Haddaway 'What Is Love?'

Chart Peak: 2

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Nestor Haddaway was born on the island of Tobago in the Caribbean, grew up in Chicago and then moved to Germany in 1987... This rave/pop/techno/soul fusion, 'What Is Love?', is one of 1993's biggest sellers and peaked at No. 2 back in the summer.

One of the more successful Eurodance acts, Haddaway managed a decent run of hits even in the sceptical UK, and perhaps more impressively this song was a US Top 20 hit (and I'm pretty sure that was before they started using it on Saturday Night Live). 'What Is Love?' even returned to the Top 100 last year after being used in a TV commercial. 

This isn't quite the fascinating cross-cultural fusion promised in the sleevenote, but it does seem to have more heft to it than a lot of hits in this style. Haddaway himself seems a pretty good singer hemmed in by the limits of the genre, and the whole thing is dated but kind of fun. Had I heard this as often as most people seemed to in 1993, though, I would surely have tired of it. 

Also appearing on: Now 28
Available on: The Album