Oh Love

"Oh Love"
Single by Green Day
from the album ¡Uno!
Released July 16, 2012 (2012-07-16)
Format CD single, DVD, digital download
Recorded February 14 (14-02)–June 26, 2012 (2012-06-26) at Jingletown Studios in Oakland, California
Genre Power pop
Length 5:02 (Album version)
4:19 (Radio edit)
Label Reprise, Warner Bros.
Writer(s) Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, Jason White and Tre Cool
Producer(s) Rob Cavallo and Green Day
Green Day singles chronology
"I Don't Want To Know If You Are Lonely"
(2011)		 "Oh Love"
(2012)		 "Kill the DJ"
(2012)
Oh Love EP
Music video
"Oh Love" on YouTube
"Oh Love" (Lyric Video) on YouTube

"Oh Love" is a song by American punk rock band Green Day. It was released as the lead single from their ninth studio album, ¡Uno!, on July 16, 2012, through Reprise Records, and an EP of the song was released on August 14, 2012. It was recorded at Jingletown Studios from February 14 to June 26, 2012; however, it was also played at a secret show held by the band in 2011.

Critical response to the song was mixed; it was praised for its musical style and tone, as well as criticized for being "middle-ground". It appeared on multiple charts worldwide upon its debut. The song made its debut in the number-one position on the US Rock Songs chart, making it the band's first song, and the third ever in history, to do so.

Background and release

The song was played at a "secret show" performed by the band on October 28, 2011, where the band also performed other songs that are on the track listing of ¡Uno!: "Let Yourself Go" and "Carpe Diem"[1][2] Erica Futterman of Rolling Stone praised the band's performance while also writing, "Other new music included the blistering Ramones-tinged 'Let Yourself Go' ('Shut your mouth 'cause you're talking too much and I don't give a fuck anyway'), the driving beat and sing-along chorus of 'Carpe Diem,' and the strut of 'Oh Love'".[1] Green Day went into the studio to begin recording songs for a new album on February 14, 2012.[3] Eventually, the band announced the release of albums ¡Uno!, ¡Dos!, and ¡Tré!.[4] The official confirmation of the song came with the release of the track listing of their album ¡Uno! on June 26, 2012.[5]

Later, on June 25, 2012, the band announced that they would be releasing "Oh Love" as the first single from ¡Uno!.[6] Prior to its release, the band released a teaser-sample of the song in a video uploaded to YouTube.[7] The 16-second video consists of the cover art of ¡Uno! and an advertisement at the bottom with a snippet of the song played in the background, and at the end shows the head of Armstrong in the cover art, eating the advertisement.[7] The song was released on July 16, 2012 through Reprise Records[8] and along with the release of the song, the band uploaded a video to YouTube which had its lyrics and the full song.[8] On July 20, 2012, an extended play of the song was announced, which was released on August 14, 2012.[9] "Oh Love" was released as part of the "Green Day 03" downloadable content pack for Rock Band 3 and Rock Band Blitz on September 25, 2012.

Theme and composition
"Oh Love"
The sample contains a guitar-based melody with repetition of lines
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Stylistically, "Oh Love" has been described as power pop.[10][11] Its musical style is reminiscent of the band's early albums Dookie (1994) and Nimrod (1997).[8] It is a "move away" from the band's politically inspired releases like American Idiot (2004) and 21st Century Breakdown (2009).[12] Bassist Mike Dirnt described the musical style of "Oh Love" by stating, "We were just thinking about making a killer power-pop record – dirtier, back to basics. We tapped into our version of Exile on Main Street".[12] Vocalist/guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong also talked about his desire to write a power pop song, stating, "What I really wanted to do was write real power-pop kind of music that had that old Green Day energy, so the original Green Day sound became ¡Uno!".[8]

David Fricke of Rolling Stone compared the song to the genre of The Who's Quadrophenia and the vocals of Armstrong in the start to those of John Lennon. He called the song a "tight, addicting bundle of pop-hook class and crunchy-punk fundamentals".[13] Sarah Maloy of Billboard elaborated that the guitar instrumentation is simple and the tune is similar to the band's early releases.[8]

Artwork

The band revealed the artwork of "Oh Love" on July 10, 2012, in a press release on their official website about the release of the song.[14] The cover art of the song follows the style of those of ¡Uno!, ¡Dos!, and ¡Tré!.[8] It features a traffic signal post on the right side with a heart on top followed by two crosses below.[14] "Green Day" and "Oh Love" are written in capital letters at top left and bottom left respectively.[14] "Green Day" is written in pale yellow while "Oh Love" is in white against the blue background, which shows contrast between light-dark and light shades along with black in the corner.[14]

The band also announced release of an EP of the song and also showed its artwork,[15] which is similar with minor variations in color and images. It features a traffic signal post on the right side similar to the song with a cross instead of a heart on top followed by a heart-shaped hand grenade and a couple kissing, the artwork for American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown, respectively, instead of two crosses below.[15] "Green Day", in blue, and "Oh Love", in white, are written in capital letters on the left top and bottom respectively, against a striped red background with blackened corners.[15]

Music video

The music video is directed by Samuel Bayer, who also directed the band's American Idiot videos. Lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong said of the video on MTV: "It's very lustful". The video shows the stereotypes of a rock star's life.[16] The video features Green Day playing the song in front of an audience of scantily clad women.

Critical reception

The song received positive responses from a number of critics. David Fricke of Rolling Stone assigned the track four out of five stars, deeming it "just a bright, strident vocal and crisply strummed guitar. But when Armstrong’s bandmates fall in around him, Green Day sound the way you originally loved ’em, and refreshed: heavier and hardened from their time in the trenches but back in the garage, ready for rapture".[13] Scott Shetler of PopCrush also rated the song four out of five stars and compared it to the song "Jesus of Suburbia" from the album American Idiot, calling it "a much shorter and slightly more accessible version" of that song. He also added, "That’s good news for Green Day fans and for those who miss rock music on Top 40 radio".[17] However, the song did not receive an entirely positive response from NME, who stated, "That crunchy guitar riff, that meandering melody, that by-the-numbers solo – it all comes off rather ‘meh’, rather safe, and rather middle-ground to these ears".[18]

Chart performance

Upon its release as the lead song, "Oh Love" debuted on multiple world charts. The song made its debut at number one on the US Rock Songs with 13 million audience impressions at 145 reporting stations.[19] The song is the band's first and only the third ever to debut at number one on the charts, following Linkin Park's "The Catalyst" on 21 August 2010, and Foo Fighters' "Rope" on 12 March 2011.[19] The song also debuted on the US Alternative Songs at number seven[19] and peaked at number three.[20] It became the band's 28th title on the Alternative Songs tally and the 20th song to chart in the Top 10 Alternative Songs—the third highest number of songs by a single artist to do so, sharing that position with Foo Fighters and trailing U2 and Red Hot Chili Peppers with 23 and 24 charting in the Top 10 respectively.[19] It debuted on the Japan Hot 100 at 27 and the Canadian Hot 100 at 54.[21][22] The song peaked on the Canada (Alternative Rock) at number four and on the Canada (Active Rock) at number 12.[23][24] On the Czech Airplay Chart, it made its debut at number 69.[25] It debuted at number 73 on the Belgian Tip Chart and at 88 on the Netherlands Single Top 100.[26] It also debuted at 83 on the Media Control Germany Top 100 Singles Chart.[27]

Track listing

Digital download/CD single
No. Title Length
1. "Oh Love"   5:04
Extended play (CD)
No. Title Length
1. "Oh Love"   5:04
2. "American Idiot" (Censored version) 2:55
3. "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" (Censored version) 4:22
4. "21 Guns"   5:22
5. "Know Your Enemy"   3:11
Total length:
 20:57

Chart positions

Chart (2012) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[26] 28
Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[26] 24
Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)[26] 23
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[28] 45
Canada: Active Rock (America's Music Charts)[23] 1
Canada: Alternative Rock (America's Music Charts)[24] 3
Czech Republic (IFPI)[25] 32
Germany (Official German Charts)[29] 44
Israel (Media Forest)[30] 6
Japan (Japan Hot 100)[21] 5
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[26] 88
South Korea (Gaon Chart)[31] 16
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[32] 65
US Billboard Hot 100[28] 97
US Rock Songs (Billboard)[28] 1
US Alternative Songs (Billboard)[28] 3
US Adult Pop Songs (Billboard)[28] 23
UK Rock Chart[33] 18

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Italy (FIMI)[34] Gold 15,000

Year-end charts

Chart (2012) Peak
position
Japan (Japan Hot 100)[35] 62
US Rock Songs[35] 22
US Alternative Songs[35] 30

Personnel

References

  1. 1 2 Futterman, Erica. "Green Day Preview Stadium-Ready New Songs at New York Halloween Show". Rolling Stone. Jann Wenner. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
  2. ↑ "Green Day played Red 7 (a few pics, Fox news video, setlist)". BV Austin. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
  3. ↑ Montgomery, James (February 15, 2012). "Green Day Start Recording New Album". MTV News. MTV Networks. Retrieved June 15, 2012.
  4. ↑ Corner, Lewis (June 11, 2012). "Green Day confirm new albums '¡Uno! ¡Dos! ¡Tré!' release dates". Digital Spy. Hachette Filipacchi Médias. Retrieved June 15, 2012.
  5. ↑ "¡UNO! INFO". greenday.com. Green Day. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  6. ↑ Lamb, Bill (25 June 2012). "Green Day Announce 'Oh Love' as First Single from Three Album Project". About.com. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
  7. 1 2 Grace, Carroll (12 July 2012). "GREEN DAY RELEASE TEASER SNIPPET OF NEW SONG — LISTEN". Gigwise. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Maloy, Sarah. "Green Day Debuts 'Oh Love' Single: Listen". Billboard (magazine). Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  9. ↑ "Oh Love EP (Walmart Exclusive)". Walmart. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
  10. ↑ Crystal, Bell (16 July 2012). "Green Day, 'Oh Love': Band Releases New 'Power-Pop' Single Off '¡Uno!' (AUDIO)". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  11. ↑ "Oh Love — Single". iTunes. Apple. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
  12. 1 2 "Premiere: Green Day's 'Power-Pop' New Single, 'Oh Love'". Rolling Stone. Jann Wenner. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  13. 1 2 Fricke, David (August 2, 2012). "Green Day "Oh Love"". Rolling Stone (Jann Wenner) (1162): 66. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
  14. 1 2 3 4 "OH LOVE" SINGLE PREMIERE". greenday.com. Green Day. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  15. 1 2 3 "WALMART EP — AUG 14". greenday.com. Green Day. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  16. ↑ Sarah Maloy (2012-08-16). "Green Day Parties With Models in 'Oh Love' Video: Watch — Viral Videos". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2012-08-27.
  17. ↑ Shetler, Scott. "Green Day, ‘Oh Love’ – Song Review". PopCrush. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
  18. ↑ "NME Track Reviews — Green Day - 'Oh Love'". NME. 2 July 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
  19. 1 2 3 4 Trust, Gary. "Green Day, No Doubt Make Rockin' Returns to Radio". Billboard (magazine). Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  20. ↑ "Fun. Scores Historic No. 1 on Alternative Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  21. 1 2 "Japan Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  22. ↑ "Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  23. 1 2 "CANADA: ACTIVE ROCK". Canada: Active Rock. America's Music Charts. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  24. 1 2 "CANADA: ALTERNATIVE ROCK". americasmusiccharts.com. Canada: Alternative Rock. America's Music Charts. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  25. 1 2 "RADIO TOP100 Oficiální: Oh Love". Rádio Top 100 Oficiální. International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  26. 1 2 3 4 5 "Ultratop.be – Green Day — Oh Love". ultratop.be. Ultratop 50. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  27. ↑ "Media Control Germany Top 100 Singles Chart". World Charts. Archived from the original on 7 August 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  28. 1 2 3 4 5 "Oh Love — Green Day". Billboard. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
  29. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Green Day – Oh Love". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 12, 2012.
  30. ↑ "Media Forest: Airplay chart". mediaforest.biz. 2012-09-09.
  31. ↑ "South Korea Gaon International Chart (Week: July 22, 2012 to July 28, 2012)". Gaon Chart.
  32. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Green Day – Oh Love". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved September 12, 2012.
  33. ↑ "Rock & Metal Singles Top 40 - 6th October 2012". Official Charts. Retrieved 2012-10-01.
  34. ↑ "Italian single certifications – Green Day – Oh Love" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 25 January 2014. Select Online in the field Sezione. Enter Green Day in the field Filtra. The certification will load automatically
  35. 1 2 3 "Rock Songs : Sep 20, 2013 - (Chart position) | Billboard Chart Archive". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2013-09-21.

External links

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