"Love Is" is the title of a

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

duet A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a solo ...

written by

Tonio K Tonio K. (born Vladamir Steven M. Krikorian, July 4, 1950) is an American singer/songwriter who has released eight albums. His songs have been recorded by Al Green, Aaron Neville, Burt Bacharach, Bonnie Raitt, Chicago, Wynonna Judd and Vanessa ...

, Michael Caruso and John Keller, and originally recorded and released by American singer and actress

Vanessa Williams Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, and fashion designer. She gained recognition as the first African-American woman to receive the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She resigne ...

and American R&B recording artist

Brian McKnight Brian Kelly McKnight (born June 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, radio host and multi-instrumentalist. He is most recognized for his strong head voice, high belting range and melisma. McKnight is known for h ...

. The single originally appeared on the soundtrack to the television drama series ''

Beverly Hills, 90210 ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to by its short title, ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling under his production company Spelling Television. The series ran fo ...

''; and was also used in the spin-off series ''

Melrose Place ''Melrose Place'' is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on Fox from July 8, 1992, to May 24, 1999, for seven seasons. The show follows the lives of a group of young adults living in an apartment complex on Melrose Place, in ...

''. After this exposure, the song peaked at number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming McKnight's breakthrough hit and another hit for Williams. The song peaked at number one on the ''Billboard''

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart, where it spent three weeks at the summit. There were two different versions released to radio: the more common mix includes energetic electric guitar performing the solo in the bridge; an alternate, lesser-known mix presents melodic solo piano, performed by Philippe Saisse at the bridge. The edit version was that of the guitar mix, which presented a fade out during the second of the two ending chorus refrains. This mix appears on McKnight's greatest hits album, '' From There to Here: 1989-2002'' without the fade, although the piano solo ending is slightly trimmed. The "piano mix" also appears on Williams's ''Greatest Hits - The First Ten Years'' album.

Critical reception

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 ...

'' commented "What is love? Find out through this dramatic

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

on the right side of

kitsch Kitsch ( ; loanword from German) is a term applied to art and design that is perceived as naïve imitation, overly-eccentric, gratuitous, or of banal taste. The avant-garde opposed kitsch as melodramatic and superficial affiliation with ...

." Head of music Karsten Bendix at Radio

Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 51,916 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...

/Denmark enthused, "I love those harmonies. There are so many ballads around, but these two people can really sing." 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 W ...

'' wrote, "This intense, brooding duet is no award winner, issuing every cliche in the book and then some. But it has a certain insidious quality, and the fact that it is featured on ''

Beverly Hills 90210 ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to by its short title, ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling under his production company Spelling Television. The series ran fo ...

'' may be enough to tip the scales in its favour."

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Cover versions

In 1994,

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...

saxophonist

Nelson Rangell Nelson Rangell (born March 26, 1960) is an American smooth jazz musician and composer from Castle Rock, Colorado. Although he is known for his work with the tenor, alto, and soprano saxophone, his primary instrument is the piccolo, which he beg ...

covered the song for his album ''Yes, Then Yes''.

References

*''The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits'', 6th Edition, 1996

External links

Discogs
1993 singles Vanessa Williams songs Brian McKnight songs Male–female vocal duets Giant Records (Warner) singles 1992 songs {{1990s-pop-song-stub