Sacred Love
Studio album by
Sting
Released29 September 2003 (2003-09-29)[1]
Recorded2002–2003
Studio
GenrePop rock, electronic, pop, world
Length52:37
LabelA&M
ProducerSting, Kipper
Sting chronology
...All This Time
(2001) 		Sacred Love
(2003) 		Songs from the Labyrinth
(2006)
Singles from Sacred Love
  1. "Send Your Love"
    Released: August 2003
  2. "Whenever I Say Your Name"
    Released: November 2003
  3. "Stolen Car (Take Me Dancing)"
    Released: 26 April 2004 [2]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic66/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[4]
Entertainment WeeklyB−[5]
Mojo[3]
PopMatters[6]
Q[3]
Rolling Stone[7]

Sacred Love is the seventh studio album by the English musician Sting. The album was released on 29 September 2003. The album featured smoother, R&B-style beats and experiments collaborating with hip-hop artist Mary J. Blige and sitar player Anoushka Shankar. Some songs like "Inside" and "Dead Man's Rope" were well received; and Sting had experimented with new sounds, in particular the more rock-influenced "This War".[8]

Sting adapted the first quatrain of William Blake's Auguries of Innocence for the first four sung lines of "Send Your Love".

Sting's collaboration with Blige, "Whenever I Say Your Name", won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 46th Grammy Awards in 2004. The first single "Send Your Love" was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, but it lost to "Cry Me a River" by Justin Timberlake.[8]

In August 2015, Mylène Farmer and Sting duetted on Stolen Car and released it as the lead single from Farmer's tenth studio album, Interstellaires;[9] the track is produced by The Avener.[10]

Track listing

All tracks written by Sting. All tracks produced by Sting and Kipper; co-production on "Send Your Love" by Victor Calderone, and "Never Coming Home" by BT.

No.TitleLength
1."Inside"4:46
2."Send Your Love" (featuring Vicente Amigo)4:38
3."Whenever I Say Your Name" (featuring Mary J. Blige)5:25
4."Dead Man's Rope"5:44
5."Never Coming Home"4:58
6."Stolen Car (Take Me Dancing)"3:55
7."Forget About the Future"5:12
8."This War"5:29
9."The Book of My Life" (featuring Anoushka Shankar)6:14
10."Sacred Love"5:43

Bonus tracks

There have been multiple editions of this album. Some of them, such as the Japanese edition, feature various extra songs and remixes. Although the track list on the official Sting website includes a remix of "Send Your Love" and a live version of "Shape of My Heart", these are not always available.[8]

Depending on the edition, the following bonus tracks may be included:

Remix tracks

Personnel

Technical credits

Production credits

Charts

Certifications and sales

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[46] Platinum 100,000^
Czech Republic — 10,000[47]
France (SNEP)[48] Gold 100,000*
Germany (BVMI)[49] Gold 100,000^
Hungary (MAHASZ)[50] Gold 10,000^
Japan (RIAJ)[52] Gold 92,053[51]
Netherlands (NVPI)[53] Gold 40,000^
Russia (NFPF)[54] Platinum 20,000*
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[55] Platinum 40,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[56] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[57] Platinum 1,000,000^
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[58] Platinum 1,000,000*
Worldwide — 2,500,000[59]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "Sting – Sacred Love (Album)". swedishcharts. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  2. ^ "Sting | Discography | Stolen Car (Take Me Dancing), CD". Sting.com.
  3. ^ a b c "Critic reviews for Sacred Love". Metacritic. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  4. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Sacred Love – Sting: Overview". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  5. ^ Sinclair, Tom (3 October 2003). "Music Review: Sacred Love (2003) – Sting". Entertainment Weekly. No. 731. ISSN 1049-0434. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  6. ^ MacNeil, Jason (10 December 2003). "Sting: Sacred Love". PopMatters. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  7. ^ Wild, David (24 September 2003). "Sacred Love". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  8. ^ a b c "Sacred Love". Sting.com. 30 September 2003. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  9. ^ Presse, Prisma. "Mylène Farmer: Un nouvel album au titre évocateur - Gala". Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  10. ^ "Mylène Farmer et Sting en duo - Stolen Car en écoute intégrale - Mylene.Net".
  11. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Sting – Sacred Love". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  12. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Sting – Sacred Love" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  13. ^ "Ultratop.be – Sting – Sacred Love" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  14. ^ "Ultratop.be – Sting – Sacred Love" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  15. ^ "Sacred Love – Sting: Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  16. ^ "Top 40 Albums - 40 / 2003". Tracklisten. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  17. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Sting – Sacred Love" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  18. ^ "Sting: Sacred Love" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  19. ^ "Lescharts.com – Sting – Sacred Love". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  20. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Sting – Sacred Love" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  21. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2003. 39. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  22. ^ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 39, 2003". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  23. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Sting – Sacred Love". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  24. ^ "スティング-リリース-ORICON STYLE-ミュージック" [Highest position and charting weeks of Sacred Love by Sting]. oricon.co.jp (in Japanese). Oricon Style. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
  25. ^ "Charts.nz – Sting – Sacred Love". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  26. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Sting – Sacred Love". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  27. ^ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  28. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Sting – Sacred Love". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  29. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  30. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Sting – Sacred Love". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  31. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Sting – Sacred Love". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  32. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  33. ^ "Sting – Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  34. ^ "Austriancharts.at - Jahreshitparade 2003" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  35. ^ "Rapports annuels 2003". Ultratop (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  36. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2003" (in Dutch). Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  37. ^ "Top de l'année Top Albums 2003" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  38. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  39. ^ "Årslista Album – År 2005" (in Swedish). Hitlistan.se. Sverigetopplistan. Archived from the original on 4 March 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  40. ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2003". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  41. ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2003". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  42. ^ "Billboard.BIZ – Year-end Charts – Billboard 200 – 2003". Billboard. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
  43. ^ "Top 50 Global Best Selling Albums for 2003" (PDF). International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 November 2008. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  44. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2004" (in Dutch). Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  45. ^ "Billboard.BIZ – Year-end Charts – Billboard 200 – 2004". Billboard. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
  46. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Sting – Sacred Love". Music Canada. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  47. ^ Vlasák, Vladimír (22 December 2003). "Králi roku jsou Bílá, Nohavica a Kabát: NEJPRODÁVANĚJŠÍ ALBA" (in Czech). iDNES.cz. Archived from the original on 12 March 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  48. ^ "French album certifications – Sting – Sacred Love" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  49. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Sting; 'Sacred Love')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  50. ^ "Adatbázis – Arany- és platinalemezek – 2003" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  51. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  52. ^ "Japanese album certifications – スティング – セイクレッド・ラヴ" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved 14 February 2013. Select 2004年3月 on the drop-down menu
  53. ^ "Dutch album certifications – Sting – Sacred Love" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 25 January 2020. Enter Sacred Love in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 2003 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
  54. ^ "International 2003". 2M (in Russian). Archived from the original on 24 January 2009. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  55. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Sacred Love')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  56. ^ "British album certifications – Sting – Sacred Love". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  57. ^ "American album certifications – Sting – Sacred Love". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  58. ^ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 2003". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  59. ^ Melinda Newman (13 December 2003). "Sting - A Portrait of The Artist" (PDF). Billboard. p. 23. Retrieved 14 May 2021 – via World Radio History.

External links

Sting
Authority control databases
Categories