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Soldier of Love (Sade song)

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"Soldier of Love"
Single by Sade
from the album Soldier of Love
B-side"Flow"
Released8 December 2009
Recorded2009
Genre
Length5:57
LabelRCA
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Sade singles chronology
"Somebody Already Broke My Heart"
(2003) 		"Soldier of Love"
(2009) 		"Babyfather"
(2010)
Music video
"Soldier of Love" on YouTube

"Soldier of Love" is the first single and title track from Soldier of Love by the English band Sade. It premiered worldwide on 8 December 2009, and it was released on iTunes digitally on 12 January 2010. It was also the band's first new material in almost ten years, preceding their long-awaited sixth studio album of the same name which was released worldwide on 8 February 2010. The song was number-one on the Billboard Adult R&B.[1] The song debuted at #58 on the Billboard Hot 100 becoming the band's highest debut on the chart.[2] It peaked at number 52, making it the band's highest-peaking single on that chart since 1992's "No Ordinary Love".

The track won the Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 53rd Grammy Awards ceremony. The song was used during the end credits of The Lady, a 2010 film directed by Luc Besson based on eyewitness accounts of former Burmese political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi and her husband, Michael Aris.[3][4]

Background

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The song was written by Sade Adu along with the other band members and recorded by the end of the summer in 2009.

Critical reception

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"Soldier of Love" has been received positively from the music critics, who praised the band's comeback. Pitchfork Media hailed the singer's "incomparable voice, which sounds as passionately poised as it did on 1984's Diamond Life."[5] The Hollywood Reporter gave also a positive review, saying that "It may be just a taste of what's to come, but Sade's latest definitely has its listeners at attention."[6] Digital Spy rated the song four stars out of five, and described it as "a bit of revelation – a rich, atmospheric pop symphony".[7] Rolling Stone called it an "amazing ballad of utter emotional devastation" as well as "classic Sade – a cool and collected song about falling apart,"[8] and ranked the song number three on its list of the 50 Best Songs of 2010.[9] Frank Guan of Vulture added "The title track from Sade’s sixth album lives up to its martial allusions: The guitar punches more than it licks, and the drums rattle like a military march. Love used to be stronger than pride; now loss is stronger than love."[10]

Chart performance

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The single was serviced to radio stations on Tuesday, 8 December, and after only one day of airplay in the chart's tracking week of 19 December 2009 "Soldier of Love" debuted at number 49 on the U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[11] Since then, it has peaked at number-6 on the chart, making it the band's first top-ten appearance on the chart since "Kiss of Life" peaked at number-ten in 1993.

The track debuted at number 11 on the Urban Hot AC chart, making it the highest debut of the decade and the third highest all-time on the Urban Hot AC chart.[12] It debuted at number 58 on the Billboard Hot 100 with the song peaking at number 52, and remaining on the chart for 11 weeks.[13] The song became the band's first number-one on the U.S. Adult R&B chart. The song rose 3–1 in its sixth week, marking the chart's speediest ascent to the top spot since Anita Baker topped the chart in under five weeks with "You're My Everything" in 2004.[14]

"Soldier of Love" became the first ever vocal to hit number-one on the Smooth Jazz Top 20 countdown.[citation needed] Each of the tally's 45 previous leaders had been instrumentals.

Music video

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The "Soldier of Love" music video made its premiere onto the internet via Amazon.com on 10 January 2010. It was directed by British director Sophie Muller and choreographed by Fatima Robinson. The music video, rich in odd symbolism, left many viewers wondering what it meant. It is set in a desert landscape and featured soldiers dancing and marching along the song's beats and featured Adu in a rodeo-esque style as she rode a white stallion, with smoldering and fiery explosions in the background. Adu said the soldiers in the video represent her emotions "in the battle ground of life".[15]

Singles

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US Wal-Mart CD single
No.TitleMusicLength
1."Soldier of Love"S. Adu, S. Matthewman, P. S. Denman, A. Hale5:58
2."Flow (from the album Lovers Rock)"S. Adu, S. Matthewman, P. S. Denman, A. Hale4:34
iTunes Edition
No.TitleMusicLength
1."Soldier of Love (Radio Edit)"S. Adu, S. Matthewman, P. S. Denman, A. Hale4:33

Charts

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Release history

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Country Date Format Label
United States 8 December 2009[12] Airplay Epic Records
12 January 2010[36] Digital download, CD single
United Kingdom 8 February 2010[37][38] Digital download, vinyl Sony Music

References

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  1. ^ Trust, Gary (21 January 2010). "Chart Beat Thursday: Vampire Weekend, Train, Shakira". Billboard. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  2. ^ Pietroluongo, Silvio (21 January 2010). "Ke$ha's Time Isn't Up on Hot 100; Train Rolls into Top 10". Billboard. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  3. ^ "'The Lady' Soundtrack Details". Film Music Reporter. 23 November 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  4. ^ Gilchrist, Todd (10 April 2012). "Review: 'The Lady' A Glossy, Poignant But Ultimately Underwhelming Portrait of Pro-Democracy Activist Aung San Suu Kyi". IndieWire. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  5. ^ "Pitchfork: Track Reviews: Sade – "Soldier of Love"". Pitchfork Media. 4 January 2010. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  6. ^ "Music Reviews: "Soldier of Love"". The Hollywood Reporter. 9 January 2010. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  7. ^ "Music – Singles Reviews – Sade: 'Soldier of Love' – Digital Spy". Digital Spy. 29 January 2010. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
  8. ^ "Soldier of Love : Sade : Review : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. 8 February 2010. Archived from the original on 13 February 2010. Retrieved 9 February 2010.
  9. ^ "Rolling Stone: 50 Best Songs of 2010". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 18 August 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  10. ^ Guan, Frank (26 October 2017). "All 73 Sade Songs, Ranked From Worst to Best". Vulture. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  11. ^ "Chart Beat Thursday: "Glee" Cast, Colbie Caillat, Sade". Billboard.com. 10 December 2009. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
  12. ^ a b "Sade's New Single "Soldier of Love" Makes Radio History - NCBuy.com Music News". Archived from the original on 4 September 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  13. ^ Soldier of Love debuts on the Hot 100 Retrieved on 20 January 2009
  14. ^ "Chart Beat Thursday: Vampire Weekend, Train, Shakira". Billboard. 21 January 2010.
  15. ^ "Sade's Soldier of Love". Sheknows.com. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  16. ^ "Sade – Soldier of Love" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  17. ^ "Sade – Soldier of Love" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  18. ^ "Sade Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard.
  19. ^ Sade — Soldier of Love. TopHit. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  20. ^ "lescharts.com – Français" (in French). Les classement de telechargement single.
  21. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 8 June 2022. Select "Singoli" in the "Tipo" field, type "Soldier of Love" in the "Titolo" field and press "cerca".
  22. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot 100". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). 10 March 2010. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  23. ^ "Sade Chart History (Mexico Ingles Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  24. ^ "Sade – Soldier of Love" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  25. ^ "Sade – Soldier of Love" Canciones Top 50.
  26. ^ "Sade – Soldier of Love". Singles Top 100.
  27. ^ "Sade – Soldier of Love". Swiss Singles Chart.
  28. ^ "Chart Log UK (1994–2010): DJ S – The System Of Life". Zobbel.de. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  29. ^ "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  30. ^ "Sade Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  31. ^ "Sade Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.
  32. ^ "Sade Chart History (Smooth Jazz Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  33. ^ "Rapports annuels 2010 – Singles" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  34. ^ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 2010". Billboard. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  35. ^ "Smooth Jazz Airplay Songs – Year-End 2010". Billboard. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  36. ^ "Archived copy". iTunes. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 27 February 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  37. ^ "Digital Spy - Music - Single Reviews". www.digitalspy.co.uk. Archived from the original on 21 April 2006.
  38. ^ "HMV | Music, Films, & Games". Hmv.com. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
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