Speaking of the song's origin in an interview with MTV, Bareilles said of her label, "They had encouraged me to keep writing, and I just wasn't having any luck. I started to get really insecure about it, and then I got really pissed off at myself for caring what anybody thought. I went to a rehearsal space one day. I sat down and wrote something for me. And 'Love Song' basically wrote itself. It's totally honest, and I'm very lucky the label liked it as well." Later in 2011, she explained: "It was actually written for my record label. I had been turning in new music. I was getting the red light. I couldn't go into the studio yet because they were waiting for something. But I wouldn't nobody said what they were waiting for. So I kept turning in new songs, thinking like, 'Is this what you want? Is this what you want?' And it was always a big thumbs down, and I ended up writing 'Love Song' out of frustration." In 2014, she stated it was "very tongue-in-cheek" and "nasty in a passive-aggressive way," confirming it was a response to the record label pressuring her to make safe, "radio friendly" songs.
Music video
Directed by Josh Forbes, the music video features a miniature Bareilles playing the piano inside a coin-operated jukebox that plays love songs. A steady stream of men and women enter the booth and insert coins to observing her through a pinhole as she plays the same song day after day. The lyrics express her growing frustration as she declares that she is "not gonna write you a love song today," whereupon Bareilles grabs the next coin that rolls inside, and uses it to jam the gears. The next morning, the owner of the booth enters; he notices that the jukebox has gone dark, and appears amazed when he discovers Bareilles inside the jukebox. He retrieves the jammed coin from the gears and hands it to Bareilles. The music video features the album version of the song. The video also features British actorAdam Campbell as the owner of the booth.
Chart performance
Featured initially as the free iTunes song of the week on June 16, 2007, the song was a sleeper-hit, debuting a few months later at number 100 on the US Billboard Hot 100. After her appearance in a RhapsodyTV commercial, in which she performs "Love Song", it rocketed from number 72 to number 16 on the Hot 100 and from number 32 to number 5 on the Hot Digital Songs chart. In the first week of 2008, the song cracked the top ten on the Hot 100, jumping to number 9, where it stayed for four non-consecutive weeks before reaching a peak of number 4. In spite of not reaching the top three, "Love Song" managed to spend 19 weeks in the top ten, in contrast with other songs that reached higher peak but did not maintain such longevity. The single was certified 4x Platinum by the RIAA for over 4 million in sales. As of April 2014, the single had sold 3,717,000 digital copies in the United States. The song debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number 30 and later peaked at number 4. The song debuted at number 100 on the Canadian Hot 100 the week of January 31, 2008, and reached number one on the chart the week of March 29, 2008. In Australia, "Love Song" peaked at number 4 in its ninth week on the country's chart. In New Zealand it reached number 7 on the Top 40 singles chart and held the number 1 position on the Radio Airplay chart for six weeks. It was the most played song of 2008 on New Zealand radio. In Spain, the song debuted at number 33 and has so far peaked at number 13. The song is listed at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 year-end chart of 2008. It also topped both the BillboardHot Adult Contemporary Tracks and Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks charts in 2008.
