Listen to Your Heart (Roxette song)

"Listen to Your Heart" is a song by Swedish rock duo Roxette, originally released in Sweden in September 1988 as the second single from the duo's second studio album, Look Sharp! (1988). It was written by Per Gessle with former Gyllene Tider guitarist Mats "M.P." Persson. The song went on to become one of the most successful singles of 1989, reaching number one in both the United States and Canada around November 1989.^[2] The track was the first song to reach number one in the US without a commercially released 7-inch single.^[3]

"Listen to Your Heart"
Single by Roxette
from the album Look Sharp!
B-side	"(I Could Never) Give You Up"
Released	27 September 1988
Recorded	August 1988[1]
Studio	EMI (Stockholm, Sweden)
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	5:28 (album version) 5:12 (radio edit) 4:05 (single edit)
Label	Parlophone EMI
Songwriter(s)	Per Gessle Mats Persson
Producer(s)	Clarence Öfwerman
Roxette singles chronology
"Dressed for Success" (1988) "Listen to Your Heart" (1988) "Chances" (1988)
Music video
"Listen to Your Heart" on YouTube

"Listen to Your Heart" originally peaked at number 62 in the UK when it was released there in October 1989. However, following the success of "It Must Have Been Love", the track was reissued as a double A-side with "Dangerous" in August 1990, upon which it reached a chart peak of number six on the UK Singles Chart. In 2005, Belgian trance act DHT released a remixed version of the song featuring Edmée for their album Listen to Your Heart, which became a top 10 hit in numerous territories, including France, the Netherlands, the UK and the US.

Composition and style

Per Gessle described "Listen to Your Heart" in the liner notes of Roxette's 1995 greatest hits compilation Don't Bore Us, Get to the Chorus! 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."^[4] Its lyrics were inspired by a close friend of Gessle's, who was in "emotional turmoil, stuck between an old relationship and a new love. A year later, I call him up in the middle of the night after a few too many glasses of champagne, saying 'Hey, you're number one in the States.'"^[1]

According to Ultimate Guitar, the track is an alternative rock ballad, with a moderately slow tempo of 86 beats per minute. The verses are made up of three repeating sequences of Bm^[5]–G–A and one additional sequence of Bm–G–Em. The first two choruses are composed of two repetitions of a Bm–G–D–A sequence, followed by an extended sequence of D–A–G–D–Bm–G–A–Bm. The bridge consists of E–C♯m–B–A–B–C♯. The final chorus has been modified up by two full tones it consists of two repetitions of D♯m–B–F♯–C♯, followed by a sequence of F♯–C♯–B–F♯–D♯m–B–C♯–D♯m–B, with the final four notes being repeated for the outro.^[6]

Seven different versions of the song were released: the original album version; the "Swedish Single Edit", a slightly edited version included on subsequent greatest hits compilations; the "US Remix", used in the music video; the "AC Mix", which is similar to the "US Remix" but with the guitar in the bridge replaced by a saxophone; shorter edits of the aforementioned 2 versions, which cut some parts from the last refrain; and the 7-inch single version, which fades out shortly after the last refrain, omitting most of the outro.^[7]

Critical reception

In his review of the Look Sharp! album, Bryan Buss from AllMusic felt the song is "bland" and "overproduced".^[8] Pan-European magazine Music & Media commented, "Already doing well in the US, this semi-ballad has all the ingredients of a major worldwide hit. This time it seems that the Swedes have beaten the Americans at their own game."^[9] In 1990, David Giles from Music Week called it "another big hit", adding that "this single is anything to go by — it made history by reaching number one despite being available on cassette only."^[10]

Music video

Doug Freel directed the song's music video, which was filmed during a live performance at the Borgholm Castle ruin on the Swedish Baltic Sea island of Öland.^[11] Freel and the video's production crew believed the ruin to have been created especially for the video. Gessle said: "It took some time to convince them that the place actually was for real."^[4]

The song has been performed on all of Roxette's concert tours. On the Look Sharp! Live Tour and Join the Joyride! Tour, it was performed in its original, power ballad style, although it has been performed in an acoustic version on all tours since the Crash! Boom! Bang! Tour in 1994.^[7]

Formats and track listings

All lyrics were written by Per Gessle. All music was composed by Gessle except "Listen to Your Heart" by Gessle and Mats Persson and "Half a Woman, Half a Shadow" by Marie Fredriksson.

European 7-inch single (Sweden 1363237 · UK EM108) European cassette (UK TCEM108) "Listen to Your Heart" – 5:12 "(I Could Never) Give You Up" – 3:59 US 7-inch single (B-50223) US cassette (4JM-50223) "Listen to Your Heart" – 5:12 "Half a Woman, Half a Shadow" – 3:33

CD single (UK CDEM108) "Listen to Your Heart" (single mix) – 5:14 "Dressed for Success" (new radio mix) – 3:56 "(I Could Never) Give You Up" – 3:58 "Neverending Love" (live) – 3:31 CD single (1990 UK and Ireland reissue) (UK CDEM149) "Listen to Your Heart" (Swedish single version) – 5:12 "Dangerous" – 3:46 "Listen to Your Heart" (US mix) – 4:53 "Dangerous" (U.S. club edit) – 3:46

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of The Ballad Hits.^[1]

Recording

• Recorded in August 1988 at EMI Studios (Stockholm, Sweden)
• Mixed at EMI Studios (Stockholm, Sweden)

Musicians

• Marie Fredriksson – lead and background vocals
• Per Gessle – background vocals, guitar, mixing
• Per "Pelle" Alsing – drums
• Anders Herrlin – programming, engineering
• Jonas Isacsson – electric guitar
• Clarence Öfwerman – keyboards, programming, production, mixing
• Alar Suurna – mixing, engineering

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1988–1990) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[12] 10 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[13] 2 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[14] 3 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[15] 1 Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[16] 5 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[17] 15 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[18] 12 Ireland (IRMA)[19] with "Dangerous" 5 Italy (Musica e dischi)[20] 8 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[21] 3 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[22] 5 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[23] 11 Spain (AFYVE)[24] 17 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[25] 3 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[26] 8 UK Singles (OCC)[27] with "Dangerous" 6 US Billboard Hot 100[2] 1 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[28] 2 US Cash Box Top 100[29] 1 West Germany (GfK)[30] 7 Chart (2019) Peak position Australian Digital Tracks (ARIA)[31] 31 France (SNEP)[32] 114 Hungary (Single Top 40)[33] 14 Scotland (OCC)[34] 39 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[35] 90 UK Singles Downloads (OCC)[36] 59

Year-end charts Chart (1989) Position Australia (ARIA)[37] 74 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[38] 29 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[39] 73 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[40] 75 US Billboard Hot 100[41] 22 US Cash Box Top 100[42] 19 Chart (1990) Position Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[43] 98 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[44] 99 Germany (Media Control)[45] 45

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Austria (IFPI Austria)[46]	Gold	25,000*
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[47]	Gold	45,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[48]	Platinum	30,000‡
Sweden (GLF)[49]	Gold	25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[50]	Gold	400,000‡
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
Sweden	27 September 1988	7-inch vinyl 12-inch vinyl	Parlophone	[citation needed]
United Kingdom	9 October 1989	7-inch vinyl 12-inch vinyl CD	EMI	[51]
	13 November 1989	Cassette		[52]
Japan	24 January 1990	CD		[53]

DHT version

"Listen to Your Heart"
Single by DHT featuring Edmée
from the album Listen to Your Heart
Released	30 November 2003 (2003-11-30)
Genre	Trance[54]
Length	3:51
Label	Impart Productions Hardbounze
Songwriter(s)	Per Gessle Mats Persson
Producer(s)	Flor Theeuwes Jeffrey Vissers Thunder Deejay
DHT singles chronology
"Uninvited" (2003) "Listen to Your Heart" (2003) "My Dream" (2004)
Music video
"Listen to Your Heart" on YouTube

Belgian dance group DHT recorded a dance cover of "Listen to Your Heart" with vocals from Belgian singer Edmée. It was initially released on 30 November 2003 as the first single from DHT's debut studio album Listen to Your Heart (2005).

By June 2005, the song had reached number one on the US Billboard Hot Dance Airplay chart and the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number eight in August. Worldwide, the cover reached the top 10 in the Czech Republic, France, and the United Kingdom while becoming a top-twenty success in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, and Norway. 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.

Composition

The Furious F. EZ version of the song is in the key of B minor with a tempo of 145 beats per minute.^[55]

Track listings

• Belgian CD single (2003)^[56]

1. "Listen to Your Heart" (DHT Hardbounze single edit) – 3:32
2. "Listen to Your Heart" (Furious F. EZ radio edit) – 3:52
3. "Listen to Your Heart" (Edmée's unplugged vocal edit) – 4:32

• US CD single (2004)^[57]

1. "Listen to Your Heart" (Furious F. EZ radio edit) – 3:48
2. "Listen to Your Heart" (Hardbounze single edit) – 3:30
3. "Listen to Your Heart" (Edmée's unplugged vocal edit) – 4:28
4. "Listen to Your Heart" (Furious F. EZ extended mix) – 4:54
5. "Listen to Your Heart" (Hardbounze extended mix) – 4:45
6. "Listen to Your Heart" (Hardstyle extended mix) – 4:32

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2003–2006) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[58] 11 Australian Dance (ARIA)[59] 2 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[60] 15 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[61] 12 Canada CHR/Pop Top 30 (Radio & Records)[62] 3 Czech Republic (Rádio – Top 100)[63] 2 Denmark (Tracklisten)[64] 13 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[65] 17 France (SNEP)[66] 7 Germany (GfK)[67] 81 Hungary (Dance Top 40)[68] 30 Ireland (IRMA)[19] 12 Ireland Dance (IRMA)[69] 1 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[70] 10 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[71] 10 Norway (VG-lista)[72] 19 Scotland (OCC)[73] 5 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[74] 100 UK Singles (OCC)[75] 7 UK Dance (OCC)[76] 13 US Billboard Hot 100[77] 8 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[78] 6 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[79] 13 US Dance Singles Sales (Billboard)[80] 3 US Hot Dance Airplay (Billboard)[81] 1 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[82] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2005) Position Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[83] 78 France (SNEP)[84] 34 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[85] 37 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[86] 34 UK Singles (OCC)[87] 160 US Billboard Hot 100[88] 35 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[89] 22 US Dance Radio Airplay (Billboard)[90] 1 US Dance Singles Sales (Billboard)[91] 9 Chart (2006) Position Australia (ARIA)[92] 91 Australian Dance (ARIA)[93] 10 UK Singles (OCC)[94] 160

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[95]	Silver	200,000‡
United States (RIAA)[96]	Gold	500,000*
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref(s).
Belgium	30 November 2003	12-inch vinyl CD	Impart Productions Hardbounze	[97][98]
Australia	21 November 2005	CD	Ministry of Sound	[99]
United Kingdom	5 December 2005	12-inch vinyl	Data	[100]

Yuridia Spanish version

• "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 number 44 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart.^[101]