"Paradise"
Single by Sade
from the album Stronger Than Pride
B-side"Keep Hangin' On"
ReleasedMay 1988
Recorded1987
Genre
Length4:02 (album version)
3:37 (single version)
LabelEpic
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)Sade Adu
Producer(s)Sade
Sade singles chronology
"Love Is Stronger Than Pride"
(1988)		 "Paradise"
(1988)		 "Nothing Can Come Between Us"
(1988)
Music video
"Paradise" on YouTube

"Paradise" is a song by English band Sade from their third studio album, Stronger Than Pride (1988). It was released in May 1988 by Epic as the album's second single. It is Sade's most successful track on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, peaking at number one for one week. The single also reached number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 21 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart. Its music video was directed by Alex McDowell. "Paradise" is often considered one of the band's signature songs, alongside "Smooth Operator" (1984), "The Sweetest Taboo" (1985), and "No Ordinary Love" (1992).

Composition

"Paradise" is written in the key of F minor in common time with a tempo of 102 beats per minute. Adu's vocals span from F3 to A♭4.[1]

Critical reception

The song was described as "swaggering" and "sinewy" by Lloyd Bradley of BBC Music.[2] Pan-European magazine Music & Media viewed it as a "brooding, percussion-orientated, summery track. Highly swinging through its persistent, up-tempo, although at the same time somehow restrained, groove."[3] John Tague from NME said, "...well, 'Paradise' is no different to any other song she's done in the last four years, as cooly sculpted as her features and about as engaging as an average Daily Telegraph leader."[4] Frank Guan of Vulture commented, "Any song titled 'Paradise' had better sound like it, and her version doesn't disappoint – in fact, no song better expresses the phase of love where disappointment is impossible."[5]

Music video

Released in June 1988 and directed by British narrative designer and creative director Alex McDowell, the accompanying music video for "Paradise" features Sade joining in a celebration in a Mexican village and dancing with a young girl.

Track listings

  • 7-inch single[6]
A. "Paradise" (remix) – 3:35
B. "Paradise" (instrumental) – 4:00
  • 12-inch single[6]
A. "Paradise" (extended remix) – 5:33
B1. "Paradise" (extended instrumental) – 4:01
B2. "Paradise" (extra beats) – 2:11
  • UK and European CD single
  1. "Paradise" (extended version) – 5:30
  2. "Hang On to Your Love" (US remix) – 5:13
  3. "Keep Hangin' On" (live) – 2:59
  4. "Paradise" (instrumental) – 4:02
  • US mini CD single
  1. "Paradise" (remix) – 3:35
  2. "Super Bien Total" – 4:03
  • Japanese mini CD single
  1. "Paradise" (remix) – 3:39
  2. "Paradise" (instrumental) – 4:03

Charts

References

  1. ↑ "Sade – Paradise". musicnotes.com. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  2. ↑ Bradley, Lloyd (2011). "Sade The Ultimate Collection Review". BBC Music. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  3. ↑ "Previews: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. 11 June 1988. p. 21. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  4. ↑ Tague, John (28 May 1988). "Singles". NME. p. 16. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  5. ↑ Guan, Frank. "All 73 Sade Songs, Ranked From Worst to Best". Vulture. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  6. 1 2 3 "Sade – Paradise" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  7. ↑ "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 17 June 2014". Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2015 – via Imgur.
  8. ↑ "Sade – Paradise" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  9. ↑ "RPM 100 Singles" (PDF). RPM. Vol. 48, no. 15. 30 July 1988. p. 6. ISSN 0033-7064 – via World Radio History.
  10. ↑ "RPM Adult Contemporary" (PDF). RPM. Vol. 48, no. 18. 20 August 1988. p. 12. ISSN 0033-7064 – via World Radio History.
  11. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  12. ↑ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 2 June 2022. Select "Singoli" in the "Tipo" field, type "Sade" in the "Artista" field and press "cerca".
  13. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Sade" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  14. ↑ "Sade – Paradise" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  15. ↑ "Sade: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  16. ↑ "Sade Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  17. ↑ "Sade Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  18. ↑ "Sade Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  19. ↑ "Sade Chart History (Dance Singles Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  20. ↑ "Sade Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  21. ↑ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending July 23, 1988". Cash Box. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  22. ↑ "Cash Box Top Black Contemporary Singles – Week ending July 16, 1988". Cash Box. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  23. ↑ "Adult Contemporary Songs – Year-End 1988". Billboard. Archived from the original on 6 November 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  24. ↑ "1988 The Year in Music & Video – Top Black Singles" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 100, no. 52. 24 December 1988. p. Y-23. ISSN 0006-2510 – via World Radio History.
  25. ↑ "The Cash Box Year-End Charts: 1988 – Top 50 Black Contemporary Singles". Cash Box. 31 December 1988. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
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