Over the course of the summer of 2007, Sara Bareilles dominated the radio waves with her bubbly hit "Love Song." Radio stations were pumping it 24/7, web downloads were flying off the cyber-shelves, it was an iTunes song of the day, it was a featured song of the day for Starbucks. It was placed in a Rhapsody commercial. Sara B showcased it on the Late Late Show in addition to several others. It seemed like everyone on the planet was singing out, "I'm not gonna write you a love song 'cause you asked for it 'cause you need one, you see."
So, where did this this poppy hit originate from? A bad relationship, a broken heart?
No, the explanation is actually quite a bit more funny than that.
Believe it or not, the song is actually directed at her record label! She penned the song to tell about her frustration with the executives for constantly asking her to produce more traditionally mainstream pop material. It's actually the same old set-up, truthfully. A company wants to work with an artist because they posess that "special quality" that sets them apart from all the others, and then starts to pressure them to change - to change to become like all the others.
I doubt they're mad at Sara now, however. The artistic pressure that she documented in "Love Song" has made them a lot of CD sales, and through that a lot of cash. If most songwriters could generate that amount of sales criticizing them, I'm certain they would not be upset about it.
As a matter of fact, they might even instigate conflict merely to start it!
For now, however, Sara B remains the one artist on the summer charts to have a hit that's written about conflict, not with a boyfriend or an ex-boyfriend, but with a big company.
And I think that's a record that's most likely going to stay.
Find out more about
Sara Bareilles and the catchy, "
I'm Not Gonna Write You a Love Song" at http://acousticvids.com.
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