“When Love Takes Over” by David Guetta (ft. Kelly Rowland)
You know how they say that love is an emotion that can’t be described in words? Well that’s sort of the premise upon which this song is based. The vocalist feels ‘love taking over’. And as indicated in the first verse she doesn’t really understand it, and as implied at the beginning of the pre-chorus, she may even be a bit concerned by its presence.
But she does know enough about true love to understand that it is a feeling “you can’t deny”. And overall she is celebrating the power of the titular emotional, partially and more specifically in a romantic context during the second half of the song.
“When Love Takes Over” Facts
Primary Artist(s): David Guetta
Featured Artist(s): Kelly Rowland
Album/EP: “One Love”
Release Date of “When Love Takes Over”
April 21 of 2009. It came out as a single from David Guetta’s Grammy nominated album “One Love” album.
Credits
The song was written by David in collaboration with Kelly Rowland. The pair also collaborated with three other songwriters to complete the song’s writing. The other writers are:
- Miriam Nervo
- Olivia Nervo
- Frédéric Riesterer
David subsequently handled the production alongside co-writer Riesterer.
Genre(s)
- Synth-pop
- Dance-pop
Awards/Honors
The song grabbed a nomination for “Best Dance Recording” at the Annual Grammy Awards in 2009. However, Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” defeated it to take home the prestigious prize. The following songs also contested in the aforementioned category:
- “Celebration” performed by Madonna
- “Womanizer” performed by Britney Spears
- “Boom Boom Pow” performed by The Black Eyed Peas
Chart Performance
This tune was a number 1 hit in Britain and almost a dozen other territories.
- US – 76
- UK – 1
- Switzerland – 1
- Sweden – 2
- Spain – 4
- Slovakia – 1
- Scotland – 2
- Romania – 1
- Norway – 4
- New Zealand – 7
- Netherlands – 5
- Netherlands – 2
- Italy – 1
- Israel – 1
- Ireland – 1
- Hungary – 1
- Germany – 2
- France – 2
- Finland – 7
- Denmark – 2
- Czech Republic – 1
- Brazil – 9
- Belgium – 1
- Belgium – 2
- Australia – 2
The “One Love” Album
Kelly Rowland sang the vocals for David Guetta’s synth-pop song, “When Love Takes Over”, released in April 2009. The song is the lead single of Guetta’s fourth studio album, “One Love”.
Virgin Records, E.M.I., and Astralwerks released the album on August 24, 2009. With the help of the following acclaimed music producers, David Guetta produced all the songs on the original tracklisting of the album:
- Frédéric Riesterer
- Jean-Claude Sindres
- Sandy Vee
In addition, David wrote the majority of the lyrics for the songs on the album. He also featured Top musicians including Akon, Rihanna, Estelle, and Kelly Rowland on the album.
“One Love” was Guetta’s last studio album that featured his regular collaborator and vocalist, Chris Wills.
The album was number one in the following places:
- U.K. Dance Albums (O.C.C.)
- Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)
- French Albums (SNEP)
- Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)
In addition, it also ranked number 3 on the Billboard Top Electronic Albums chart and number 70 on the Billboard 200 chart. Furthermore, it has received the diamond and numerous platinum and gold certifications from over ten countries.
The album was nominated at the 2010 Grammy ceremony for the Grammy Award for Best Dance Album. In addition, its lead single, “When Love Takes Over” ended up receiving two Grammy nominations, winning one in the process.