This Love (Maroon 5 song)

"This Love" was the second single from Maroon 5's debut studio album after renaming, Songs About Jane (2002). In an interview with MTV News in August 2002, Levine revealed that he wrote the song the day his girlfriend moved away after they broke up. In another interview, Levine revealed that the song was written in the "most emotionally trying time" in his life. He also added, "I was in a relationship that was ending, but I was really excited on the other end because the band was about to go make the record and I was ecstatic to go in the studio. She was literally leaving town within days of me writing the lyrics to 'This Love', so I was in prime emotional condition to write a song with that kind of conflict." == Composition and lyrics ==

. During the development of "This Love", the band stated that the song was influenced by American musician Stevie Wonder. The piece was written in the key of C minor with a metre set in common time, and a moderate tempo of 95 beats per minute. The introduction of "This Love" features a piano-led strut. Maroon 5 themselves has called "This Love" prime pop rock, while critics have described the song as "slick pop funk," combining a pop rock and alternative rock-guitar crunch, with hip-hop influenced blue-eyed soul. while the demo of the song features a guitar solo. According to Johnny Loftus of AllMusic, the song has "a slick channeling of vintage R&B rhythms into punchy pop dynamics". Loftus felt that the song features "Levine's wry falsetto around strutting, bottom-heavy piano and percussion both programmed and live; chirping backup vocals and washes of sunny synth and flute acted as counterweights," while Meghan Bard of The Daily Campus added that the song features "Stevie Wonder-esque vocals and a funky R&B beat". == Reception ==

The song received critical acclaim. In the Rolling Stone review of the album, critic Christian Hoard wrote: "Adam Levine's urban-romantic swoonings work best when his band really gets up on the good foot, as on 'This Love', which uses piano and James Brown-like guitars to create a foundation on which Levine can obsess about beauty (including his own)." Jason Thompson of PopMatters noted that on the songs "This Love" and "Must Get Out", keyboardist Jesse Carmichael "manages to conjure up both the productions of Britney Spears and The New Radicals respectively". Sam Beresky of the Daily Lobo, who was less enthusiastic about the album, complimented the band on "This Love", in which he noted, "...'This Love', is a happier version of the first with a great backbeat reminiscent of Stevie Wonder's 'Superstition'. It might make a foot tap, a head nod or even a booty shake if played at a loud volume." In May 2004, musician John Mayer told Rolling Stone that he liked the band's album Songs About Jane. Mayer was also positive towards the song. "Once I heard 'This Love,' it was a light-fuse/stand-back kind of situation. It's one of those perfect songs you always hope to write." The band released an EP titled 1.22.03.Acoustic, which features an acoustic version of "This Love." "This Love" is widely considered to be one of the band's best songs. In 2022, Billboard and American Songwriter both ranked the song number two on their lists of the 10 greatest Maroon 5 songs. == Chart performance ==

"This Love" appeared on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 5. The track's Junior Vasquez Mixes remix topped the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. It also appeared in the Hot Dance Airplay chart at No. 18. "This Love" reached No. 1 on Billboard's Top 40 Mainstream. "This Love" reached the Top 10 in twelve countries. In the United Kingdom, it reached the No. 3 spot in the UK Singles Chart on May 1, 2004. It entered the top ten in France, Belgium, and Australia. The single reached the top five in Norway, Switzerland, Netherlands, Austria, and New Zealand. Elsewhere, "This Love" appeared on the Italy, Swiss, Germany, and Ireland music charts. == Music video ==

The music video for "This Love" premiered on MTV's Total Request Live on January 6, 2004. Directed by Sophie Muller, the video combines performance footage from the band in a courtyard built at Mack Sennett Studios and scenes of Adam Levine parting ways with a woman. The music video also features Levine and his then-girlfriend, model Kelly McKee in a few intimate scenes. The video used creative camera angles, in an effort to avoid action from the Federal Communications Commission for television broadcasts. A version of the video where a stream of computer-generated flowers obscure the screen further was also created. When asked about the video, Levine said: "It was surprisingly not weird and surprisingly not sexual. It was totally comfortable. I didn't get horny or anything, which was weird since I shot it with my girlfriend." The video was still seen as controversial, == Live performances and accolades ==

Maroon 5 performed "This Love" live on Saturday Night Live (SNL) in February 2004. The band won the MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist for the music video of "This Love" in 2004. Also the same year, the song won for Choice Rock Track at the Teen Choice Awards. In the Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems, "This Love" was the third played song of 2004, having 438,589 total plays. At the 48th Grammy Awards, the song won a Grammy Award in the category for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. == Personnel ==

Personnel are adapted from the Songs About Jane liner notes. Maroon 5 • Adam Levine – vocals, guitars • Ryan Dusick – drums • Jesse Carmichael – keyboards • James Valentine – guitars • Mickey Madden – bass guitar == Charts ==

Weekly charts Year-end charts == Certifications and sales ==