I Want to Know What Love Is

"I Want to Know What Love Is" is a 1984 power ballad recorded by the British-American rock band Foreigner. The song hit #1 in both the United Kingdom and the United States and is the group's biggest hit to date. It remains one of the band's best known songs and most enduring radio hits charting in the top 25 in 2000, 2001, and 2002 on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Recurrents chart. "I Want to Know What Love Is" was covered by American singer Mariah Carey and released as the second single from her twelfth studio album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel (2009). The single, produced by Carey, C. "Tricky" Stewart and James "Big Jim" Wright, was sent to European radio stations on August 28 and official impacted U.S. radio on September 14, 2009. Mick Jones said of her version: "I think she's actually retained the integrity of the song. You know, the arrangement is very similar to the original. They haven't tampered with the song too much. She's captured a certain emotional thing, a feeling." The single was generally well received by critics; Australian magazine Rhyme & Reason stated that "[While Carey stayed] [...] true to the original, this piano-led remake is less an overhaul of the classic '80s hit than it is a modest but impressive update." The UK Daily Star gave it a 5 out of 5 rating: "[The song is] given the Carey treatment and [is] complete with choir and karaoke climax. It's a great rework." Bill Lamb from About.com said that "Mariah Carey's new version could leave you speechless. The diversity of vocal coloring expressed in this recording is stunning. While the single Obsessed remains disappointing, this single is a reminder of just how formidable Carey's talents are given a strong production and arrangement". Writing in a Los Angeles Times music blog, Todd Martens said, "[T]ackling a well-known power ballad seems like a safe choice. It's a comfortable fall-back plan after "Obsessed" performed well, but did far from blockbuster numbers. It will undoubtedly be a hit, but it's giving me more reason to fear Imperfect Angel. The sort-of-real/sort-of-not feud with Eminem seemed largely a ploy to keep Carey in the headlines, and covering Foreigner seems just as calculated to steer Carey back onto familiar ground." Entertainment Weekly said "Mariah + Gospel Choir + "I Want to Know What Love Is" = Ecstasy". (wiki) http://www.discogs.com/Mariah-Carey-I-Want-To-Know-What-Love-Is/release/2418059 http://www.discogs.com/Mariah-Carey-I-Want-To-Know-What-Love-Is-The-Remixes/release/4201931