Love Today

For Indian film, see Love Today (film).
"Love Today"
Single by Mika
from the album Life in Cartoon Motion
Released April 23, 2007
Format Digital download, CD
Recorded 2006
Length 3:57 (Album Version)
3:22 (Radio Edit)
Label Island
Writer(s) Mika
Producer(s) Greg Wells
Mika singles chronology
"Grace Kelly"
(2007)		 "Love Today"
(2007)		 "Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)"
(2007)

"Love Today" is the Grammy-nominated third single released by London-based singer Mika, taken from his album Life in Cartoon Motion. The song was produced by Greg Wells at Rocket Carousel studios and engineered by Drew Pearson. It was released in the United Kingdom on 16 April 2007 as a digital download, with the official physical release appearing on 23 April 2007. It has since peaked at number 6.[1] The single was released in Australia on 23 July 2007,[2] and was used for Austereo radio station network advertising. The song was nominated for a Grammy for Best Dance Recording at the 50th Grammy Awards but lost to Justin Timberlake's "LoveStoned/I Think She Knows".

The single is dedicated in loving memory of Bob Woolmer.

Background and composition

Love Today was written by Mika and produced by Greg Wells. He described the story behind the song in an interview with the Sun Newspaper, on 2 February 2007:

"I was really happy when I wrote this and when I'm in that kind of mood I always hope everyone else feels the same way. Everybody is looking for the same thing - to love someone and be loved back. Or just to get laid. It all depends on how you look for it. 'Love Today' captures that, the euphoric feeling you get when those things go right."[3]

Mika revealed to The Times, on 20 November 2009 that the song came fully formed "after the first time I had sleepy with somebody and actually loved it."[3]

Critical reception

The song received mixed reviews from music critics. Heather Phares from Allmusic wrote that on the song "Mika straddles the line between adorable and annoying."[4] John Murphy from musicOMH agreed, writing that his voice is "infuriating" on the track.[5] In the same vein, Graham Griffith from About.com wrote that the song "finds itself hijacked by Mika's otherwise appealing falsetto, which morphs into an unflattering shriek and transforms the song into something altogether intolerable."[6]

Christian John Mikane from PopMatters wrote that the song is "sincere."[7] Mikane further added that "The pop-disco arrangement of 'Love Today' dresses Mika in legwarmers and leotards; it’s the kind of song you’d expect the TV cast of Fame to perform mid-episode. Frankly, it’s refreshing to hear an unproven artist take risks with material that, historically, is subject to derision."[7] Lizzie Ennever from BBC Music wrote a positive review, saying that the song is "another winner - truly funky disco-pop that has you shoulder-shimmying non-stop, and even though you hate yourself for enjoying it, you simply can't stop yourself having a great time whilst you listen."[8] Craig McLean from The Observer called it "turbo-funk falsetto fun genetically modified to lay waste to hen nights and Freshers' Balls from Dundee to Dungeness."[9]

In popular culture

"Love Today" was used as the background music during the National Costume and Opening Presentation of Miss Universe 2008 held in Nha Trang, Vietnam. A portion of this song is used as a background song in a TV commercial for Mizone, an Indonesian energy drink. The song was also featured in the films Get Him to the Greek, Sammy's Adventures: The Secret Passage and Monte Carlo.

Track listings

UK CD Single
  1. "Love Today" – 3:57
  2. "Only Lonely One" (Demo) - 3:41
  3. "Billy Brown" (Acoustic) - 3:20
  4. "Love Today" (Switch remix) – 5:41
Limited Edition 7" Single
  1. "Love Today"
  2. "Stuck In The Middle" (Acoustic Version)
UK 12" Vinyl Single
  1. "Love Today" (Switch Remix)
  2. "Love Today" (Rob Mello's No Ears Vocal Remix)
  3. "Love Today" (Rob Mello's No Ears Dub Remix)

Official versions

Charts

Chart (2007) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[10] 3
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[11] 4
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[12] 3
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[13] 58
Czech Republic (Rádio Top 100)[14] 50
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[15] 18
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[16] 9
France (SNEP)[17] 5
Ireland (IRMA)[18] 13
Italy (FIMI)[19] 5
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[20] 25
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[21] 28
Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[22] 24
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[23] 17
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[24] 46
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[25] 6
US Billboard Hot 100[26] 92
US Billboard Pop 100[26] 78
US Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs[26] 2

References

  1. ↑ Levine, Nick (20 March 2007). "Mika: 'Love Today'". Digital Spy.
  2. ↑ "Mika: Herald Sun HiT". Herald Sun.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Love Today by Mika Songfacts". Songfacts. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
  4. ↑ Phares, Heather. "Life in Cartoon Motion - Mika | Allmusic". Allmusic. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  5. ↑ Murphy, John (5 February 2007). "Mika - Life In Cartoon Motion | album reviews | musicOMH". MusicOMH. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  6. ↑ "MIKA - Life in Cartoon Motion". About.com. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Wikane, Christian John (26 March 2007). "Mika: Life in Cartoon Motion < PopMatters". PopMatters. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  8. ↑ Ennever, Lizzie (2 February 2007). "BBC - Music - Review of Mika - Life In Cartoon Motion". BBC. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  9. ↑ McLean, Craig (21 January 2007). "Mika, Life in Cartoon Motion | Music | The Observer". The Guardian The Observer. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
  10. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Mika – Love Today". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  11. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Mika – Love Today" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  12. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Mika – Love Today" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  13. ↑ "Mika Album & Song Chart History" Canadian Hot 100 for Mika.
  14. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 200737 into search.
  15. ↑ "Mika Album & Song Chart History" European Hot 100 for Mika.
  16. ↑ "Mika: Love Today" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  17. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Mika – Love Today" (in French). Les classement single.
  18. ↑ "Chart Track: Week 23, 2007". Irish Singles Chart.
  19. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Mika – Love Today". Top Digital Download.
  20. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Mika search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
  21. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Mika – Love Today". Top 40 Singles.
  22. ↑ "SNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 200737 into search.
  23. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Mika – Love Today". Singles Top 60.
  24. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Mika – Love Today". Swiss Singles Chart.
  25. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2007-05-05" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 2011-05-13.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 "Mika- Artist Chart History". Allmusic. Retrieved 9 April 2007.

External links