Upon its release, "Stand Up for Love" received negative reviews from music critics, who criticized its composition and inclusion on #1's. Initially, the song was the group's only single not to enter any record charts; however, it peaked at number 37 in South Korea in 2014. The accompanying music video for the song, directed by Matthew Rolston, featured the trio singing the song, both individually and together. "Stand Up for Love" was performed live by Destiny's Child in November 2005 at the Jimmy Kimmel Live! show and on World Children's Day at the Ronald McDonald House in Los Angeles. Several South Korean groups and singers have covered the song.
Writing and production
"Stand Up for Love" was written by Canadian musician David Foster (pictured) along with his daughter Amy Foster-Gillies.
Canadian musician David Foster was inspired to write "Stand Up for Love" for poverty-stricken children and families which receive funds from charitable organization.[1] Destiny's Child lead singer Beyoncé acknowledged that they wanted to record the song for the people who help impoverished families.[1] She furthered by saying: "The kids we've met have no idea how much they've given us. We wanted to record this song for them, in hopes that people would hear their voice through ours."[2]Michelle Williams explained the song was her "favorite" and went on to describe it as "one of the best songs that we've done collectively", emphasizing the vocal performance.[3]
"Stand Up for Love" was composed and arranged by Foster, who also served as its co-writer along with his daughter Amy Foster-Gillies. Foster produced the song with Humberto Gatica, who also engineered and mixed it. The song was recorded at Chartmaker Studios and The Record Plant, and was mixed at the former. Nathan East was responsible for playing the bass, while Vinnie Colaiuta and Paulinho Da Costa handled the drums and percussion, respectively.[4]
"Stand Up for Love" is a pop and R&Bballad with a length of four minutes and 46 seconds.[5][6] According to the sheet music published by Peer International Corporation on the website Musicnotes.com, "Stand Up for Love" is set in common time with a slow tempo of seventy beats per minute. It is written in the key of A♭ major, and Destiny's Child's vocals range from the low note of E♭3 to the high note of E5.[7] Michael D. Clark from the Houston Chronicle compared Beyoncé's vocals with Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston "in an effort to play the weepy heartstrings".[8] Matthew Jacobs, writing on behalf of HuffPost compared the song's sound to a movie ballad from the 1990s, taken from an "empowering" animated movie.[9] Lyrically, the song encourages togetherness: "And I believe that in my life I will see / An end to hopelessness, or giving up, or suffering / If we all stand together this one time / Then no one will get left behind".[10]
In August 2007, the Society for the Promotion of Community Standards (SPCS) requested "Stand Up for Love" to be played on radio stations in New Zealand to reflect on child abuse after the Nia Glassie abuse case received widespread media attention.[15] Similarly, organizations Sensible Sentencing Trust, Family First, and For the Sake of Our Children Trust asked for increased airplay of the song during a three-minute silence, which was also requested by them.[16]
Critical reception
"Stand Up for Love" received negative reviews from most music critics. James Blake writing for BBC Online, described "Stand Up for Love" as a "sugary ballad".[5]Pitchfork Media's writer Jess Harvell criticized the song by writing: "Opener 'Stand Up for Love' is subtitled the '2005 World Children's Day Anthem', which should tell you all you really need to know, i.e. Diane Warren should be banned under the Geneva Conventions".[17] Fiona Mckinlay criticized the fact that the song was used as an opener for #1's and felt it wasn't "really causing any kind of reaction before they get started properly with Independent Woman Pt.1".[6]Houston Chronicle's Michael D. Clark described the track as "overwrought and overproduced; at best, it's a future prom theme".[8] Matthew Jacobs of The Huffington Post felt it was "great" the song was used for World's Children day but described it as a "total snoozefest".[9] Chuck Taylor of Billboard commented that the song lacked the potential to become a chart-topper. Taylor reviewed the song negatively, classifying it as a "schmaltzy" ballad aimed at adult contemporary radio, adding that it was a "disappointing nonstarter".[18]
Jim Kiest from the San Antonio Express-News wrote "hopefully 'Stand Up for Love' won't be [a number-one single]".[19] Aidin Vaziri of San Francisco Chronicle, who positively reviewed #1's, concluded his review by writing: "And the less said about the very new stuff, including the single 'Stand Up for Love (2005 World Children's Day Anthem),' the sweeter the memories".[20] Similarly, Hattie Collins of Yahoo! Music felt that "Stand Up for Love" was "stuffed full of lazy lyricisms and sloppily sentimentality" further describing it as "utterly vomitous".[21] She felt that the song was one of the material that "let this otherwise cracking compilation down".[21]Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani panned the song as "awful and saccharine" and felt that it "show[s] that the women of Destiny's Child are squarely focused on their (solo) futures".[22] In contrast, Lindsey Weber from Vulture put "Stand Up for Love" at number 16 on her list of the top 25 songs by Destiny's Child in 2013.[11]
The accompanying music video for "Stand Up for Love" was directed by Matthew Rolston. It was filmed in September 2005, following Destiny's Child final concert as part of their tour Destiny Fulfilled... and Lovin' It in Vancouver. MTV News described it as a performance video.[14] It features all members, wearing black dresses, singing their respective solo verses individually and later together during the song's chorus in front of a screen which displays videos of children and different scenery. During the end, the group is seen wearing white clothes and performing the song in a white setting; several shots are filmed using a black-and-white technique.[25] It was released via MTV's official website on October 25, 2005.[26] The video was also included on the video album Destiny's Child Video Anthology (2013).[27] At the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards Japan, "Stand Up for Love" received a nomination in the category for Best R&B Video, but lost to Ai's "Story".[24] The same year, the visual was nominated in the category for Outstanding Music Video at the 37th NAACP Image Awards, but lost to Alicia Keys' "Unbreakable" (2005).[23]
On December 29, 2008, Girls' Generation's Taeyeon, Davichi and Wonder Girls's Sunye, performed "Stand Up for Love" in a special stage called "Diva" at SBS Gayo Daejeon.[30][31] On June 3, 2011, South Korean band Rania, performed "Stand Up for Love" at MBC's radio programme Shimshimtapa.[32] In April 2013, singer Aram, a member of the South Korean group Global Icon, uploaded a cover of "Stand Up for Love". A writer from Allkpop described it as "beautiful" and praised her for "hit[ting] every note with perfect control".[33] At the 2014 Miss Thailand World, contestant Maeya performed "Stand Up for Love". Bangkok Post's writer Pim Ungphakorn described it as a "beautiful rendition".[34]
