About the song, Erica Russel of PopCrush stated "Lana returns to her shadowy, cinematic pop roots (a la 2012’s glistening Born to Die) to craft an enchanting mid-tempo ode to the hope of youth and young love." Jake Viswanath from V Magazine similarly commented that the song is "an uplifting ballad that’s more than reminiscent of the Born to Die era." Australian music source FasterLouder wrote "The song is full ambient glam-pop madness and quite possibly Peak Lana Del Rey." During June, 2017, Billboard placed "Love" at number 46 on their list of the "50 Best Songs of 2017 So Far". "Love" was met with a very positive reaction from many fans and critics upon release. As of July 2017, "Love" is certified gold in Brazil, and as of September 2017 it is also certified gold in Sweden. It impacted contemporary hit radio in the United Kingdom on February 24, 2017, and on March 28, 2017, it impacted alternative radio in the United States. It peaked at #2 on the Worldwide iTunes Song Chart. Also, in less than 24 hours, the song became #1 on the iTunes charts in 15 countries, and in the top 10 in 60 countries. The official audio and official music video both became the most trending video on YouTube upon being posted. 1 on the Billboard + Twitter Trending 140 chart, and became trending on Twitter. In less than 24 hours, it rocketed to No. Upon its release, "Love" was an extremely commercially successful single. The track was elongated slightly for the music video, featuring eight bars of instrumental introduction rather than four and a longer outro. The track features syncopated drums, electric piano, synthesized strings and soundscaping that was a signature feature of the sound on Born to Die. "Love" is a down-tempo rock influenced ballad running at four minutes and thirty-nine seconds with an approximate tempo of 99 beats per minute in the key of B♭ major. Lyrically, it describes how the nihilistic and hedonistic activities of the younger generation can make them "feel crazy" but reconciles this with the feeling of being in love. I was just feeling like I wanted a song that made me feel a little more positive when I sang it." Composition The last 16 months, things were kind of crazy in the US, and in London when I was there. It doesn’t sound that retro, but I was listening to a lot of Shangri-Las and wanted to go back to a bigger, more mid-tempo, single-y sound. In an interview with Courtney Love for Dazed magazine, Del Rey talked about writing the song and said: "I’m glad it’s the first thing out. As well as additional strings not used in the released version.
This demo features a different intro and outro, and slightly different instrumental. An earlier version of the song, titled "Young and in Love", surfaced February 9, 2020. ĭuring March of 2017, three snippets of demo stems from "Love" leaked online via an Instagram account. On March 28, 2017, a Snapchat filter to promote the song became available worldwide. Two days later, the official music video for the song was released on her Vevo channel. Later that day Del Rey uploaded the official audio on her personal YouTube channel. On February 18, the official version of the single was rush-released worldwide on all music services. The video edit of the song leaked in its entirety the same day before any official announcement from Del Rey or her team. The next day, promotional posters advertising the music video for "Love", directed by Rich Lee, were found across Los Angeles. On February 16, 2017, a five second snippet of the chorus of the song was leaked online. It serves as the first and lead single from Lust for Life. When Del Rey was asked about the song by a fan on January 28, 2017, she responded by saying, "You're gonna love it. "Love" was registered under the title "Young & In Love" during early January 2017. 11.3 Love CD by Polydor and Universal Music Group in UK.11.2 Love CD by Polydor and Universal Music Group in UK.11.1 Love CD by Polydor and Universal Music France in France.