Love Is a Battlefield

Infobox Single
Name = Love Is a Battlefield


Artist = Pat Benatar
from Album = Live from Earth
A-side =
B-side =
Released = 1983
Format = 7", 12"
Recorded = 1983
Genre = Rock, Pop, dance
Length =
Label = Chrysalis Records
Writer = Holly Knight, Mike Chapman
Producer = Neil Geraldo, Peter Coleman
Certification =
Last single = "Anxiety (Get Nervous)" (1982)
This single = "Love Is a Battlefield" (1983)
Next single = "Lipstick Lies" (1984)

"Love Is a Battlefield" is a song written by Holly Knight and Mike Chapman, after Pat Benatar asked Chapman to write her a hit song. [cite web
url=http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=11627
title="Love Is a Battlefield" Songfacts
publisher= Songfacts
accessdate=2008-08-21 ] It was released as a single from Benatar's album "Live from Earth", which was popular in 1983 and 1984. The single has been certified gold and is her most successful single in the Americas, as it topped "Billboard"'s Mainstream Rock Chart and made number five on the "Billboard" Hot 100. It topped the Australian singles chart for five weeks in 1984.

The video, which depicted Benatar as a teenage runaway, was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video and was viewable on the DVD for the movie "13 Going on 30". The single was unlike most of Benatar's previous work, as it featured an electronic dance element, but guitars and drums were still present. The song won Benatar a Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.

Chart performance

Covers

Zwan recorded "Love Is a Battlefield" in 2002 for the movie "Spun". The song was also covered by MorissonPoe on their debut album "Evolution" (2007), produced by Nile Rodgers and D.S. Poe; the video for this song was directed by R3Y Gutierrez for DarkHak. It has appeared in many versions of the Idol series, including "American Idol" when it was sung by Carrie Underwood. It was also covered by Jann Arden on her 2007 album, "Uncover Me"; and by Mary J. Blige and Shakira in the VH1's "Divas 2002". The track was covered by Hilary Duff on her Dignity Tour 07/08 in support of her third studio album "Dignity", and is rumoured to be recorded for her next album. Brooke White, the fifth placed finalist on season seven of "American Idol", performed this song on the Top 16 with a much more mellow sound with only an acoustic guitar playing the background. Cher also sung the song during her 1992 Love Hurts Tour and has reprised it again for her Colosseum concert series. It is also covered on the debut album "Severed Ties" by Australian band The Amity Affliction in 2008.

In popular culture

The song has been used twice on "The Singing Bee" game show, on July 17 and August 6 of 2007. In the latter episode, a contestant sung the entire chorus of the song to advance, gaining a standing ovation from the crowd. In July 2008, Katherine St-Laurent covered the song on Canadian Idol.

In the 2005 movie Domino, Mickey Rourke, playing Ed Moseby, states that he played with Benatar earlier in his career, but only when he needed money. When Domino says that she loves Pat Benatar, Ed replies: "Yeah, who doesn't? Love is a battlefield, baby."

Among other Pat Benatar references in the show, "30 Rock" features character Tracy Jordan singing the song on stage at a strip club in the pilot episode.

The music video appears in an episode of "That '80s Show" and in the movie "13 Going on 30".

An episode of popular Canadian teen drama "" is named after this song.

It also featured on the soundtrack of the popular Playstation 2/PSP game .

An episode of the animated comedy "South Park", entitled "Red Man's Greed" depicts the residents of South Park standing up to an invasion by walking down the streets and on the roof tops, singing an a cappella version of the song and mimicking the original music video. It was also featured in the episode "Ike's Wee Wee", where Mr. Mackey sings the song drunk, and adds his signature catchphrase "mmkay" after every pause in the main chorus.

References