win" line during his contribution on the bridge into "They don't want us to love." Will.i.am told Genius: "I placed it over the a cappella break where we have Justin Timberlake, Nicole Scherzinger and Usher, and it fit perfectly over that. He's been saying 'They don't want you to win' for a long time and that line in particular makes you question—who the f--- are 'they' anyway. Those are haters. When he says 'They don't want us to love' in this song it's like, 'Whoa, whoa, whoa, who are 'they'?' They don't want us to have the values of humanity, they don't want us to unite. A lot of times people laugh at that DJ Khaled line, but here it's like, 'Pay attention, that's heavy.'" The Game wrote his verse in 20 minutes. "Everyone is into social activism when they heart things and retweet things, but we need more from people," will.i.am. commented. "Retweeting is great and liking things is awesome, but let's do more together. Game's verse summed up what's going on in America's inner cities and what's going on in people's frame of mind on social media activism." The lyrics, "The Bloods, the Crips and the KKK" are a reference to two Los Angeles-based gangs and the Ku Klux Klan hate group. The male members of Black Eyed Peas performed this at the One Love Manchester concert on June 4, 2017, with Ariana Grande filling in for Fergie. The concert, viewed by over 11 million in Britain, raised over $3 million for the victims of the suicide bombing at Grande's May 22 concert at the Manchester Arena. The day after the show, "Where Is The Love?" went to #7 on the iTunes chart.
What's wrong with the world, mama People livin' like they ain't got no mamas I think the whole world addicted to the drama Only attracted to things that'll bring you trauma Overseas, yeah, we try to stop terrorism But we still got terrorists here livin' In the USA, the big CIA The Bloods and The Crips and the KKK But if you only have love for your own race Then you only leave space to discriminate And to discriminate only generates hate And when you hate then you're bound to get irate, yeah Madness is what you demonstrate And that's exactly how anger works and operates Now, you gotta have love just to set it straight Take control of your mind and meditate Let your soul gravitate to the love, y'all, y'all People killin', people dyin' Children hurt can you hear them cryin'? Can you practice what you preach? And would you turn the other cheek? Father, Father, Father help us Send us some guidance from above 'Cause people got me, got me questionin' Where is the love? (Love) Where is the love? (The love) Where is the love? (The love) Where is the love? The love, the love It just ain't the same, always unchanged New days are strange, is the world insane? If love and peace is so strong Why are there pieces of love that don't belong Nations droppin' bombs Chemical gasses fillin' lungs of little ones With the ongoin' sufferin' as the youth die young So ask yourself is the lovin' really gone So I can ask myself really what is goin' wrong In this world that we livin' in people keep on givin' in Makin' wrong decisions, only visions of them dividends Not respectin' each other, deny thy brother A war is goin' on but the reason's undercover The truth is kept secret, it's swept under the rug If you never know truth then you never know love Where's the love, y'all, come on (I don't know) Where's the truth, y'all, come on (I don't know) Where's the love, y'all (come on yeah) People killin', people dyin' Children hurt and you hear them cryin' Can you practice what you preach And would you turn the other cheek Father, Father, Father help us Send us some guidance from above 'Cause people got me, got me questionin' Where is the love (Love) Where is the love (the love) Where is the love (the love) Where is the love The love, the love I feel the weight of the world on my shoulder As I'm gettin' older, y'all, people gets colder Most of us only care about money makin' Selfishness got us followin' the wrong direction Wrong information always shown by the media Negative images, it's the main criteria Infecting the young minds faster than bacteria Kids want to act like what they see in the cinema Yo', whatever happened to the values of humanity Whatever happened to the fairness in equality Instead in spreading love we're spreading animosity Lack of understanding, leading lives away from unity That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' under That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' down There's no wonder why sometimes I'm feelin' under Gotta keep my faith alive till love is found now ask yourself Where is the love Father, Father, Father help us Send us some guidance from above 'Cause people got me, got me questionin' Where is the love (Love) Sing with me, y'all (One world one world) We only got (one world one world) That's all we got (one world one world) And somethings wrong with it (yeah) And somethings wrong with it (yeah) And somethings wrong with the w-w-world yeah We only got (one world one world) That's all we got (one world one world)
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jun 14, 2003 | 69 | 57 |
| 2 | Jun 21, 2003 | 54 | 72 |
| 3 | Jun 28, 2003 | 36 | 90 |
| 4 | Jul 5, 2003 | 29 | 97 |
| 5 | Jul 12, 2003 | 25 | 101 |
| 6 | Jul 19, 2003 | 16 | 110 |
| 7 | Jul 26, 2003 | 14 | 112 |
| 8 | Aug 2, 2003 | 12 | 114 |
| 9 | Aug 9, 2003 | 8 | 118 |
| 10 | Aug 16, 2003 | 8 | 118 |
| 11 | Aug 23, 2003 | 11 | 115 |
| 12 | Aug 30, 2003 | 9 | 117 |
| 13 | Sep 6, 2003 | 10 | 116 |
| 14 | Sep 13, 2003 | 9 | 117 |
| 15 | Sep 20, 2003 | 9 | 117 |
| 16 | Sep 27, 2003 | 9 | 117 |
| 17 | Oct 4, 2003 | 8 | 118 |
| 18 | Oct 11, 2003 | 10 | 116 |
| 19 | Oct 18, 2003 | 12 | 114 |
| 20 | Oct 25, 2003 | 14 | 112 |