The song's lyrics carry a message of the euphoria one feels when in love with a significant other, while the production bears some similarities to Coldplay's 2002 hit single "Clocks".

It achieved worldwide success by topping the charts in ten countries, including in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Italy and Switzerland.

Recalling that it brought tears to her eyes,[4] Rowland remarked, "I felt so much emotion from the track; something happened the first time I heard it, and it was just beautiful.

[6] At a later writing session, in a London hotel room, Rowland and songwriting duo Nervo wrote the lyrics and melody over Guetta's backing track.

[9] The finished song with Rowland's vocals and Guetta's production was premiered in March 2009 at the Ultra Music Festival in Miami.

[6] However, the song was not a top choice by Rowland's team, and remained unfinished until Guetta rediscovered it while compiling his One Love album.

Additionally, Ferraro used a number of French plug-in software to amplify many of the track's instruments, including the violin, strings and guitar samples.

Then upon completion of her work on the song, Ferraro sent "When Love Takes Over" to her husband, Bruno Gruel, and his Elektra Mastering Suite.

[15] Jason Lipshutz from Billboard magazine described it as a "pop number built around a lush piano loop and throbbing percussion"[5] with trance elements.

[21] Fraser McAlpine from BBC Online compared Rowland's vocals to those by Madonna in "Ray of Light", for their "hands-in-the-air pop song" qualities.

"[14] Simon Vozick-Levinson of Entertainment Weekly agreed calling the song the "most memorable from the album" and recalling "Clocks" by Coldplay to make "a showstopper starring Kelly Rowland.

He also described the song as a "euphoric masterpiece" backed by "at least eight remixes " and the accompany vocals from "Destiny's Child songbird Kelly Rowland on hand for a diva masterclass.

"The genius ingredients include a thinly reworked go at the piano riff to 'Clocks' by Coldplay and handclaps ... And the fairy dust is...well...it's your standard dance-pop production, actually."

Other elements of the song such as the "bed of synthistrings, a skippy beat, a breakdown, some riffing glassy electronics and a dramatic, cinematic bottom end drone" were praised.

Fusing classic dance beats with a heady, emotionally charged vocal, it's a world away from the mid-tempo R&B numbers with which she started her solo career.

"[21] However, Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times was less impressed than the other critics, simply noting the song as "a cheesy synthpop makeover of Coldplay's 'Clocks'."

[31] Following is strong run on the charts the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP) awarded the single a Gold certification for selling 150,000+ copies.

[36] "When Love Takes Over" also achieved success in Europe, topping charts in Belgium (Wallonia),[37] Czech Republic,[38] Hungary,[39] Ireland,[40] Italy,[41] Slovakia,[42] Switzerland[43] and the United Kingdom.

[50][51][52][53][54][55][56] In the United Kingdom, Guetta and Rowland's original version debuted at number seven on the UK Singles Chart, having sold 25,000 copies.

[60] "When Love Takes Over" was awarded a double Platinum certification by the British Phonographic Industry in September 2022 for sales and stream of over 1,200,000 units.

[64] These reflections and more behind the scenes footage were revealed in the video clip "Making of When Love Takes Over" which was uploaded to Guetta's official YouTube channel on 1 June 2009.

Through the video a number of street performers join the gathering crowd, including a motocross bicycler, a skateboarder, and a b-boy Cloud.

[She] gives her best Beyoncé-type stares straight into the camera (but we're sure that's just a coincidence)... Guetta, who is relegated to a supporting role in his own video, shows up pushing his gear on a cart, looking basically like any other homeless guy hanging out in Venice."

"The video could have built on the great beat that builds within the song and the feeling of abandon that falling in love can bring you, but, instead, we get a telegenic couple making out who seem to drop in from nowhere.

[82] Following Cardle's performance, "When Love Takes Over" jumped twelve places on UK Dance Chart, to number seventeen.

"[5] Additionally British singer Cheryl Cole (of Girls Aloud) credited "When Love Takes Over" for inspiring her taste and preference in dance music, which in turn influenced her second solo single "3 Words" (featuring will.i.am).

Rowland relates: "I spent about a year of my life in Europe really listening to a whole bunch of Europeans DJs and hearing dance music a lot on the radio and really loving it.

"[3] In 2010, following the success of "When Love Takes Over" and the duo's musical chemistry, Guetta was asked to work on Rowland's third studio album.

In their article, the critics named "When Love Takes Over" at the top of the list, saying that the song "repositioned Kelly Rowland as a solo vocalist with chops on her own.

[86] In 2023, Season 15 of RuPaul's Drag Race used "When Love Takes Over" as the lip-sync song in episode 14 between contestants Anetra and Mistress Isabelle Brooks.