Heaven Is a Place on Earth


"Heaven Is a Place on Earth" is a song recorded by American singer Belinda Carlisle for her second studio album Heaven on Earth. Written by Rick Nowels and Ellen Shipley, the song was released as the lead single from the Heaven on Earth album on September 14, 1987, and it hit number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 on December 5, 1987, becoming Carlisle's only US chart-topper, to date. A month later it hit number one in the United Kingdom, where it held the top spot of the UK Singles Chart for two weeks.
The song was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1988 but lost to Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance with Somebody ". In 2017, ShortList's Dave Fawbert listed the song as containing "one of the greatest key changes in music history".
In 2015, Carlisle re-recorded the song as an acoustic ballad. This version appeared on her album Wilder Shores, which combines acoustic tracks with world beats and traditional Sikh chants.

Composition

The song is performed in the key of E major, with a tempo of 123 beats per minute in common time. Carlisle's vocals span from E3 to D5. In the final chorus of the song, the key is transposed to F major.

Production

Carlisle's backup vocalists on the song include songwriters Nowels and Shipley as well as Michelle Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas and songwriter Diane Warren. It also features Thomas Dolby on keyboards.

Chart performance

"Heaven Is a Place on Earth" reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number seven on the Adult Contemporary chart. It was also a number-one hit in the United Kingdom, topping the UK Singles Chart for two weeks.
The single also reached number one in many other countries, among them Switzerland, Ireland, Sweden, South Africa and Norway. It also reached number three in Germany and Canada, number two in Australia, and number six in Italy. It reached Gold status in Canada and the United Kingdom.

Music video

The promotional music video for the song was directed by Academy Award-winning actress Diane Keaton and features an appearance by Carlisle's husband Morgan Mason. It also features children wearing black masks and capes, and holding illuminated plastic globes. Carlisle appears wearing a strapless dress and later changes to a black off-the-shoulder blouse. The video was partially filmed at Six Flags Magic Mountain theme park in Valencia, California, on the now-defunct Spin Out ride.

Track listing

  1. "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" – 4:06
  2. "We Can Change" – 3:45
  3. "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" – 5:59
  4. "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" – 3:49

    Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart Peak
position

Year-end charts

Chart Position
Australia 11
Belgium 30
Canada Top Singles 99
Germany 31
Italy 31
Netherlands 61
Netherlands 81
New Zealand 9
South Africa 4
Switzerland 8
UK Singles 17
US Billboard Hot 1007

Certifications