This is Love

Album: willpower (2012)
Charted: 1
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Will.i.am's second single from his fourth studio album pairs him with vocalist Eva Simons. The Dutch singer first broke through when her song "Silly Boy" hit the singles chart of several European countries. Her 2010 collaboration with AfroJack, "Take Over Control," charted in both the UK and US.
  • Will.i.am produced the dance track alongside Greek-Swedish DJ Steven Angello, who is also a member of the house music group Swedish House Mafia.
  • The song was premiered on Capital FM on May 14, 2012. Will.I.am said of the song's development: "I just finished this song a couple of days ago on my laptop because times have changed. Then we filmed the video two days ago here in London and we edited it on laptops."

    The Black Eyed Peas rapper added: "I've been doing this song since New Year's but taking my time with it, with Steve and Eva, then it's finished on my laptop."
  • Simons told MTV News about her collaboration with will.i.am: "We were in the studio, and he had this track," she recalled. "And he's like, 'Yo, Eva, would you like to do this song with me?' And we had been recording a couple tracks before, so he knows what I'm capable of and he trusts me, and we don't really know each other for that long, but he trusts me.

    I recorded it," she continued. "And he mixes it straight away from his laptop ... and it's done. That's so beautiful — not only is he super creative and knows what he wants, but he also sees when other people are creative as well. He's not afraid to collaborate."
  • Will.i.am recorded the song's "Hell yeah!" refrain during a New Year's Eve show in Las Vegas.
  • Will.i.am told Billboard magazine why he wanted to collaborate with Simons on this song. "Eva Simons is, hands down, the princess of dance music," he said. "She was doing it way before everyone was doing it, and she produces her own self. She picks her own effects. She records herself. We have conversations like, 'So what compressors do you use?' She sings wonderfully, she writes wonderfully, she's sexy. She is the real thing. It's exactly what dance music is about. That's why I'm so happy and honored to be working with her."
  • This was will.i.am's first solo chart-topper in the UK. He said: "I've had Number Ones before with the Black Eyed Peas, but to me this one means so much, because I know people thought I can only be successful in the Black Eyed Peas, they were wrong."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Dar Williams

Dar WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

A popular contemporary folk singer, Williams still remembers the sticky note that changed her life in college.

Elton John

Elton JohnFact or Fiction

Does he have beef with Gaga? Is he Sean Lennon's godfather? See if you can tell fact from fiction in the Elton John edition.

Real or Spinal Tap

Real or Spinal TapMusic Quiz

They sang about pink torpedoes and rocking you tonight tonight, but some real lyrics are just as ridiculous. See if you can tell which lyrics are real and which are Spinal Tap in this lyrics quiz.

Richard Butler of The Psychedelic Furs

Richard Butler of The Psychedelic FursSongwriter Interviews

Psychedelic Furs lead singer Richard Butler talks about their first album since 1991 and explains what's really going on in "Pretty In Pink."

Krishna Das

Krishna DasSongwriter Interviews

The top chant artist in the Western world, Krishna Das talks about how these Hindu mantras compare to Christian worship songs.

"Stairway To Heaven" Lawsuit: A Timeline

"Stairway To Heaven" Lawsuit: A TimelineSong Writing

Untangling the events that led to the "Stairway To Heaven" lawsuit.