"The Meaning of Love" is the second single from Pop Idol winner Michelle McManus, released under the mononym "Michelle" on 5 April 2004.

[3] Soon after the single's commercial failure, BMG dropped McManus from the label.

[4] Daily Record critic John Dingwall called the song a "great ballad";[5] a colleague of his, however, wrote: "Michelle's going to have to aim much higher... 'The Meaning of Love', while good, isn't great.

"[6] Writing for AllMusic, journalist Sharon Mawer described the track as "a charity sounding record without the All Saints rhythm [of 'All This Time'], without the multi-vocals, and without much of a tune either".

Considered a flop, with sales of only 8,000 in its first week, one newspaper drew comparisons of McManus' fortunes to Popstars: The Rivals rejects One True Voice.