Listen to Your Heart (Roxette song)

"Listen to Your Heart"
Single by Roxette
from the album Look Sharp!
B-side	"(I Could Never) Give You Up"
Released	19 August 1989
Format	7" 12" CD
Recorded	1988 at EMI Studios in Stockholm, Sweden
Length	5:28 (album version) 5:14 (Swedish radio edit)
Label	EMI
Writer(s)	Per Gessle Mats Persson
Producer(s)	Clarence Öfwerman
Certification	Gold (Austria, Sweden)
Roxette singles chronology
"Dressed for Success" (1989) "Listen to Your Heart" (1989) "Dangerous" (1989)

"Listen to Your Heart" is a song by the Swedish rock band Roxette. The song was originally released in September 1988 in Sweden only, as the fourth single from their second studio album, Look Sharp! (1988); later, it reached number one in its re-release in 1989 on the Canadian singles chart and the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart on 4 November 1989, their second chart-topper of the year. The song was written by Per Gessle and Mats M.P. Persson.

They rose to #1 the same week the dominant New Kids on the Block rose to number two with their song "Cover Girl", thus preventing the group from taking the top spot. The song was released in the UK in October 1989 and reached a lowly number 62, but was re-issued in August 1990 as a double A-side with "Dangerous" after the success of their previous single "It Must Have Been Love", and reached number six.

The single was one of the top 25 best selling singles of 1989 in the U.S.

Production and video

According to Gessle the song was conceived as:

"The Big Bad Ballad. This is us trying to recreate that overblown American FM-rock sound to the point where it almost becomes absurd. We really wanted to see how far we could take it." ^[1]

Three different versions of the song are available: the original, a slightly modified version that was included on Don't Bore Us, Get to the Chorus, Ballad Hits and Roxette Hits and the so-called US remix which is used in the music video and on the compilation Kuschelrock Vol. 4.

Roxette recorded the video for "Listen to Your Heart" in the Borgholm Castle ruin on the Swedish Baltic Sea island of Öland.

Accolades

In 2008, the song had reached four million American radio plays.^[2] The D.H.T. dance cover is included in the total of plays. The song has been voted The Best Roxette Song ever by readers of fan-site The Daily Roxette.^[3] In 2014, the song had reached five million American radio plays.^[4]

Live versions

"Listen to Your Heart" has been performed on all of Roxette's concert tours. In 1988 and in 1991, on the Look Sharp Tour and the Join the Joyride Tour respectively, in its original, power ballad style, and on the following tours in an acoustic, unplugged form. However, since their return to excessive touring in 2010 after a long hiatus due to Fredrikssons illness they opt to perform the song with full band again.

At the Wembley Arena gig on their 1991–92 Join the Joyride/The Summer Joyride World Tour, before playing this song as part of the encore, Per said "We can't leave you tonight without playing you this absolutely true story."

Track listings

• 7" single

1. "Listen to Your Heart" — 5:12
2. "(I Could Never) Give You Up" — 3:59

• Cassette maxi (1989)

1. "Listen to Your Heart"
2. "Half a Woman, Half a Shadow"

• CD maxi (1989)

1. "Listen to Your Heart" (single mix)
2. "Dressed for Success" (new radio mix)
3. "(I Could Never) Give You Up"
4. "Neverending Love" (live)

• CD maxi (1990 reissue)

1. "Listen to Your Heart" (Swedish single version)
2. "Dangerous" (LP version)
3. "Listen to Your Heart" (U.S. remix)
4. "Dangerous" (U.S. club edit)

Charts and sales

Peak positions Chart (1988–90) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[5] 10 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[6] 2 Canada (RPM) 1 Germany (Official German Charts)[7] 7 Ireland (IRMA)[8] 5 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[9] 11 Polish Singles Chart[10] 1 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[11] 3 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[12] 8 United Kingdom (The Official Charts Company)^1 [13] 6 US Billboard Hot 100[14] 1 US Billboard Adult Contemporary[14] 2

Certifications Country Certification Date Sales certified Austria[15] Gold 7 March 1990 15,000 Sweden[16] Gold 6 February 1989 25,000

¹ "Listen to Your Heart" / "Dangerous"

Chart successions

DHT cover

"Listen to Your Heart"
Single by DHT featuring Edmée
from the album Listen to Your Heart
Released	November 2004 (US) August 2005 (UK)
Format	CD single, CD maxi
Genre	Trance, Eurodance (original) Acoustic, piano rock (unplugged)
Label	Ministry of Sound
Producer(s)	Flor Theeuwes, Jeffrey Vissers, Thunder Deejay
DHT featuring Edmée singles chronology
"Listen to Your Heart" (2004) "Driver's Seat" (2005)

In 2005, Belgian dance group DHT's trance cover of "Listen to Your Heart" became a worldwide club hit after being released as single from the album Listen to Your Heart. Originally released in Belgium in 2003, the various mixes of the song reached U.S. clubs in late 2004. The song was released in the U.S. in November 2004. By June 2005, the song reached number one on Billboard Hot Dance Airplay chart and the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number eight in August. The same year, the group also released the "Edmée's unplugged vocal edit", an acoustic ballad version of the song, which also received substantial airplay.

Track listings

• CD single

1. "Listen to Your Heart" — 4:32
2. "My Dream" — 3:55

• CD maxi

1. "Listen to Your Heart" (Edmée's unplugged vocal edit) — 3:45
2. "Listen to Your Heart" (Furious F.EZ radio edit) — 3:50
3. "Listen to Your Heart" (Uniting Nations remix) — 7:11
4. "Listen to Your Heart" (Furious F.EZ extended mix) — 4:54
5. "Listen to Your Heart" (Hixxy remix) — 7:11
6. "Listen to Your Heart" (Friday Night Posse remix) — 7:29

• Digital download

1. "Listen to Your Heart" — 4:32

Charts

Peak positions Chart (2005–06) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[17] 11 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[18] 15 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[19] 12 Czech Republic (Rádio Top 100)[20] 2 Denmark (Tracklisten)[21] 13 France (SNEP)[22] 7 Germany (Official German Charts)[23] 81 Ireland (IRMA)[24] 12 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[25] 10 Norway (VG-lista)[26] 19 Scotland (Official Charts Company)[27] 5 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[28] 100 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[29] 7 US Billboard Hot 100[30] 8 US Billboard Pop Songs[31] 1 US Billboard Adult Pop Songs[32] 13 US Billboard Adult Contemporary[33] 6

Year-end charts Chart (2005) Position Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart[34] 78 Dutch Top 40[35] 37 French Singles Chart[36] 34 Certifications Country Certification Date Sales certified U.S.[37] Gold October 5, 2005 500,000

Chart successions

Other cover versions

• In 1990, Greek singer Sofia Vossou released a cover called Akou tin kardia (Listen to the heart)
• Hong Kong pop singer Shirley Kwan released a Cantonese version of the song called "這是我心裡對白" (English: This is the Monologue of My Heart) in her 1990 album True Love.
• "Habla El Corazón", a Spanish version of the song, was released in March 2007 by Mexican artist Yuridia, who covered the track for her second album of the same name. This version peaked at #44 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart.^[38]
• In 2008, Finnish Gothic metal band Reflexion recorded a cover version of the song as a bonus track on their EP Twilight Child, and later released the cover as a bonus track on their 2008 album Dead to the Past, Blind for Tomorrow.
• In 2009, Scottish power metal band Ascension recorded a cover and released it as a single.
• In 2009, Filipino singer Sarah Geronimo recorded a cover version of the song for her album Music and Me.
• In 2010, Lebanese-German singer Fady Maalouf included a cover of the song on his album Into the Light
• In 2011, Tommy Johansson of the band ReinXeed covered the song for the compilation Swedish Hitz Goes Metal.
• In 2013, Former Celtic Woman member, Chloë Agnew performed a live version with Hamden, Connecticut-based Pop/New Age artist, The 465 CT Transit driver during The Arrivals Ceremony at Newark Liberty International Airport.
• This song is also covered by Schnuffel Bunny's counterpart Snuggelina.
• In 2015, Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) and Jesse St. James (Jonathan Groff) covered the song for the 11th episode of sixth and final season of Glee.
• Also in 2015, Wakefield, Massachusetts rap star Ben Mader released a cover of the song on his YouTube channel.

Sampling

• In 2009, rapper Juvenile sampled the song for his album Cocky & Confident and renamed it "Listen".
• In 2014 Danish electro-pop duo Electric Lady Lab sampled the song on "Hurts".

Appearances in other media

• "Listen to Your Heart" was used by the dissident political party Civic Forum in its television advertisements for the 1989 Czechoslovakian elections, one of the first elections in Eastern Europe that came with collapse of communism.
• "Listen to Your Heart" was likewise used in election broadcasts by the then right-wing liberal party Fidesz led by Viktor Orbán for the 1990 elections.^[39][40]
• The song appeared in a 1989 episode of the Brazilian soap opera O Sexo dos Anjos by Globo TV.^[41]
• The song was used in the Cold Case first season episode "Maternal Instincts" which aired in 2004.
• In 2005, the song was featured on the TV show Reunion.
• The song can be sung in the 2008 Xbox 360 video game, Lips.

References

1. "Don't Bore Us, Get to the Chorus! liner notes.".
2. "2008 BMI awards ("Listen To Your Heart")". www.bmi.com.
3. "And The Best Roxette Song Ever IS". The Daily Roxette. Retrieved 2011-12-11.
4. "Sir Tim Rice and Top Songwriters Honored at 2014 BMI London Awards". BMI.com. 2014-10-13. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
5. "Australian-charts.com – Roxette – Listen to Your Heart". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
6. "Austriancharts.at – Roxette – Listen to Your Heart" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
7. "Musicline.de – Roxette Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
8. Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved August 1, 2008)
9. "Charts.org.nz – Roxette – Listen to Your Heart". Top 40 Singles.
10. "Polish Singles Chart |".
11. "Swedishcharts.com – Roxette – Listen to Your Heart". Singles Top 100.
12. "Swisscharts.com – Roxette – Listen to Your Heart". Swiss Singles Chart.
13. UK Singles Chart (1990 release) Chartstats.com (Retrieved August 1, 2008)
14. Billboard allmusic.com (Retrieved August 23, 2008)
15. Austrian certifications ifpi.at (Retrieved August 23, 2008)
16. Swedish certifications Ifpi.se (Retrieved September 11, 2008)
17. "Australian-charts.com – DHT feat. Edmée – Listen to Your Heart". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
18. "Ultratop.be – DHT feat. Edmée – Listen to Your Heart" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
19. "Ultratop.be – DHT feat. Edmée – Listen to Your Heart" (in French). Ultratop 50.
20. "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 200621 into search.
21. "Danishcharts.com – DHT feat. Edmée – Listen to Your Heart". Tracklisten.
22. "Lescharts.com – DHT feat. Edmée – Listen to Your Heart" (in French). Les classement single.
23. "Musicline.de – DHT feat. Edmée Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
24. Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved April 7, 2008)
25. "Nederlandse Top 40 – DHT feat. Edmée search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
26. "Norwegiancharts.com – DHT feat. Edmée – Listen to Your Heart". VG-lista.
27. "Archive Chart: 2005-12-17". Scottish Singles Top 40.
28. "Swisscharts.com – DHT feat. Edmée – Listen to Your Heart". Swiss Singles Chart.
29. "Archive Chart: 2005-12-17" UK Singles Chart.
30. "Hot 100 Songs & New Music: 1 - 10 Songs | Billboard Music Charts". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2012-12-20.
31. "Hot 100 Songs & New Music: 1 - 10 Songs | Billboard Music Charts". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2012-12-20.
32. "Hot 100 Songs & New Music: 1 - 10 Songs | Billboard Music Charts". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2012-12-20.
33. "Hot 100 Songs & New Music: 1 - 10 Songs | Billboard Music Charts". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2012-12-20.
34. 2005 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart Ultratop.be (Retrieved August 23, 2008)
35. "Single top 100 over 2005" (PDF) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
36. 2005 French Singles Chart Disqueenfrance.com (Retrieved August 23, 2008)
37. U.S. certifications riaa.com (Retrieved August 23, 2008)
38. "Yuridia - Awards". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 29, 2015.
39. "Election Broadcast 1990". Retrieved 18 March 2012.
40. Palonen, Emilia (2009). "Political Polarisation and Populism in Contemporary Hungary". Parliamentary Affairs 62: 323. doi:10.1093/pa/gsn048. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
41. Teledramaturgia.com Archived May 5, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics