Middleton 1

Jillian Middleton

Prof. Leonard

ENG 1201

7 February 2020

What Is Love?

It’s not very often you hear the song “What Is Love?” by Haddaway playing on the radio.

But when you do, it is easy to sing along. Released in 1993, the song quickly became number 1

on the charts in 13 different countries. As time went on, the song seemed to slowly fade away

from the top and became more of a distant memory. In 2016, modern artist, Jaymes Young,

produced a cover of “What Is Love?” and the song now had a new modern sound to it. This new

version was a way for the younger generation to become more interested in the song and connect

more. Since then, many popular artists have also covered the song. ​Jaymes Young's cover of

"What Is Love" by Haddaway offers a new, modern version interpretation of the song. Young's

video includes more up to date shots of the main character and is more relatable for this

generation.

The original song by Haddaway was released in 1993 immediately hit top 10 charts all

over the world, mainly in Europe. Haddaway had no intentions in becoming a solo artist. Him

and a friend kept trying to get the song signed almost lost hope until one small record label,

Coconut Records, finally signed them. No radio stations wanted the song and it was hardly

played until it finally was and it took off. “What Is Love?” hit number 11 in the United States but

hit the number 1 spot in 13 other countries.

“What Is Love?” wasn’t written to find one specific answer to the question, it was written

for everyone to come up with their own idea of love. In the music video, it is mainly Haddaway
 Middleton 1

Jillian Middleton

Prof. Leonard

ENG 1201

7 February 2020

singing to the camera. He has a desperate look on his face as he’s singing the lyrics that

desperately aks not to “hurt me”. In the background there are multiple women either dancing

alone or with him. They’re wearing risque outfits and seem to be portraying some sort of

character. One as a maid, and one as a vampire. Haddaway is wearing a leather vest and has it

unbuttoned so you can see his chest.

Jaymes Young came out with a cover of the song and took a unique approach to it. In the

Green Fruit Remix, the video starts out with more of a techno beat with background vocals. In

the background, someone starts singing “What Is Love?” and it slowly fades in. In the video they

casted a young girl and took multiple shots of her in the city or in a black and white room. The

shots included her looking at the camera or walking. Her mood seemed relaxed and carefree. I

would say the intended audience for this video would be teenagers. As for Haddaway’s video the

intended audience would be older adults.

Both video approaches were different in their own way and both had very good

responses from the public. Haddaway took a more mature approach with his outfit choices and

background dancers. The amount of actors also had an impact. In Haddaway’s there were

multiple which the Jaymes Young cover only had one. Haddaway kept your attention by singing

to the camera and getting different angles. For the Jaymes Young cover she never made a facial

expression and just glanced around the whole time.

 Middleton 1

Jillian Middleton

Prof. Leonard

ENG 1201

7 February 2020

The style of the song for the original version was much different from the cover.

You can tell that Haddaway’s version is much older than the cover because of the style they

wrote it in. It has older sound qualities and tendencies to it that take you back to the past. As for

the new cover, you can tell from the background music that they put in was made with newer

music equipment and written more recently.

Both versions of the videos have the same but different meanings to them. Haddawy’s

version was meant for you to interpret your own idea of what love is and what it’s supposed to

be while the new cover seems as though the actor might be confused about her love story and is

trying to think about it. Although the audiences may be different, the lyrics are the same and the

videos are related in a way. The lyrics weren’t changed but the moods and tones were.

Love can be a scary thing so these videos get you to interpret your idea of love. Is it trust,

happiness, loyalty? These videos give you visions in your head and allow you to really process

what love is. Some could say that these videos are intended for the same audience but after going

through and interpreting both of them I claim that they are not. Everyone goes through

heartbreak and experience different kinds of love. These videos were created for all different

ages to be able to think about what love is and what it means to them.
 Middleton 1

Jillian Middleton

Prof. Leonard

ENG 1201

7 February 2020

Works Cited

Haddaway. “What Is Love”. ​Coconut Records​, 1993.

Young, Jaymes. “What Is Love.” www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Wsb0gQUt6c.