It was released in November 1984 as the love theme and lead single from their fifth album, Agent Provocateur.
[9][10][11] Despite Gramm's claims, Foreigner's then-bassist Rick Wills states that "I Want to Know What Love Is" was solely written by Jones.
The song features backing vocals from the New Jersey Mass Choir affiliated with the Gospel Music Workshop of America, Dreamgirls star Jennifer Holliday, and featured keyboard work by Thompson Twins frontman Tom Bailey.
[14] Cash Box reviewed the single, calling it "a highly dramatic and ultimately very touching song which amply displays Foreigner's musical talents and versatility.
"[15] Cash Box specifically praised the band's performances, especially that of lead singer Gramm, who they said "delivers a moving and personal quality which captures the essence of the lyrics.
[15] Billboard said that the "dramatic mood piece grows out of quiet introspection into a full-blown production number with choir.
"[16] "I Want to Know What Love Is" reached number one on the UK Singles Chart on January 15, 1985, displacing Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?
", staying there for three weeks, and knocked Madonna's long-running "Like a Virgin" out of number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on February 2, 1985.
The song has received positive retrospective reviews from critics, with Bret Adams of AllMusic writing: "It's not hard to see why it became Foreigner's first number one single.
The single's B-side, "Street Thunder (Marathon Theme)," is an instrumental track originally appearing on The Official Music of the XXIII Olympiad – Los Angeles 1984 and later on the band's 2-CD compilation Jukebox Heroes: The Foreigner Anthology (2000).
Soon after Foreigner's single topped the charts, the New Jersey Mass Choir released its own similar-sounding version of the song on an album also titled I Want to Know What Love Is.
"I Want to Know What Love Is" was covered by Australian singer Tina Arena and her recording was released as a single in 1998 from her album In Deep.
This version of the song includes a previously unrecorded bridge between the second and third choruses, specifically written for Tina Arena by Mick Jones.
This version of the song was included in a popular Brazilian soap opera, Senhora do Destino.
Digital download Remixes In the US, the song peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.
"I Want to Know What Love Is" was covered by American singer Mariah Carey and released as the second single on September 22, 2009, from her twelfth studio album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel (2009).
[81] The single was generally well received by critics; Australian magazine Rhyme & Reason stated that "[While Carey stayed] [...] true to the original, this piano-led remake is less an overhaul of the classic '80s hit than it is a modest but impressive update.
[80] Writing in a Los Angeles Times music blog, Todd Martens said, "[T]ackling a well-known power ballad seems like a safe choice.
[85] "I Want to Know What Love Is" was also a successful hit on the Dance Club Songs chart, peaked at #2 on the week of December 19, 2009.
Boosted by its inclusion in the international soundtrack for the popular telenovela Viver a Vida, the song stayed at number one for 27 consecutive weeks on the airplay chart, becoming the longest running number one song ever in the country.
Carey filmed a music video for "I Want to Know What Love Is" in September 2009 in New York City, directed by Hype Williams.
[89] The video features Carey singing in Yankee Stadium, intercut with shots of the audience, often accompanied by loved ones, and some glimpses into the tough times in their past, as they grow emotional from the song's performance.
Carey wears the signature curly hairstyle from the initial stages of her career circa 1990–1993, maintaining the Memoirs theme of the album.
[91] A New York radio station contest featured as its prize a mini concert by Carey at the P.C.