Be My Lover (La Bouche song)

"Be My Lover" is a song recorded by German-American Eurodance group La Bouche. It was released in March 1995 as the second single from their album, Sweet Dreams. It remains one of their most successful hits, alongside "Sweet Dreams". This song was dubbed into many megamix tracks and has had several remix versions. It reached number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. It also topped the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play for two weeks in December 1995. In Europe, "Be My Lover" hit number-one in Germany, Sweden and on the Eurochart Hot 100. To date, it has sold 6 million copies worldwide.

"Be My Lover"
Single by La Bouche
from the album Sweet Dreams
B-side"Do You Still Need Me"
ReleasedMarch 3, 1995
RecordedSeptember 1994
GenreEurodance
Length3:44
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
La Bouche singles chronology
"Sweet Dreams"
(1994)		 "Be My Lover"
(1995)		 "Fallin' in Love"
(1996)
Music video
"Be My Lover" on YouTube

In 2000, when Melanie Thornton left the group to start with her solo career, La Bouche released a new version of "Be My Lover" with vocals by Natascha Wright (who replaced Melanie Thornton as the female singer of the group).

Background

American rapper Lane McCray met singer Melanie Thornton in Saarbrücken, Germany while he was on active duty in the US Air Force. Thornton had moved from the US to Germany, where she performed as guest vocalist on dance-pop recordings.[1]

""Be My Lover" no one liked. I kept trying to find words for the "la da da dee" part of the song. We couldn't find any words so we just left it in the song."

—Lane McCray talking to Jerry Nunn about the song.[2]

Thornton and McCray went together in a band called Groovin' Affairs and were discovered by German record producer Frank Farian, the mastermind and voice behind the duo Milli Vanilli. They founded the Eurodance duo La Bouche. McCray and Thornton wrote "Be My Lover" together. The duo started recording in the spring of 1994. Because of McCray's duty in the US Air Force, La Bouche's success faced one minor challenge.[3] But La Bouche went on to be one of the most popular Eurodance acts of the mid-90s.

Composition

The song is written in the key of C♯ minor and follows a tempo of 134 beats per minute. It follows a basic chord progression of C♯m–A–B, and the vocals span from G♯3 to F♯5.[4]

Critical reception

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution described the song as a "high-energy hit".[5] Matt Stopera and Brian Galindo from BuzzFeed put the song at number 6 in their list of The 101 Greatest Dance Songs of the '90s in 2017, noting that "when you think of a '90s dance artist or group, La Bouche is on that list. A legend."[6] Beth D'Addono from Delaware County Daily Times commented, "La da da dee da da da dah... Then that infectious disco beat kicks in, and "Be My Lover" blares from the car radio, takes over the dance floor, reverberates through the health club, inspiring step classes to even greater heights."[7] Bianca Gracie from Idolator described it as a "blood-pumping" tune "that combined energetic waves of synths with incredibly soulful vocals that kept bodies moving way longer than those endless rounds of Sex On The Beach cocktails ever could!". She added that "Be My Lover" "still provides a sense of euphoric escape that continues to refuel the spirit."[8] James Arena, writer of Stars of '90s Dance Pop: 29 Hitmakers Discuss Their Careers described the song as "blistering", adding that the song and "Sweet Dreams" "are widely regarded today as indispensable classics of the decade."[9] People Magazine wrote that the song "underscore buoyant vocals with dark minor-key arrangements".[10] Richmond Times-Dispatch commented in their review, "I am insanely jealous of the lead female vocal, Melanie Thornton. She has a wonderful, flexible voice."[11] The Tampa Tribune noted that Melanie Thorton's vocals "are a little better than those of the average disco songstress."[12] Vibe put the song on their list of 30 Dance Tracks From The '90s That Changed The Game in 2013.[13]

Chart performance

"Be My Lover" topped both the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play and the Canadian RPM Dance Chart, and reached the Top 10 of Billboard's Hot 100. It peaked at number-one in Germany and Sweden, and at number 2 in Australia, Iceland, Italy and Norway. "Be My Lover" was a Top 10 hit in at least 16 countries, like Belgium, Denmark, France, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland. On the Eurochart Hot 100, the single reached number-one on May 27, 1995. In the United Kingdom, it peaked at number 25 on the UK Singles Chart in February 25, 1996.[14] The single has sold 6 million copies worldwide to date. It earned a gold record in Austria, France, Germany and the US, and a platinum record in Australia. La Bouche won the 1996 Echo award in Germany for Best Dance Single with "Be My Lover", and the ASCAP award in the US for the "Most Played Song in America". The song was also nominated for Best Dance Video at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards while La Bouche was nominated in the category Best Dance at the 1995 MTV Europe Music Awards.

Music video

Two different music videos were made for this song, a European version and an American version.

The European version was filmed in the city at night. Melanie Thornton appears as a dominatrix wearing a black outfit. She is driving a van, abducting McCray to an underground club, where several men are being held captive. They are hanging upside down from hooks in the ceiling. Thornton walks around these men while she sings. Suddenly McCray manages to break free and raps toward Thornton. An edited version doesn't show McCray being captured and almost all the scenes with the men being hanging upside down were cut. The music video was uploaded to YouTube in February 2016. As of November 2020, it has gotten more than 42.7 million views.The U.S. video version was uploaded in August 2009 and as of November 2020, it has gotten more than 112.2 million views.[15]

The American version was filmed in a studio, with Thornton singing into a microphone and wearing a purple dress. It was directed by Andras Mahr.[16]

Accolades
Year Publisher Country Accolade Rank
1996 Echo Award Germany "Best National Dance Single"[17] 1
1996 ASCAP Award United States "Most Played Song in America" 1
1996 MTV Video Music Awards United States Nomination for "Best Dance Video"
2012 Porcys Poland "100 Singli 1990-1999"[18] 70
2013 Vibe United States "Before EDM: 30 Dance Tracks From The '90s That Changed The Game"[13] 16
2015 Idolator United States "The 50 Best Pop Singles of 1995"[19] 30
2017 BuzzFeed United States "The 101 Greatest Dance Songs Of the '90s"[20] 6

Usage in media

The song was played in the 1995 Brazilian soap opera A Próxima Vítima, in an episode of American tv-series Beverly Hills 90210 in 1996, in the 1997 movie Romy and Michele's High School Reunion, in the 1998 movie A Night at the Roxbury, in the 1999 movie Earthly Possessions, in an episode of the sitcom Step by Step. It was also spoofed as "One Zero 001" on a computer-themed episode of Bill Nye the Science Guy and used in Audition Online Dance Battle as a song. It can be vaguely heard in the background in the "World's Greatest Dick" episode of 3rd Rock from the Sun, in the gay bar that Sally and Harry walk into at the beginning of the episode. It was played at the second episode of The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, as Gianni (played by Édgar Ramírez) and his boyfriend Antonio (played by Ricky Martin) enter a gay bar.

Cover versions, samples and remixes
  • The song was covered by Hysterie in 2003.
  • Romanian dance pop singer Inna sampled the song for her third studio album Party Never Ends and released it as an official single in 2013.
  • Dutch DJ and producer Sam Feldt made a cover of this track with Alex Schulz in 2017.
  • Akina Nakamori covered the song in her 2017 cover album Cage.[21]
  • In 2018, Austrian Rapper Raf Camora & German Rapper Bonez MC have used a sample of the song for their Hit single “Kokain.”
  • In 2019, Italian artist Achille Lauro sampled the song for his hit single "1990"

Track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Be My Lover".[22]

CD maxi 1
  1. "Be My Lover" (radio edit) – 3:58
  2. "Be My Lover" (club mix 135 BPM) – 5:28
  3. "Be My Lover" (trance mix 150 BPM) – 6:35
  4. "Do You Still Need Me" – 3:35
CD maxi – U.S.
  1. "Be My Lover" (club mix) – 6:26
  2. "Be My Lover" (Spike club mix) – 8:54
  3. "Be My Lover" (Hi-NRG mix) – 5:46
  4. "Be My Lover" (Alex goes to Cleveland mix) – 5:06
  5. "Be My Lover" (Doug Laurent classic mix edit) – 4:07
12" maxi – U.S., UK, Ireland
  1. "Be My Lover" (Spike club mix) – 8:54
  2. "Be My Lover" (club mix) – 6:26
  3. "Be My Lover" (Spike dub) – 8:21
  4. "Be My Lover" (Hi-NRG mix) – 5:46
12" maxi – Europe
  1. "Be My Lover" (club mix) – 5:28
  2. "Be My Lover" (house mix) – 4:26
  3. "Be My Lover" (trance mix) – 6:35
  4. "Be My Lover" (radio edit) – 3:59
CD maxi – Remixes
  1. "Be My Lover" (euro dance mix) – 6:12
  2. "Be My Lover" (Hi-NRG mix) – 5:47
  3. "Be My Lover" (serious groove dub mix) – 5:41
  4. "Be My Lover" (Alex goes to Cleveland mix) – 5:05
  5. "Be My Lover" (Doug Laurent classic mix – edit) – 4:10
  6. "Be My Lover" (trance mix) – 7:12
  7. "Be My Lover" (house mix) – 4:51
CD single / Cassette
  1. "Be My Lover" (radio edit) – 3:58
  2. "Be My Lover" (trance mix) – 6:35 (Germany only)
  3. "Be My Lover" (house mix) – 4:49 (France only)
  4. "Be My Lover" (radio edit 2) – 3:58 (U.S. only)

Charts and sales

References
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