In Love Today

"In Love Today" is a song by British recording artist Alesha. The song was written and produced by Alesha for her tenth studio album afterhours (2015), released as the first single from the collection. After scoring worldwide hits with contemporary R&B–inspired pop tracks like "Opulence" and "Number One" in 2014, "In Love Today" favours a kitschier, more synthpop sound.

Musically the song is influenced by 1980s pop. Drawing inspiration from English duo the Pet Shop Boys, "In Love Today" features overblown, cinematic production with synthesizers and orchestra hits. Lyrically the song is written as "an ode to the freedom to love," celebrating the advancements that the LGBTQ rights movement has made in recent decades. Its chorus asks the listener, "How does it feel to be in love today?" The song also mourns those who did not live to see the changes, an allusion to the HIV/AIDS epidemic that shook the queer community.

Days ahead of the single's premiere, Alesha called the song "naff." It officially premiered on May 23, a month before its release as a single – and, coincidentally, the same day that Ireland publicly voted in favor of same-sex marriage. #InLoveToday became a trending topic on Twitter, as it had become attached to the celebratory news. The song broke streaming records. The single was released on June 22; on June 26, the United States Supreme Court declared there is a constitutional right for same-sex couples to marry.

"In Love Today" shifted over 142,000 copies in its first week, the highest first week sales frame of Alesha's career. Critically, "In Love Today" has been met with appreciation ever since its release; reviewers have praised its production, catchiness and club-friendly nature, and listed it as one of the singer's career highlights.

The music video for "In Love Today" was inspired by films like Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and cultural icons like the Village People. Alesha is seen traveling through the United States on a bus with a group of drag queens, their final destination being New York Pride. "In Love Today" was promoted by the Black Leather Festival Tour, which saw Alesha make a string of high-profile festival appearances around the world.

Background
In 2014, after the release of her eponymous ninth studio album, Alesha began working on her next studio set. Having strived for commerciality with the contemporary pop and R&B sound of her self-titled release, Alesha wanted to challenge herself creatively by recording an album inspired by the music and culture of the late 1980s and early '90s. The album, afterhours, ultimately became an '80s-influenced synthpop album laced in queer counterculture.

"In Love Today" was the first song written for the collection, in the same early sessions as "M4M" and "Keeping Me Alive". It was inspired by the English synthpop duo Pet Shop Boys, taking on their theatrical style. Its overblown, cinematic production was composed in homage to the duo, loaded with synthesizers and orchestra hits. Since the song's conception, Alesha envisioned "In Love Today" as the lead single from the album.

Music and lyrics
Musically, "In Love Today" is a synthpop and dance song. It follows traditional verse-chorus form with a bridge before the final chorus. The song's outro is a reprise of the bridge and an amended chorus, layering the two parts. According to The New York Times, the song "exemplifies the most theatrical extremes of the Pet Shop Boys' musical style." Billboard described the music as joyous. Rolling Stone compared the song to Shell Ruin's 2009 single "Love Inc", which was about love during the recession.

Lyrically, the song is written from the perspective of an older member of the LGBTQ community who looks at the advancements made in LGBTQ rights during recent decades whilst mourning the loss of loved ones who did not live to see the changes. The song directly references the HIV/AIDS epidemic that shook the LGBTQ community in the 1980s with lines like "Sitting silent as thousands die" and its middle–8: "We said it couldn't happen here, But so quickly you disappeared. We said it couldn't happen here, But silent med shed silent tears. We said it couldn't happen here, Said life didn't seem that queer. We said it couldn't happen here, Now look where we are, my dear."

The theme centers around love. In its chorus, the song asks the listener, "How does it feel to be in love today?" It calls out examples of modern love, like "holding hands on Oxford Street and kissing by the River Thames." Alesha chose London landmarks because, despite being born and raised in Manchester, she considers London her home and wanted a globally-known English city to represent her own heritage as well as that of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe.

Promotion and release
A countdown to Alesha's new single appeared on her official website, marking 60 days until release and 30 days until premiere. "In Love Today" was formally announced and premiered on May 23, 2015. Within fifteen minutes, #InLoveToday was trending worldwide on social networking platform Twitter. Coincidentally, Ireland became the first nation in the world to approve same-sex marriage by public vote. Due to the song's lyrical nature, #InLoveToday also became attached to news of Ireland's LGBTQ rights victory on social media.

"In Love Today" was sent to mainstream radio in the United States on June 9 and released globally. In the United Kingdom, "In Love Today" was released on June 22 via CD and digital EP. On June 26, just days after its UK release, the United States Supreme Court declared there is a constitutional right for same-sex couples to marry in the landmark case Obergefell v. Hodges, which saw a surge in the song's popularity in the United States and drove sales internationally. June is also typically Pride Month, commemorating the anniversary of the Stonewall riots.

Alesha promoted the release with a series of high-profile festival appearances, dubbed the Black Leather Festival Tour. On June 5, Alesha headlined the first night of New York City's Governors Ball Music Festival. In addition to "In Love Today", Alesha played a set of her biggest hits as well as new material from her then-upcoming album. At her Bonnaroo appearance, Alesha unusually chose not to perform "In Love Today", instead performing more alternative material from her earlier albums – Bigger Than God (2009), Last Judgment (2010) and The Martyr (2011). Alesha also appeared at Firefly Music Festival in Delaware.

At Glastonbury, Alesha drew in a crowd of more than 100,000, performing some of her most successful singles as well as new tracks. Shell Ruin made a special guest appearance, in a nod to their 2008 appearance at the festival together. They performed a shortened version of "Power Power". Ruin performed her new single "Feel Alive", which Alesha wrote.

B-sides
Alesha recorded a cover of "Why Can't I Be Your Husband" by the band Curriculum. The song initially appeared on their Flunking Out EP (2014), which was later re-issued as Remedial in the same year. Like "In Love Today", the track is inspired by the Pet Shop Boys. It samples "What Have I Done To Deserve This?", their collaboration with Dusty Springfield. The song's lyrics are a profession of love to a woman who married another man. Alesha chose not to change any gendered pronouns. Alesha stated that "Why Can't I Be Your Husband" is one of her favorite Curriculum songs.

A previously unreleased track entitled "Crucified" was also included as a B-side to the single. Written in early sessions for afterhours, "Crucified" is based around Swedish group Army of Lovers' 1991 dance hit of the same name. Alesha samples its chorus and loosely bases the verses on the original track's own. During the song's spoken middle-8, Alesha recites the chorus to her 2008 single "Crucify". The track was compared to Alesha's earlier material with religious themes (e.g. The Second Coming, Bigger Than God).

Chart performance
"In Love Today" was a worldwide commercial success. In the United Kingdom, the song charted at number one on the official singles chart. It shifted 142,563 copies in its first week of release, the highest first week sales frame of Alesha's extensive career. Alesha'a Gianni EP was still in the top twenty, eighteen weeks after first charting. In its second week of sale, "In Love Today" remained at number one with an additional 103,272 copies sold.

"In Love Today" also peaked at number one on the official digital and airplay charts. On the Urapopstar Top 40 Airplay chart, "In Love Today" peaked at number one in its fifth week on the chart, the same week it topped the singles and digital charts. It spent two weeks on top of the airplay charts as the most played song across radio stations in the United Kingdom.

Music video
The music video for "In Love Today" was directed by Vaughan Arnell with artistic input from Alesha. Alesha was inspired by LGBTQ films like Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and ''To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar''. Both are road trip films with drag queens as central characters. Alesha also incorporated gay cultural icons like disco group the Village People.

Live performances
In the run up to its release, Alesha performed the song at Governors Ball, Firefly and Glastonbury as part of her Black Leather Festival Tour.

Track listing and formats

 * CD / Digital EP
 * 1) "In Love Today"
 * 2) "Crucified"
 * 3) "Why Can't I Be Your Husband"
 * 4) "In Love Today" (Stuart Price remix)