"The Loving Kind" is a song by English-Irish girl group

Girls Aloud Girls Aloud were an pop girl group that was created through the ITV talent show '' Popstars: The Rivals'' in 2002. The group comprised singers Cheryl, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. The group achieved a str ...

, taken from their fifth studio album '' Out of Control'' (2008). The song was written by

Pet Shop Boys The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo i ...

Miranda Cooper Miranda Eleanor De Fonbrune Cooper (born 1975) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer and television presenter. Miranda Cooper has worked in the music industry since 1996 when she gained her first recording contract. She wor ...

Brian Higgins Brian Michael Higgins (born October 6, 1959) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for , serving since 2005. The district, numbered as the 27th district from 2005 to 2013 but as the 26th since 2013, includes Buffalo and Ni ...

and his production team

Xenomania Xenomania is an English songwriting and production team founded by Brian Higgins and based in Kent, England. Formed by Higgins with his Creative Director Miranda Cooper and Business Director Sarah Stennett of First Access Entertainment, Xenoman ...

, and produced by Higgins and Xenomania. Described as a "

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

ballad", "The Loving Kind" was originally written for inclusion on Pet Shop Boys' ''

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * YES (Your Extraordinary Saturday), a learning program from the Minnesota Institute for Talente ...

'' (2009) before being given to Girls Aloud. Upon its release in January 2009, "The Loving Kind" peaked at number ten on 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 ...

, thereby continuing their six-year streak of top-ten hits. In the music video, the group portrays the "good" and "bad" Girls Aloud as they perform in mirrored boxes. "The Loving Kind" was promoted through numerous live appearances and was performed on 2009's

Out of Control Tour The Out of Control Tour was the fifth concert tour by British-Irish girl group Girls Aloud. It supported their fifth studio album '' Out of Control''. Initially, just ten dates in bigger arenas were announced in November 2008. Due to demand, mo ...

. The song was largely praised by most contemporary music critics, although maligned by others for its similarities with "

Call the Shots "Call the Shots" is a song by British-Irish girl group Girls Aloud from their fourth studio album, '' Tangled Up'' (2007). The song was written by Miranda Cooper, with inspiration from an article about the advance of women in business, and Bria ...

Background and composition

Xenomania and Pet Shop Boys wrote the song in sessions for the latter's album ''

''. Both parties had previously agreed there would be just three co-written songs on the album, and having noticed

Chris Lowe Christopher Sean Lowe (born 4 October 1959) is an English musician, singer and songwriter, and co-founder of the synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, which he formed with Neil Tennant in 1981. Biography Lowe attended Arnold School, an independent ...

's "slight reticence" towards the song, Higgins suggested that Girls Aloud record "The Loving Kind". Pet Shop Boys member

Neil Tennant Neil Francis Tennant (born 10 July 1954) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and music journalist, and co-founder of the synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, which he formed with Chris Lowe in 1981. He was a journalist for ''Smash Hits'', and a ...

said that they co-wrote the song while working with Xenomania, and described it as "beautiful but still dancey". It was the second song Girls Aloud recorded for ''Out of Control''. PopJustice wrote that "the lyrics have the sadness and melancholy of a massive proper ballad but the production drags the song straight to the dancefloor and lends it an undeniable sense of optimism." Lowe said he was "absolutely over the moon" with the result. "The Loving Kind" is in the same vein as much of the Pet Shop Boys' output. The Observer described it as an "elegantly sad account of a waning relationship." The song is written in

D♭ major D-flat major (or the key of D-flat) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B and C. Its key signature has five flats. It is enharmonically equivalent to C-sharp major. The D-flat major scale is: : Its ...

with a

time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

common time The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

and a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

of 128

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

. The basic

chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...

of the song is G♭, D♭, B♭m, Fm, and A♭. The song begins instantly with a synthesised

introduction Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to: General use * Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music * Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and g ...

, followed by the first

verse Verse may refer to: Poetry * Verse, an occasional synonym for poetry * Verse, a metrical structure, a stanza * Blank verse, a type of poetry having regular meter but no rhyme * Free verse, a type of poetry written without the use of strict me ...

and

refrain A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in poetry — the "chorus" of a song. Poetic fixed forms that feature refrains include the vi ...

. There is an emotive

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

and a

middle 8 The 32-bar form, also known as the AABA song form, American popular song form and the ballad form, is a song structure commonly found in Tin Pan Alley songs and other American popular music, especially in the first half of the 20th century. A ...

. The verse repeats, followed by the chorus, an instrumental section, and the chorus again. The radio mix differs slightly; the introduction is less abrupt and the song lasts six seconds longer.

Release

The single was confirmed on 21 November 2008 via Girls Aloud's official website. The CD single includes a Girls Aloud megamix, released to celebrate Girls Aloud's twentieth single release. The megamix was created by Jewels & Stone, and features the intro and outro from the famous

Stars on 45 Stars on 45 was a Dutch novelty pop act that was successful in Europe, the United States, and Australia in the early 1980s. The group later shortened its name to Stars On in the U.S., while in the UK and Ireland it was known as Starsound (aka ...

medleys. There was also 7" picture disc made available, which included a previously unreleased B-side entitled "

Memory of You "Memory of You" is a song by British all-female pop music, pop group Girls Aloud recorded during sessions for their fifth studio album ''Out of Control (Girls Aloud album), Out of Control'' (2008). The song was written by Girls Aloud, Miranda Coop ...

", originally called "Japan". Remixes by

Wideboys The Wideboys are an English electronic music duo known for club remixes and for their own song "Sambuca", featuring Dennis G on vocals, which reached number 15 in the UK in October 2001. Another top 40 single, "Daddy-O" featuring Shaznay Lewis, ...

and

Utah Saints Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its we ...

were also commissioned.

B-side

There was a mild controversy surrounding the fact that the single's B-side "Memory of You" was only available on the vinyl format and not in CD or digital quality. The song was originally called "Japan".

Popjustice Popjustice is a music website founded in 2000 by UK freelance music journalist Peter Robinson, who has worked for ''NME'', ''The Guardian'', ''Attitude'' and many others. It is composed of the work of editor Robinson, features editor Michael Cra ...

featured a 30-second clip of "Memory of You" as their Song of the Day prior to release. It was later included in high quality on the official Girls Aloud singles box set later in 2009 and went on to be included on the deluxe edition of their second greatest hits compilation Ten. Roberts recorded a solo version of the song and made it available via pre-order only with her third single, "Yo-Yo", from her debut album.

Critical reception

The song received mostly positive reviews from contemporary music critics.

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...

gave the song five stars, saying it "weds hauntingly melancholy vocals ..to a sense of dancefloor euphoria totally at odds with the teary-eyed lyrics" and was "nothing short of dazzling, meaning 'The Loving Kind' deserves a place ..on the list of Girls Aloud's finest ever singles." They called it "the standout track" from ''Out of Control'' and "one of the most emotionally resonant songs of the group's career." Dorian Lynskey of ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'' agreed, calling it "best of all ..It's bracing to hear Girls Aloud traffic in grown-up emotions". "The Loving Kind" has also been called "the best thing they've ever done."

Nicola Roberts Nicola Maria Roberts (born 5 October 1985) is a British pop singer. She rose to prominence in late 2002 upon winning a place in Girls Aloud, a girl group created through ITV's '' Popstars: The Rivals''. The group's success helped them win the c ...

was praised for her vocals, which ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...

'' felt "provide some of the album's most affecting moments." However, "The Loving Kind" was criticised due to its similarities with 2007's "

", with ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' even calling the song as "a letdown sequel".

BBC Music BBC Music is responsible for the music played across the BBC. The current director of music is Bob Shennan, who is also the controller of BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 Music, and the BBC Asian Network. Officially it is a part of the BBC's Radio o ...

felt the song was "hugely disappointing."

said that although it isn't "amazing by Girls Aloud PLUS Xenomania PLUS Pet Shop Boys standards", it was still "really properly amazing." In a blog for

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

, Fraser McAlpine agreed that "it's easy to get caught up on the idea of this being some immense pop event," but it was still an "extremely well done piece of heartbroken pop." At the 2009

Popjustice £20 Music Prize The Popjustice £20 Music Prize, also known as the Popjustice Twenty Quid Prize, is an annual prize awarded by music website Popjustice to recognise the best British pop single of the previous year. The prize was conceived by Popjustice founder P ...

expressed dislike for the song and even nominated it for the Twenty Quid Invoice Prize, presented to what judges deem to be the worst single of any given year.

Chart performance

On 14 December 2008, "The Loving Kind" entered the

at number 87 on downloads alone. The following week, it entered the top forty at number 38. In the run-up to the single's release, chart commentators began to speculate that the song could possibly become the first single by the group to miss the top 10. James Masterton wrote on his

Yahoo! Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds managed by Apollo Global Man ...

chart blog, "Their problem is the continuing chart performance of former number 1 hit 'The Promise'. ..Good reviews do not chart placings make and "this song is too good to be a flop" is as much a myth as "team X are far too good to get relegated"." After its physical release, "The Loving Kind" still managed to peak at number ten, becoming Girls Aloud's twentieth consecutive top ten single. It fell to number 14 the following week, but spent eighteen weeks in the top 100. "The Loving Kind" was highly successful in the

Scottish Singles Chart The Scottish Albums Chart is a chart compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) which is based on how physical and digital sales towards the UK Albums Chart fare in Scotland. The official singles chart for Scotland, the Scottish Singles Chart, ...

, outpeaking "The Promise" by entering at number two and remaining in the top 10 for 4 weeks. The song entered the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...

at number 49, rising to number 24 the following week and eventually peaking at number sixteen.

Music video

The music video, directed by

Trudy Bellinger Trudy Bellinger is a British director, producer and writer. She is most known for directing a short film Killing Christmas which won awards at three film festivals including London International Short Film Festival, Tweetfest Film Festival and W ...

, was premièred on

4Music 4Music is a British music television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. The original incarnation was launched on 15 August 2008, and until 29 June 2022, showed a mix of music and entertainment programming. It ...

at 7pm and was shown on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

at 11:05pm on 3 December 2008. The making of the video was aired on

MTV Hits MTV Hits is a music video-only spin-off cable/satellite television channel of MTV in several international markets, originally based on the pop music format of a defunct programming block on the American MTV itself. It may refer to the following ch ...

on 13 December 2008, with reruns on both MTV Hits and TMF. In the video, the girls portray the "good" Girls Aloud, who are the lovable kind, and their "bad" alter egos, who are not. The bad Girls Aloud throw wine and smash the glass that covers their boxes.

Cheryl Cole Cheryl Ann Tweedy (born 30 June 1983) is an English singer and television personality. Born and raised in Newcastle upon Tyne, she rose to fame in late 2002 upon winning a place in Girls Aloud, a girl group created through ITV's '' Popstars: ...

cut herself when she smashed her hand through the glass and similarly

Nadine Coyle Nadine Elizabeth Louise Coyle (born 15 June 1985) is an Irish singer, actress and model. In 2002, Coyle was selected as a member of the girl group Girls Aloud, with whom she has been successful in achieving a string of 20 consecutive UK top ten ...

injured herself when she kicked her foot through the glass; causing her shoe to fall off. Pop music blog

PopJustice Popjustice is a music website founded in 2000 by UK freelance music journalist Peter Robinson, who has worked for ''NME'', ''The Guardian'', ''Attitude'' and many others. It is composed of the work of editor Robinson, features editor Michael Cra ...

noted that "twenty singles in, Girls Aloud have made their best video yet."

Live performances

Girls Aloud's first performance of the song occurred on their

ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the Channel 3 public broadcast service across all of the United Kingdom except for t ...

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical theatre, musical performances, sketch comedy, magic (illusion), magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is ...

The Girls Aloud Party ''The Girls Aloud Party'' was a one-off Christmas variety show starring British girl group Girls Aloud, produced for ITV. The show was aired on 13 December 2008, in between ''The X Factor'' series finale and its results show. All five members t ...

''. The group performed in matching black tutus, described by MarieClaire as "mini prom dresses." They perform with slow,

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

-like motions and make their way to a catwalk. As

Sarah Harding Sarah Nicole Harding (; 17 November 1981 – 5 September 2021) was an English singer, model and actress. Her professional career began in 2002 when she successfully auditioned for the ITV reality series '' Popstars: The Rivals'', during which ...

adlib Ad Lib, Inc. was a Canadian manufacturer of sound cards and other computer equipment founded by Martin Prevel, a former professor of music and vice-dean of the music department at the Université Laval. The company's best known product, the ''Ad ...

s into the final chorus,

pyrotechnics Pyrotechnics is the science and craft of creating such things as fireworks, safety matches, oxygen candles, explosive bolts and other fasteners, parts of automotive airbags, as well as gas-pressure blasting in mining, quarrying, and demolition. ...

explode on both sides of the stage. On ''

The Paul O'Grady Show ''The Paul O'Grady Show'' is a British comedy chat show presented by comedian Paul O'Grady, first shown on 11 October 2004. The programme is a teatime chat show consisting of a mixture of celebrity guests, comic stunts, musical performances, an ...

'', they performed in pink and purple dresses. On ''

GMTV GMTV (an acronym for Good Morning Television), now legally known as ITV Breakfast Broadcasting Limited, was the name of the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor/licensee, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 ...

'', they performed in the outfits from the music video. The performance received attention for Harding's "bum note". On the group's 2009

, each girl is positioned in front of boxes with flashing lightbulbs, similar to those in the music video.

Neon Neon is a chemical element with the symbol Ne and atomic number 10. It is a noble gas. Neon is a colorless, odorless, inert monatomic gas under standard conditions, with about two-thirds the density of air. It was discovered (along with krypton ...

designs and scenes from the music video appear on the screens above the boxes. The ramps in front of them, used throughout the tour, also flash with neon lights. As the performance comes to a close, the lights all turn off.

Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "The Loving Kind". UK CD (Fascination / 1794885) # "The Loving Kind" (Radio Mix) – 3:59 # "Girls on 45, Volume 2" – 7:25 UK 7" picture disc (Fascination / 1794887) # "The Loving Kind" (Radio Mix) – 3:59 # "Memory of You" (Girls Aloud, Cooper, Higgins, Powell, Giselle Sommerville) – 3:48 iTunes exclusive digital download # "The Loving Kind" (Utah Saints Club Mix) – 6:14 Digital download # "The Loving Kind" (Wideboys Club Mix) – 6:37 Mobile download # "The Loving Kind" (Wideboys Radio Edit) – 2:49 ''The Singles Boxset'' (CD20) # "The Loving Kind" (Radio Mix) – 3:59 # "Girls on 45, Volume 2" – 7:25 # "Memory of You" – 3:48 # "The Loving Kind" (Utah Saints Club Mix) – 6:14 # "The Loving Kind" (Wideboys Club Mix) – 6:37 # "The Loving Kind" (Wideboys Radio Edit) – 2:49 # "The Loving Kind" (Wideboys Dub) – 6:38 # "The Loving Kind" (Utah Saints Radio Mix) – 3:15 # "The Loving Kind" (Utah Saints Dub) – 5:57

Credits and personnel

*Engineering: Toby Scott, Dan Aslet *Guitars: Nick Coler,

Jason Resch Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He wa ...

, Owen Parker *Keyboards and programming:

, Tim Powell,

, Matt Gray,

, Sacha Collison *Mixing: Jeremy Wheatley, Tim Powell, Yoad Nevo *Songwriting: Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins, Tim Powell, Neil Tennant, Chris Lowe

Charts

Certifications

Pet Shop Boys version

A version of the song by the

(named "monitor mix") was released on the reissue of the group's album ''Yes/Further Listening 2008-2010'' in 2017.

References

External links

Girls Aloud's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Loving Kind, The 2000s ballads 2008 songs 2009 singles Girls Aloud songs Synth-pop ballads Music videos directed by Trudy Bellinger Song recordings produced by Xenomania Songs written by Miranda Cooper Songs written by Brian Higgins (producer) Songs written by Chris Lowe Songs written by Neil Tennant Songs written by Tim Powell (producer) Fascination Records singles Songs about heartache