Hopelessly in Love is the debut album by English lovers rock singer Carroll Thompson, released in early 1981 by Carib Gems Records.

[1] Her singing voice nurtured in school and church choirs, and in her mid-teens she backing vocals on numerous pop songs following a brief tenure in the Frank Farian-managed disco group Sugar Cane.

[1] With Chin as producer, Thompson recorded the self-penned songs "I'm So Sorry" and "Simply in Love", which marked the debut of her mellow lovers rock sound, mixing reggae and rocksteady.

[3] The chart-topping success of the former song was unexpected as lovers rock was only beginning to become popular in the reggae charts,[4] but Thompson found making a living from music difficult, explaining: "I don't think producers really took women seriously.

[5] Hopelessly in Love was largely written by Thompson and showcases lovers rock's fusion of soul vocals, reggae rhythms and melancholic melodies.

[7] According to writers Ann Powers and Evelyn McDonnell, the album was one of several in the 1980s which disregarded typical portrayls of romance, wherein women are lonely without their male partners, with its broader themes.

"[4] The album cover was photographed by Des Bailey on Milton Avenue, London NW10,[7][11][12] behind the Stonebridge estate and near the C & B office in Harlesden,[13][9] and depicts Thompson sat on a car bonnet.

[2] According to Sheryl Garratt of the NME, Hopelessly in Love established Thompson as a British reggae star and became "a lover's rock classic: strong tunes, great dance rhythms, and a beautiful voice — sweet, but not too sickly.

"[4] The album helped signal the popularity of lovers rock alongside other black female artists of the late 1970s and early 1980s,[17] foreshadowing the emergence of dozens more singers in the genre.

[6] In 2007, The Guardian included Hopelessly in Love in their list of "1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die", writing that it captured lovers rock at its height, "when scores of London singers, mainly female, allied soul vocals to tough reggae rhythms and forlorn melodies."