"Love Is in the Air" is a 1977

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

song by Australian singer

John Paul Young John Inglis Young, OAM (born 21 June 1950), known professionally as John Paul Young, is a Scottish-born Australian pop singer who had his 1978 worldwide hit with " Love Is in the Air". His career was boosted by regular appearances as a perfor ...

. It was written by George Young (no relation) and

Harry Vanda Johannes Hendrikus Jacob van den Berg (born 22 March 1946), better known as his stage name Harry Vanda, is a Dutch Australian musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as lead guitarist of the 1960s Australian rock band the Easy ...

, and released as the lead single from Young's fourth studio album, '' Love Is in the Air'' (1978). The song became a worldwide hit in 1978, peaking at No. 3 on the Australian charts and No. 5 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. In the United States, it peaked at No. 7 on the

pop chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include rec ...

and spent two weeks at No. 1 on the

Adult Contemporary chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by sta ...

, his only US top 40 hit. The song plays at 122 beats per minute, a typical 1970s disco rhythm. At the Australian 1978 King of Pop Awards, the song won Most Popular Australian Single. In 1992, a remix of the song was released and featured on the soundtrack to the

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

-nominated

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

Strictly Ballroom ''Strictly Ballroom'' is a 1992 Australian romantic comedy film directed and co-written by Baz Luhrmann in his feature directorial debut. The film is the first in his "Red Curtain Trilogy" of theatre-motif-related films; it was followed by 1996 ...

''. A new

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

was also produced. In 2017, the song was selected for preservation in the

National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national co ...

Sounds of Australia The Sounds of Australia, formerly the National Registry of Recorded Sound, is the National Film and Sound Archive's selection of sound recordings which are deemed to have cultural, historical and aesthetic significance and relevance for Australi ...

collection.

Overview

John Paul Young said of the recording, "We actually did 'Love Is in the Air' because we needed something for the German market. 'Standing in the Rain' became a hit in the clubs over there and then on the charts, so we needed a follow-up. I'd been to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and heard the music. It was electronic mania, all clicks and electronic buzzes. So George and Harry gave it the treatment." Young performed "Love is in the Air" live on episode 148 of ''

Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...

'' on 30 April 1978. "Love Is in the Air" was the theme song to

Baz Luhrmann Mark Anthony Luhrmann (born 17 September 1962), known professionally as Baz Luhrmann, is an Australian film director, producer, writer and actor. With projects spanning film, television, opera, theatre, music and recording industries, he is re ...

's 1992 debut feature film ''

''. Young performed the song at the Closing Ceremony of the 2000

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

in Sydney. The song is regularly sung at football matches by supporters of

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...

. The song was played at the 2006

Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were he ...

in Torino, Italy during the opening ceremony's parade of athletes.

Martin Stevens

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, Young's recording of "Love Is in the Air" performed significantly more poorly on the charts than in most other countries, due to the existence of a contemporaneous version of the song by Canadian singer Martin Stevens. Stevens had received Young's demo recording, and recorded a version of the song for his 1978 album, before Young's song was released. Stevens' version debuted on the Canadian charts in July 1978, and had already reached #21 by September 9, the week Young's version debuted. The two versions appear to have cut into each other's chart momentum thereafter, with Stevens' version peaking at #19 a few weeks later before declining on the charts, while Young's peaked at #26 two weeks later."RPM100"
''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'', October 21, 1978. In the year-end ''

'' charts for 1978, Stevens' version ranked #137 and Young's ranked #195. Stevens' version of the song was a

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

nominee for

Best Selling Single Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporation ...

at the

Juno Awards of 1979 The Juno Awards of 1979, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 21 March 1979 in Toronto at a ceremony hosted by Burton Cummings at the Harbour Castle Hilton Convention Centre.LeBlance (2010), p. ...

Track listings

* European 7" single (Ariola 11 705 AT) :A. "Love Is in the Air" – 3:27 :B. "Won't Let This Feeling Go By" – 3:11 * Australian 7" (Albert Productions 11710) :A. "Love Is in the Air" – 3:27 :B. "Won't Let This Feeling Go By" – 3:11 * US 7" (Scotti Brothers SB 402) :A. "Love Is in the Air" – 5:16 :B. "

Where the Action Is ''Where the Action Is'' is a music-based television variety show that aired in the United States from 1965 to 1967. It was carried by the ABC network and aired each weekday afternoon. Created by Dick Clark as a spin-off of ''American Bandstand' ...

" – 3:04

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

1992 (Ballroom mix)

"Love Is in the Air (Ballroom mix)" was released in August 1992 as the lead single from the

-nominated

'' soundtrack (1992). It peaked at number nine in Denmark and number 49 in the UK. Outside Europe, it reached number two in New Zealand and number three in Australia. A new

was shot to accompany the song featuring footage from the movie.

Critical reception

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 music ...

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 advertise ...

'' stated that Young "updates his '70s classic for the soundtrack to "''Strictly Ballroom''" with a festive '90s-minded dance beat." British magazine ''

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 ...

'' gave the 1992 remix three out of five in their review of the song.

Track listing

* Australian/ New Zealand CD single (658085 2) # "Love Is in the Air" (Ballroom Mix) – 4:13 # "Scott & Fran's Paso Doble" – 3:56 * European remix single (Columbia – 658426 8) # "Love Is in the Air" (Strictly Dance Mix) – 8:27 # "Love Is in the Air" (Strictly Dance Instrumental) – 5:00 # "Love Is in the Air" (Ballroom Mix) – 4:13

Charts

Weekly chart

Year-end charts

Certifications

Other Covers Of Love Is In The Air

*Jeff Cascaro (2008) *Harisson Craig (2014) *The Overtones (2018)

References

External links

Lyrics of this songMartin Stevens (French language site)
* {{authority control 1977 songs 1977 singles 1978 singles 1992 singles John Paul Young songs Songs written by Harry Vanda Songs written by George Young (rock musician) Song recordings produced by Harry Vanda Song recordings produced by George Young (rock musician) Scotti Brothers Records singles Columbia Records singles Albert Productions singles Ariola Records singles APRA Award winners Disco songs

Overview

Martin Stevens

Track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

1992 (Ballroom mix)

Critical reception

Track listing

Charts

Weekly chart

Year-end charts

Certifications

Other Covers Of Love Is In The Air

See also

References

External links