"Love Don't Love You" is a song by American R&B/pop vocal group

En Vogue En Vogue is an American vocal girl group whose original lineup consisted of singers Terry Ellis, Dawn Robinson, Cindy Herron, and Maxine Jones. Formed in Oakland, California, in 1989, En Vogue reached No. 2 on the US Hot 100 with the singl ...

, released in February 1993 by

Eastwest Records East West Records (stylized as east''west'') is a record label formed in 1955, distributed and owned by Warner Music Group, headquartered in New York City. History After its creation in 1955 by Atlantic Records, the label had its first hit wit ...

as the final single from their second album, ''

Funky Divas ''Funky Divas'' is the second studio album by American recording group En Vogue, released by Atlantic Records division East West on March 24, 1992, in the United States. Conceived after the success of their Grammy Award–nominated debut album ...

'' (1992). The song was both written and produced by

Thomas McElroy Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy are an American R&B record production and songwriting duo, releasing recordings under the names Foster & McElroy and Fmob. They have written and produced songs for musicians such as Club Nouveau, Tony! Toni! To ...

and

Denzil Foster Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy are an American R&B record production and songwriting duo, releasing recordings under the names Foster & McElroy and Fmob. They have written and produced songs for musicians such as Club Nouveau, Tony! Toni! To ...

, and became the group's fifth consecutive top-40 single from the album in the United States. It peaked at numbers 36 and 31 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and ''Cash Box'' Top 100. The song is led by group members

Terry Ellis Terry Lynn Ellis (born September 5, 1963) is an American singer. She is best known as a founding member of the R&B/pop vocal group En Vogue which formed in 1989. Biography Early life Born in Houston, her father was a truck driver and her mother ...

and

Cindy Herron Cynthia Ann Herron (born September 26, 1961), professionally known as Cindy Herron and sometimes credited as Cindy Herron–Braggs is an American singer and actress. Herron is best known as a founding member of the R&B/pop group En Vogue, one of ...

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

editor Jose F. Promis described "Love Don't Love You" as "jazzy".

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the musi ...

from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' commented, "There just ain't no stoppin' these funky divas", adding that the new single "is a bit more aggressive and catchy than the previous "

Give It Up, Turn It Loose "Give It Up, Turn It Loose" is a song by American R&B/pop vocal group En Vogue, released as the fourth single from their second album, ''Funky Divas'' (1992). The song's title is a reference to the 1969 James Brown song " Give It Up or Turnit a ...

". Syncopated

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

beats clip at an easy pace, supporting an intricate and expectedly harmonious vocal arrangement." Randy Clark from ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' viewed it as a "particular scantily-arranged cut". Dave Sholin from the ''

Gavin Report The ''Gavin Report'' was a San Francisco-based radio industry trade publication. The publication was founded by radio performer Bill Gavin in 1958. Its Top 40 listings were used for many years by programmers to decide content of programs. The ...

'' complimented its "dynamic production, incredible harmonies and great material

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

make an unbeatable formula." A reviewer from ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...

'' said, "Funk,

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

, well ladies, what's it gonna be this time? The "funky divas of all trades" go swing beat, with lovely results of course." Alan Jones from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' wrote that they "return with a nagging jack swing track that will remind

Jade Jade is an umbrella term for two different types of decorative rocks used for jewelry or Ornament (art), ornaments. Jade is often referred to by either of two different silicate mineral names: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in t ...

what they're up against in the battle of the funky divas." He added, "The singing is as good as it gets, but some of the mixes are a bit on the flabby side, and probably diminish rather than broaden its appeal." Pop Rescue stated that the vocals "are beautiful, and sit perfectly alongside the beats and bassline." They concluded, "It’s brilliant." Pete Stanton from ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'' gave the song three out of five, declaring it as a "funky number that oozes something extremely naughty and tasty. Not as powerful as the last few singles but still as groove-filled as you'd expect from the Divas." Cheo H. Coker from ''

Stanford Daily ''The Stanford Daily'' is the student-run, independent daily newspaper serving Stanford University. ''The Daily'' is distributed throughout campus and the surrounding community of Palo Alto, California, United States. It has published since the ...

'' felt that it "isn't bad, but just doesn't pack as much punch as other cuts on the effort."

Track list and formats

* US cassette single :A. "Love Don't Love You" – 3:56 :B. " Yesterday" – 2:30 * European CD maxi-single (Remixes) # "Love Don't Love You (Remix Edit 1) – 4:07 # "Love Don't Love You (Remix 1) – 5:56 # "Love Don't Love You (Remix 2) – 5:52 # "It Ain't Over Till The Fat Lady Sings" – 4:12 * UK CD single # "Love Don't Love You (Remix 1) – 5:54 # "Love Don't Love You (Remix 2) – 5:51 # "Love Don't Love You (Remix Dub) – 3:54 # "Love Don't Love You (Remix Edit 1) – 4:07 # "Love Don't Love You" (LP Version) – 3:56 * US CD single # "Love Don't Love You" (Remix Edit 1) – 4:03 # "Love Don't Love You" (Remix Edit 2) – 4:04 # "Love Don't Love You" (LP Version) – 3:54

Personnel

* Lead vocals, background vocals –

* Background vocals – Cindy Herron, Terry Ellis,

Maxine Jones Maxine Jones (born January 16, 1962), is an American singer, songwriter, actress and businesswoman, best known as a founding member of the R&B/ pop group En Vogue, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. She sang lead vocals ...

Dawn Robinson Dawn Sherrese Robinson (born November 24, 1966) is an American singer and actress best known as a founding member of the R&B/pop group En Vogue, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. Following her departure from En Vogue, Rob ...

* Producer, Arranger – Denzil Foster & Thomas McElroy * Executive-Producer – Thomas McElroy & Denzil Foster * Drum Programming – Antoine "Doc" Judkins * Engineer – Conley Abrams * Remix producer – Darren "Nitro" Clowers

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1992 songs 1993 singles East West Records singles En Vogue songs New jack swing songs Songs written by Thomas McElroy Songs written by Denzil Foster