"If This Isn't Love" is a song recorded by

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recording artist

Jennifer Hudson Jennifer Kate Hudson (born September 12, 1981), also known by her nickname J.Hud, is an American singer, actress, producer, and talk show host. Having received List of awards and nominations received by Jennifer Hudson, numerous accolades for ...

. It was written and composed by

Planet VI R. City (short for Rock City; and formerly Planet VI and 2Ekwip) is an American hip-hop recording and production duo, formed in 2003 by the brothers Theron "Uptown AP" Thomas and Timothy "A.I." Thomas. Primarily known as a songwriting and recor ...

, brothers Theron and Timothy Thomas, along with Brian Kennedy for her eponymous debut album, released in 2008. Production on the song was handled by the latter and Harvey Mason, Jr. Musically, it is a

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ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

with

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elements, built along on a

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and

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sounds. The song was released as the second single from the album following "

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" in 2009. Upon release, "If This Isn't Love" was met with generally positive reviews from contemporary critics who praised the song's structure and its modern interpretation for an adult audience. On the charts, the track failed to make much impact, though it reached number five of the US ''

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Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

and the top forty of the UK Singles Chart. Hudson promoted the song on ''

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'' on March 26, 2009 and on ''

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'' on Wednesday’s results show on April 15, 2009.

Critical reception

Andy Kellman from

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

stated that "Hudson's voice is smoothed out through the fluttery "If This Isn't Love" (not to mention spiked with grating male grunts of "Hey!"), nearly unrecognizable until the point where she belts."

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 Yor ...

said that " 'If This Isn't Love' succeeds at sounding completely modern without eschewing the standard adult-contemporary song structure that's tailor-made for pipes like Hudson's." David Balls from ''

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'' felt that "If This Isn't Love" was a "delicate love song that finds Hudson in her natural comfort zone. 'God sent me an angel from above, that's going to love me for life,' she sings soulfully, with recent events making the lyrics particularly resonant. Combining modish beats with a cool, breezy chorus, 'If This Isn't Love' may not be in the same league as recent power ballads from

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

and

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, but it has an understated charm that's hard to quibble with." Commenting on its remix, produced by

Fraser T. Smith Fraser Thorneycroft-Smith (born 8 February 1971), known professionally as Fraser T. Smith, is an English record producer, songwriter and musician. Some of the singles he collaborated on include Adele's "Set Fire to the Rain", James Morrison (sin ...

, he added: "The single comes with no fewer than six different remixes, but the straightforwardly-titled Fraser T Smith Remix wins 'B-side Of The Week' as it adds a bit of extra zest to the song without removing any of its understated charm. Smith has carefully tinkered with the track's foundations, injecting some R&B adrenaline and a bit more of a beat. Thankfully, he's also chopped out the male screeching from the start of the original, which seemed bizarrely inappropriate in the first place."

Chart performance

"If This Isn't Love" entered the UK Singles Chart at number 195 on February 22, 2009 and reached a peak of number 37 on downloads alone. It marked Hudson's second consecutive top 40 hit on the chart. Due to a high peak of number three on the UK Airplay Chart, the song also charted at number twenty on

Hit40UK ''Hit40UK'' was a networked Top 40 chart show broadcasting on around 130 UK commercial radio stations every Sunday from 4pm to 7pm. It was also a TV programme shown on 4Music. The radio version was produced in house by Global Radio (formerly G ...

. The song spent eleven weeks on the UK Singles Chart. In the United States, the song debuted and peaked at number 84 on the ''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

. Several weeks later, it reached a new peak at number 63, boosted by Hudson's performance on the April 15, 2009 results show of ''

''. On the ''Billboard''

, the song became Hudson's second consecutive top five hit, peaking at number five. Hudson made history with "If This Isn't Love" when it earned its second consecutive week at number one on the Urban Adult Radio Charts. Thus, Hudson joined a group of only five other women in urban adult history to reach this accomplishment.

Music video

Hudson shot a music video for the track in

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on January 26, 2009 with director

Diane Martel Diane Martel (also known as Bucky Chrome and Diamond Martel) is an American music video director and choreographer. As a music video director, she has worked with Beyonce, Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera, Sting and Jennifer Lopez. One of her ...

. The video premiered February 11, 2009 on

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, and

106 & Park ''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rated ...

Formats and track listings

Digital EP #"If This Isn't Love" – 3:36 #"If This Isn't Love" ( StoneBridge remix) – 3:12 #"If This Isn't Love" (

Fraser T Smith Fraser Thorneycroft-Smith (born 8 February 1971), known professionally as Fraser T. Smith, is an English record producer, songwriter and musician. Some of the singles he collaborated on include Adele's "Set Fire to the Rain", James Morrison's " ...

remix) – 3:36 #"If This Isn't Love" (music video) – 3:36 UK Digital single # "If This Isn't Love" – 3:36 # "If This Isn't Love" (

remix) – 3:36

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Jennifer Hudson''. *

Songwriting A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

–

Theron Thomas R. City (short for Rock City; and formerly Planet VI and 2Ekwip) is an American hip-hop recording and production duo, formed in 2003 by the brothers Theron "Uptown AP" Thomas and Timothy "A.I." Thomas. Primarily known as a songwriting and recor ...

, Timothy Thomas, Brian Kennedy *

Production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

– Brian Kennedy, Harvey Mason, Jr. *

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– Andrew Hey, Dabling Harward * Mixing – Harvey Mason Jr. * Mastering – Chris Gehringer

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

External links

* * — official site {{DEFAULTSORT:If This Isn't Love (Jennifer Hudson Song) 2000s ballads 2008 songs Jennifer Hudson songs Music videos directed by Diane Martel Contemporary R&B ballads Songs written by Brian Kennedy (record producer) Songs written by Timothy Thomas Songs written by Theron Thomas Arista Records singles 2009 singles Song recordings produced by the Underdogs (production team)