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| "It Must Have Been Love (Christmas for the Broken Hearted)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Roxette | ||||
| B-side | "Turn to Me" | |||
| Released | 2 December 1987 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:48 | |||
| Label | EMI | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Per Gessle | |||
| Producer(s) | Clarence Öfwerman | |||
| Roxette singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "It Must Have Been Love" (Official Music Video) on YouTube | ||||
"It Must Have Been Love", originally "It Must Have Been Love (Christmas for the Broken Hearted)", is a song written by Per Gessle and performed by the Swedish pop duo Roxette. The power ballad[2][3] became the duo's third number one hit in the United States,[4] and is one of their best selling releases, being certified gold or platinum in a number of countries.
Five different versions of the song have been officially released. The original song was released in 1987, which was followed by the most successful incarnation, a slightly edited and overdubbed version, omitting the Christmas references, created for the soundtrack to the 1990 film Pretty Woman. During the "Join the Joyride! World Tour" in 1991, the band recorded a country music version in Los Angeles, included on their 1992 album Tourism. A Spanish-language version of the Pretty Woman recording was released on their 1996 compilation Baladas en Español. Finally, an orchestral live performance from the band's 2009 concert at Night of the Proms was included on their 2012 studio album, Travelling.
Original release (1987)
The song was first released as "It Must Have Been Love (Christmas for the Broken Hearted)" in December 1987. It was composed after EMI Germany asked the duo to "come up with an intelligent Christmas single".[5] It became a top five hit in Sweden,[6] but was not released internationally.[5] This version of the song was never included on any Roxette studio album until the 1997 re-release of their debut Pearls of Passion (1986).[7]
Music video
A performance from a Swedish TV chart show in 1987 acted as the song's first music video. It features Fredriksson and Gessle sitting on a couch on a stage, lip-syncing to the song.[8]
Formats and track listings
All lyrics written by Per Gessle; all music composed by Gessle, except "Turn to Me" by Marie Fredriksson.
- 7-inch single (Sweden 1362887)
- "It Must Have Been Love (Christmas for the Broken Hearted)" – 4:48
- "Turn to Me" – 2:58
Charts
| Chart (1987) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[6] | 4 |
Re-release (1990)
| "It Must Have Been Love" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Roxette | ||||
| from the album Pretty Woman | ||||
| Released | March 19, 1990 | |||
| Genre | Pop[1] | |||
| Length | 4:20 | |||
| Label | EMI | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Per Gessle | |||
| Producer(s) | Clarence Öfwerman | |||
| Roxette singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "It Must Have Been Love" on YouTube | ||||
During a run of increasingly successful singles from the duo's 1988 album Look Sharp!, Touchstone Pictures approached Roxette and their label about contributing a song to the soundtrack of the upcoming romantic comedy release Pretty Woman, starring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts.[9] The film was released in March 1990 and went on to make more than US$460 million at the worldwide box office.[10] The corresponding soundtrack album was also a commercial success,[9] which was certified triple-platinum in the US.[11] The soundtrack went on to sell more than nine million copies worldwide.[12]
Critical reception
Bill Coleman from Billboard described the song as a "rhythmic ballad".[13] Dave Sholin from the Gavin Report wrote: "Per and Marie are on target again. Per Gessle continues to demonstrate his uncanny ability to compose exceptional pop melodies and Marie Fredriksson makes the words and music jump through the speakers. Though timed to coincide with the release of the Julia Roberts/Richard Gere film Pretty Woman, this tune from the soundtrack could easily stand on its own. Interest in the movie only gives it that much more of a boost".[14] Dave Simpson from The Guardian said the song is a "masterpiece of pain". He added that "Fredriksson's genius is in delivering the title line clean and stoic, rather than with tortured vibrato, to show that she's resigned to her fate. But with the jarringly urgent upward key change in the middle eight, the pain floods in again, and she's back to square one".[15]
A reviewer from Liverpool Echo wrote: "It's a ballad, it's big in America, but it's not as heavy-handed as the usual US success. Funnily enough, there even seems to be a bit of an ABBA influence in there".[16] Refinery29 included it at number 39 on their list of The Saddest Breakup Songs of All Time, saying the track "represents the perfect ratio of schlock to sentiment. In someone like Celine Dion's hands, this would have been a complete disaster, but the Swedish duo gaze off to 'where the water flows' and 'where the wind blows' without sounding like '90s Disney characters".[17] Brendon Veevers from Renowned for Sound noted the song as a "timeless power ballad that has aged like a fine wine".[18]
Commercial performance
A re-written and edited version of the track – the lyric "It's a hard Christmas day" was changed to "It's a hard winter's day" and 24 seconds were removed from the outro[12] – became an international hit during the summer of 1990. It was not the first single released from the Pretty Woman soundtrack, but it became the most successful, spending two weeks at the top spot of the US Billboard Hot 100 in June.[9] The song was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales in excess of 500,000 copies in the US.[19] At the end of the year, Billboard listed it as the second most successful single of 1990, behind Wilson Phillips' "Hold On".[20]
The single peaked at number three in the UK—their highest-peaking single there. It stayed on the UK Singles Chart for 14 weeks,[21] and was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales and streams in excess of 400,000.[22] The song was re-released in the UK and Ireland in September 1993 to tie in with the TV premiere of Pretty Woman,[23] peaking at number ten in both countries.[21][24] It became Roxette's second of three number one singles in Australia, spending two weeks at the top spot in July 1990.[25] The song was a massive hit in Norway, where it spent twelve weeks at number one.[26] In Switzerland, the song spent three non-consecutive weeks at number one.[27] It also reached number one in Canada, Poland and Spain, and the top five in Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand and West Germany, where it spent nine months in the top 75.[28]
In 2005, Gessle received an award from BMI after the song's four millionth radio play in the US.[29] He received updated awards from the same organization after its five millionth radio play in 2014,[30] and its six millionth play in 2021.[31]
Music video
The second video was directed by Doug Freel and was shot in a warehouse. It included clips from Pretty Woman, with Fredriksson singing and playing piano and Gessle playing guitar between various prop changes.[8] There is also an alternate version of the video, without the movie scenes, which was available solely on the VHS The Videos. According to Fredriksson, shooting this video was a surreal experience, as Freel "wanted all movements in slow motion, so I had to lip-sync the vocals at double speed. My first lesson in how to sing an emotional ballad Mickey Mouse style".[5]
As of January 2024, this video has more than 746 million views on YouTube.[32]
Formats and track listings
All songs were written and composed by Gessle, except "Cry", with music by Fredriksson and Gessle.
- Australian cassette and 7-inch single (US2399)
- EU cassette and 7-inch single (Germany 006-1363807 · UK EM141)
- "It Must Have Been Love" – 4:20
- "Paint" – 3:29
- US and Canada cassette (4JM-50283)
- "It Must Have Been Love" – 4:20
- "Chances" – 4:07
- European 12-inch single (Germany 060-1363806 · UK EM141)
- Japanese mini-CD single (TODP-2194)
- "It Must Have Been Love" – 4:20
- "Paint" – 3:29
- "Cry" (Live from Himmelstalundshallen, Norrköping on 16 December 1988) – 5:42
- UK CD single (CDEM141)
- "It Must Have Been Love" – 4:20
- "Paint" – 3:29
- "Cry" (Live from Norrköping) – 5:42
- "Surrender" (Live from Norrköping on 16 December 1988) – 3:07
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[72] | Platinum | 70,000^ |
| Austria (IFPI Austria)[73] | Gold | 25,000* |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[74] | Platinum | 90,000‡ |
| Germany (BVMI)[75] | Gold | 250,000^ |
| Italy (FIMI)[76] | Gold | 35,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[77] | Gold | 5,000* |
| Sweden (GLF)[78] | Gold | 25,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[22] | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[19] | Gold | 500,000^ |
|
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
Release history
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 19 March 1990 |
|
EMI | [19] |
| United Kingdom | 21 May 1990 |
|
[79] | |
| Japan | 10 August 1990 | Mini-CD | [80] |
