"Show Me Love" is a song by Swedish singer and songwriter

Robyn Robin Miriam Carlsson (born 12 June 1979), known as Robyn (), is a Swedish pop singer, songwriter, record producer, and DJ. She arrived on the music scene with her 1995 debut album, ''Robyn Is Here'', which produced two Billboard Hot 100, ''Bil ...

. It was first released in Sweden in 1997 as a single from the international edition of her debut studio album, ''

Robyn Is Here ''Robyn Is Here'' is the debut studio album by Swedish singer Robyn. It was released on 13 October 1995 by Ricochet Records, Ariola Records and BMG. The album peaked at number eight on the Swedish chart and was certified double platinum by the Sw ...

'' (1995). The song is her fourth Swedish, third UK, and second US single. The song is sometimes confused with

Robin S. Robin Stone (born April 27, 1962) is an American singer and songwriter, who scored success in the 1990s with such house music singles as " Show Me Love" (which was her debut single) and " Luv 4 Luv". She has had three number ones on the ''Bi ...

's 1993 single " Show Me Love" because of identical song titles and similar first names; however, the two songs are not related.

History

In her home country of Sweden, "Show Me Love" became Robyn's fourth hit, peaking at number 14, lower than "

Do You Know (What It Takes) "Do You Know (What It Takes)" is a song by Swedish singer and songwriter Robyn, released as the third single from her debut studio album, ''Robyn Is Here'' (1996). In the United Kingdom, it was issued as Robyn's second single in November 1996, ...

" and " Do You Really Want Me (Show Respect)", which both went top 10. In the United States, the single peaked at number seven, her second consecutive top 10 hit. In December 1997, the single received a gold certification from the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

in recognition of 500,000 copies sold in the US. It was Robyn's last top-10 hit and remains her last charting single on the Hot 100. In the United Kingdom, "Show Me Love" became Robyn's first of two top-20 hits from ''Robyn Is Here'' and her first top-10 hit, peaking at number eight; it was Robyn's fourth biggest hit, with 113,000 sales and 1.22 million audio streams according to the

Official Charts Company The Official Charts (legal name: The Official UK Charts Company Limited) is a British inter-professional organization that compiles various "official" record charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. In the United Kingdom, its charts inc ...

. In 2008, a re-recorded version of the song appeared on the special edition of Robyn's eponymous album.

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 ...

'' described the song as a "far more seductive tone of this jeep-pop confection" than her earlier hit single, "

". He noted that Robyn "proves her capability to handle a meaty tune with a respectable degree of soul. She tweaks the song's ear-grabbing chorus and muscular bassline with subtle improvisations and an assertive edge that impresses." Can't Stop the Pop stated that on the song "she's dropping her guard and committing herself to a teen-pop romance". They added that the chorus is "spectacularly catchy".

Music video

The accompanying

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 ...

for "Show Me Love" was directed by Kevin Bray and premiered on 20 July 1997 on the television network The Box. The video is shot with two cutscenes: one with Robyn alone lip-syncing to camera filmed in mostly color and the other of her in a black sweatsuit lip-syncing to camera filmed in mostly black-and-white with a large group of urbane mostly

Gen X Generation X (or Gen X for short) is the Western demographic cohort following the baby boomers and preceding the millennials. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1960s as starting birth years and the late 1970s to early 1980s as ...

extras shown conversing in a loosely grouped line behind her while a guitarist, keytar player, and drummer with drumkit play among them. In tribute to

Gianni Gianni is an Italian name (occasionally a surname), a short form of the Italian Giovanni and a cognate of John meaning God is gracious. Gianni is the most common diminutive of Giovanni in Italian. People with this given name * Gianni Agnelli (i ...

who had died the same week Robyn was doing promotion in Miami that summer her stylist had her dress in a light blue

Versace Gianni Versace S.r.l. (), usually referred to as Versace ( ), is an Italian luxury fashion company founded by Gianni Versace in 1978 known for flashy prints and bright colors. The company produces Italian-made ready-to-wear and accessories, as w ...

top in its cutscenes which she didn't realize until decades later.

Usage in media

The song was performed in 1997 on the television series ''

All That ''All That'' is an American sketch comedy television series created by Brian Robbins and Mike Tollin. The series originally aired on Nickelodeon from April 16, 1994, to October 22, 2005, lasting ten seasons, and was produced by Tollin/Robbins P ...

'' and features on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

of TV series ''

Sabrina, the Teenage Witch ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' is a comic book series published by Archie Comics about the adventures of a fictional American teenager named Sabrina Spellman. Sabrina was created by writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo, and first appeared ...

''. It was also played at the very end of the Swedish film '' Show Me Love''. The film was originally titled ''Fucking Åmål'' but was retitled for distribution in the English-speaking world after the name of the song. In 2019 the song was featured in the West End musical ''

& Juliet ''& Juliet'' is a 2019 coming-of-age stage musical featuring the music of Swedish pop songwriter Max Martin, with a book by David West Read. The story focuses on a "what if" scenario, where Juliet does not die at the end of Shakespeare's '' ...

''.

Impact and legacy

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' ranked "Show Me Love" number 241 in their list of ''The 250 Best Songs of the 1990s'' in 2022.

Track listings

European single

*CD single #"Show Me Love" – 3:27 #"Show Me Love" – 5:08 #"Show Me Love" – 4:28 #"

" – 4:59 *CD maxi-single #"Show Me Love" – 3:27 #"Show Me Love" – 4:28 #"Show Me Love" – 5:08 #"Show Me Love" – 8:08 #"Show Me Love" – 7:18

Swedish single

*CD promo #"Show Me Love" – 3:27

US single

*CD single #"Show Me Love" – 3:50 #"Show Me Love" – 4:28 *CD maxi-single #"Show Me Love" – 4:53 #"Show Me Love" – 8:08 #"Show Me Love" – 4:28 #"Show Me Love" – 5:08 *12-inch single ''Side A'' #"Show Me Love" – 8:08 #"Show Me Love" – 4:53 ''Side B'' #"Show Me Love" – 4:28 #"Show Me Love" – 7:18 *12-inch limited edition ''Side A'' #"Show Me Love" – 8:22 #"Show Me Love" – 4:58 ''Side B'' #"Show Me Love" – 6:41 #"Show Me Love" – 4:53

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1997 singles 1997 songs Ariola Records singles Bertelsmann Music Group singles RCA Records singles Robyn songs Songs written by Max Martin Song recordings produced by Max Martin Song recordings produced by Denniz Pop Songs written by Robyn