Now That We Found Love

"Now That We Found Love" (also known as "Now That We've Found Love") is a song written by Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff and originally recorded by American R&B/soul vocal group The O'Jays for their seventh album, ''Ship Ahoy'' (1973).

Heavy D and the Boyz version

American group Heavy D & the Boyz released their very successful dance/ house-cover of "Now That We Found Love" in 1991. It was produced by Teddy Riley and remains their biggest hit. The song was released as the second single from their third album, ''Peaceful Journey'' (1991), and peaked at number two in the UK and number 11 in the US.

Critical reception

Jesse Ducker from Albumism described the song as "a catchy and extremely successful pairing with producer Riley, featuring Aaron Hall’s powerful vocals on the chorus. The song takes some of its inspiration from the O'Jays' song of the same name, but has the most in common with reggae group Third World’s version of the track. Heavy D plays to his strengths here, celebrating the love he’s cultivated and finding new ways to explore its dynamics." AllMusic editor Alex Henderson said that the remake is "melodic", and "fun and escapist in nature". Larry Flick from '' Billboard'' viewed it as a "fab hip-house interpretation" and "an invigorating peak-hour anthem". He noted that the producer "adds a mainstream gloss that could spark a top 40 breakthrough hit."

'' BuzzFeed'' ranked it number 59 in their list of "The 101 Greatest Dance Songs Of the '90s" in 2017. In their review of the ''Peaceful Journey'' album, Alex Henderson and Bryan Devane for '' Cashbox'' stated that this is a song "to look out for". James Bernard from ''Entertainment Weekly'' called it a "fast-paced hip-house jam". Australian music channel Max included it in their list of "1000 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2013. James Hamilton from ''Music Week'' deemed it a "jaunty singalong stereo rap". Martin Aston from the magazine's ''RM'' Dance Update said that the track "has been given a bouncy, slick gloss, with a typically snappy slice of rap from the heavyweight poet." Eric Deggans from ''The Pittsburgh Press'' described it as "reggae-flavored". Marc Andrews from '' Smash Hits'' complimented it as "rap at its most jolly and fun-filled".

Chart performance

"Now That We Found Love" was very successful on the singles charts on several continents. In Europe, it reached number two in the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK. In the latter, the single peaked in its fourth week at the UK Singles Chart, on July 21, 1991. It was held off the top spot by Bryan Adams' "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You". On the UK Dance Singles Chart, it hit number four. Additionally, the single peaked within the Top 10 also in Austria, Belgium, Denmark (number three), Germany, Greece, Ireland, Norway, Spain and Switzerland, as well as on the Eurochart Hot 100, where it made it to number four in September 1991. Outside Europe, it peaked at number-one on the ''RPM'' Dance/Urban chart in Canada, number two on the '' Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Play chart and number eleven on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the US. In Oceania, "Now That We Found Love" went to number six in Australia and number ten in New Zealand. It was awarded with a gold record in the United States, with a sale of 500,000 singles.

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Now That We Found Love" was directed by Drew Carolan. It was later published on Heavy D's official YouTube channel in October 2009. The video has amassed over 38 million views as of September 2022.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Other cover versions; samples

*A reggae- disco hit by the reggae band Third World (1978). This version was released as a single in 1978 by Island Records and peaked at number 10 in the UK. In the US, it went to number 47 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 9 on the Hot Soul Singles chart.
* A sample of the song is used in the Stereo MC's chart hit "Connected". It's the passage with the words "Make daddy shoot".

References

External links

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1973 songs
1978 singles
1991 singles
Heavy D songs
The O'Jays songs
Songs written by Leon Huff
Songs written by Kenny Gamble
Song recordings produced by Teddy Riley
Reggae fusion songs
Island Records singles
Uptown Records singles
Songs written by Heavy D