I Knew I Loved You

"I Knew I Loved You" is a song by Australian pop duo Savage Garden, released as the second single from their second studio album, Affirmation. The song went straight to number one on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the band's second number one in the United States after "Truly Madly Deeply". It was the last song by an Australian artist to reach the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for over twelve years, until Gotye peaked at number one with his single "Somebody That I Used to Know" (featuring Kimbra) in 2012. The song also reached number one in Canada and Romania, number three in New Zealand and Sweden, number four in Australia and the top 10 in Norway and the United Kingdom.

For the 2007 song, see We All Love Ennio Morricone.

"I Knew I Loved You"
Single by Savage Garden
from the album Affirmation
B-side
Released28 September 1999 (1999-09-28)
Recorded1999
Genre
Length4:10
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Savage Garden singles chronology
"The Animal Song"
(1999)		 "I Knew I Loved You"
(1999)		 "Crash and Burn"
(2000)
Music video
"I Knew I Loved You" on YouTube

The music video features then teen actress Kirsten Dunst as Darren Hayes' love interest and received a heavy rotation on MTV.

Background

"I Knew I Loved You"'s lyrics refer to the joy and sense of completion one feels after finally finding the right person to love. The irrational nature of such love is emphasised through the pre-chorus ("I know that it might sound more than a little crazy, but I believe") and the chorus ("I knew I loved you before I met you, I think I dreamed you into life").

In June 2015, a series of videos was posted on the duo's Facebook page to provide background on the songs included on The Singles compilation album. The story behind "I Knew I Loved You" was thus narrated by guitarist Daniel Jones: having finished recording material for Affirmation, Hayes and Jones were challenged by Columbia Records executive Don Ienner to produce the next "Truly Madly Deeply". The duo argued that "Truly Madly Deeply" was a one-of-its-kind song and could not possibly replicated, but also realised that their second album lacked a love ballad. Hayes and Jones went on to compose "I Knew I Loved You" and submitted it to the record label's executives, who were delighted with the result as they felt it was a strong contender to succeed "Truly Madly Deeply" as the band's US chart topper.

Singer Darren Hayes further explained that the song was born out of a paradoxical situation, being a love song written "in about 40 minutes out of spite towards the record company" at a time when he felt "wounded by love".[1]

Music video

The music video was filmed by director Kevin Bray in August 1999 on a New York City Subway set that had previously been used on the sitcom Seinfeld.[2] It features Hayes playing out a romantic plot on a subway train, with a female passenger (played by American actress Kirsten Dunst) as the object of his affections.

At one point, the train comes to a stop due to a power outage (at 2:24); red emergency lighting comes on and everyone in the carriage joins hands. Hayes, who is sitting opposite his aforementioned love interest, extends his hand to her.

As they touch, the video cuts to a montage of the couple walking through a park, bathed in sunlight, laughing and holding hands. The video then cuts back to the carriage as the power comes back on and the train pulls into the station. Hayes and the woman exit with the other passengers, and share a fleeting glance before going their separate ways. Shots of the band performing alone on the subway platform and in the carriage are interspersed throughout the video. The video was uploaded on YouTube on 25 October 2009. As of April 2019, the video has received over 96 million views.

Critical reception

Bill Lamb from About.com noted "I Knew I Loved You" as a "romantic ballad".[3] AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine called it "hooky and memorable".[4] Larry Flick from Billboard described the song "as cool and crisp as the autumn air, this simple, direct ballad projects a sweet message of knowing love when you see it." He noted that the song "glides along amid a soft, easy beat, with vocalist Hayes sounding more at ease and confident than ever, like he's singing a timeless classic." He also added that "drenched harmonies add to the overall impact" and called it "absolutely enchanting, one of the most beautiful songs yet of 1999".[5] CantStopThePop stated that "this is the sound of every girl-gets-the-guy moment in every ‘90s teen movie, all rolled into one." They added that "what makes I Knew I Loved You stand out is the performance. We would say – with little hesitation – this is our favourite vocal that Darren Hayes delivered."[6] Bob Waliszewski of Plugged In said that it "describes how it feels to be hopelessly in love".[7]

Commercial performance

The song was a huge success in the United States, on the Billboard Hot 100, where it spent four weeks at the top, and an eventual 124 weeks on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart,[8] breaking the record for 123 weeks set by another of the duo's songs, "Truly Madly Deeply" (which, in terms of sales and later time spent on the Recurrents chart, is still the number one AC song of all time). It ranked number 21 on the All Time Adult Contemporary Chart. The song was also certified Platinum by the RIAA and became the highest-played song on US radio of 2000.

Track listing
  • United Kingdom

CD1

  1. "I Knew I Loved You" – 4:12
  2. "I Knew I Loved You" (acoustic version) – 4:08
  3. "Mine (And You Could Be)" – 4:29

CD2

  1. "I Knew I Loved You" (radio version) – 3:49
  2. "I Knew I Loved You" (club mix) – 8:26
  3. "Universe" – 4:20

Cassette

  1. "I Knew I Loved You" – 4:12
  2. "I Knew I Loved You" (acoustic version) – 4:08
  • America
  1. "I Knew I Loved You" – 4:12
  2. "I Knew I Loved You" (7" Mini-Me Remix) – 4:17
  • Australia
  1. "I Knew I Loved You" – 4:12
  2. "I Knew I Loved You" (acoustic version) – 4:08
  • Japan

Maxi-CD

  1. "I Knew I Loved You" – 4:12
  2. "I Knew I Loved You" (radio version) – 3:49
  3. "I Knew I Loved You" (acoustic version) – 4:08

Double A-side

  1. "Last Christmas" – 4:48
  2. "I Knew I Loved You" – 4:12
  • Europe

CD1

  1. "I Knew I Loved You" – 4:12
  2. "I Knew I Loved You" (radio version) – 3:49

CD2

  1. "I Knew I Loved You" – 4:12
  2. "I Knew I Loved You" (extended instrumental version) – 5:06
  3. "I Knew I Loved You" (Daniel's Remix) – 4:19
  4. "Mine (And You Could Be)" – 4:29

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[49] Platinum 70,000^
Sweden (GLF)[50] Platinum 30,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[51] Silver 200,000
United States (RIAA)[52] Gold 500,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone
sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

Cover versions

See also

References
  1. http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/darren-hayes-reflects-on-savage-garden-it-was-an-era-of-glam-excess-and-super-popstars-__13581/
  2. Savage Garden diary entry for 26 August 1999 Archived 19 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Lamb, Bill (11 September 2018). "Top 100 Pop Songs of 2000". About.com. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  4. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Savage Garden - Affirmation". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  5. "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. 25 September 1999. p. 24. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  6. "Savage Garden – I Knew I Loved You". CantStopThePop. 28 October 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  7. Waliszewski, Bob. "Affirmation". Plugged In. Focus on the Family. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  8. "CHART BEAT BONUS". Billboard.com. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  9. "Australian-charts.com – Savage Garden – I Knew I Loved You". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  10. "Austriancharts.at – Savage Garden – I Knew I Loved You" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  11. "Ultratop.be – Savage Garden – I Knew I Loved You" (in Dutch). Ultratip.
  12. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 10014." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  13. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 9751." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  14. Danish Singles Chart 5 November 1999
  15. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  16. "Lescharts.com – Savage Garden – I Knew I Loved You" (in French). Les classement single.
  17. "Offiziellecharts.de – Savage Garden – I Knew I Loved You". GfK Entertainment Charts.
  18. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (Vikuna 11.11. – 19.11. 1999 46. Vika)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 12 November 1999. p. 10. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  19. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – I Knew I Loved You". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  20. "Hits of the World – Italy" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 112 no. 3. 15 January 2000. p. 50. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  21. "Dutchcharts.nl – Savage Garden – I Knew I Loved You" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  22. "Charts.nz – Savage Garden – I Knew I Loved You". Top 40 Singles.
  23. "Norwegiancharts.com – Savage Garden – I Knew I Loved You". VG-lista.
  24. "Romanian Top 100: Top of the Year 2000" (in Romanian). Romanian Top 100. Archived from the original on 22 January 2005.
  25. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  26. "Swedishcharts.com – Savage Garden – I Knew I Loved You". Singles Top 100.
  27. "Swisscharts.com – Savage Garden – I Knew I Loved You". Swiss Singles Chart.
  28. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  29. "Savage Garden Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  30. "Savage Garden Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
  31. "Savage Garden Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard.
  32. "Savage Garden Chart History (Latin Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  33. "Savage Garden Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  34. "Savage Garden Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  35. "1999 ARIA Singles Chart". ARIA. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  36. "RPM 1999 Top 100 Hit Tracks". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  37. "RPM 1999 Top 100 Adult Contemporary". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  38. "End of Year Charts 1999". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  39. "Årslista Singlar, 1999" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  40. "Billboard Top 100 – 2000". Billboardtop100of.com. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  41. "Most Played Adult Contemporary Songs of 2000" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 8 no. 51. 22 December 2000. p. 56. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  42. "Most Played Adult Top 40 Songs of 2000" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 8 no. 51. 22 December 2000. p. 55. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  43. "Most Played Mainstream Top 40 Songs of 2000" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 8 no. 51. 22 December 2000. p. 54. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  44. "Most Played Rhythmic Top 40 Songs of 2000" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 8 no. 51. 22 December 2000. p. 56. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  45. "The Decade in Music – Hot 100 Songs" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 121 no. 50. 19 December 2009. p. 159. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  46. "Billboard's Top Adult Contemporary Songs of the 2000s". Retrieved 31 August 2010.
  47. "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  48. "The Top 100 Adult Contemporary Songs Ever". Billboard. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  49. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1999 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  50. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2000" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  51. "British single certifications – Savage Garden – I Knew I Loved You". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 17 September 2018. Select singles in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type I Knew I Loved You in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  52. "American single certifications – Savage Garden – I Knew I Loved You". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 17 September 2018. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
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