Foreigner's only #1 hit. A song that transcends rock. Released 1984 on the album Agent Provocateur.
"I Want To Know What Love Is" is Foreigner's only #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 — and it topped charts in multiple countries simultaneously, reaching #1 in the UK, Australia, and across Europe. Released in 1984 from Agent Provocateur, the song is unlike anything else in the Foreigner catalog: a gospel-infused power ballad that features the New Jersey Mass Choir and Jennifer Holliday on backing vocals. It's a song that transcended its genre, crossed every demographic boundary, and became one of the most emotionally powerful recordings in pop history.
Written by Mick Jones during what he's described as a vulnerable period in his life, "I Want To Know What Love Is" came from a genuine place of emotional searching — not a calculated attempt at a hit ballad, but a real question posed honestly. Jones has said he almost didn't share it with the band because it felt too personal, too exposed. The vulnerability in the lyrics is palpable: this isn't a songwriter crafting clever metaphors, it's a man asking an honest question and not pretending to already know the answer.
The decision to add a gospel choir wasn't in the original concept — it emerged during the recording process as a way to elevate the song's emotional truth beyond what a rock band alone could deliver. That instinct proved transformative. The choir didn't just add harmonies; it changed the song's entire spiritual register, turning a personal confession into a communal prayer. What started as one man's quiet vulnerability became a universal human longing expressed through the combined voices of dozens.
Jones has spoken about how the song almost didn't make the album. The rest of the band initially wasn't sure a gospel-influenced power ballad fit alongside their harder rock material. But the emotional honesty of the composition was undeniable, and once the choir was added during recording, everyone in the studio knew they had something extraordinary — a song that would define the band's legacy more than any of their harder-edged material.
Produced by Mick Jones and Alex Sadkin at Atlantic Studios, the recording features the New Jersey Mass Choir — arranged by choir director Tom Bailey — and Jennifer Holliday, the Tony Award-winning star of Dreamgirls. The choir's presence transforms the song from a rock ballad into something spiritual: a communal plea for understanding that carries the weight of gospel tradition. Their voices don't simply accompany Lou Gramm's lead — they answer it, creating a call-and-response dynamic rooted in the African-American church tradition.
Gramm's vocal performance starts intimate and vulnerable before building to a devastating climax as the choir swells behind him. The production is deliberately restrained in the verses, creating space for the emotional explosion of the chorus. Every element is placed with intention — the synthesizer wash that opens the track, the gradual addition of instrumentation, the moment the choir enters and everything changes. It's a masterclass in dynamic arrangement, building tension through restraint and releasing it with overwhelming force.
The recording sessions reportedly moved everyone in the studio. When the choir first sang alongside Gramm's vocal, people stopped working and simply listened. That reaction — from seasoned studio professionals who had heard everything — confirmed what Jones already suspected: this wasn't just a good song. It was something that would outlast everything else they'd ever recorded.
"I Want To Know What Love Is" reached #1 in the United States, United Kingdom, and multiple other countries — Foreigner's only chart-topper and their biggest-selling single. The song has become a universal anthem, used at weddings, funerals, in films, TV shows, and sporting events. It transcends the "rock ballad" category entirely and exists in its own space as one of the most emotionally resonant recordings ever made.
The song has been covered by dozens of artists across genres, from Mariah Carey to rock bands, and continues to chart on streaming platforms decades after release. Each new generation discovers it and responds to its emotional directness — proof that genuine vulnerability never goes out of style. The song proved that Foreigner at their most vulnerable was Foreigner at their most powerful.
Its cultural reach extends far beyond rock radio. The song appears in film soundtracks, television dramas, reality competition shows, and has become a go-to emotional touchstone for moments that require genuine feeling. It's one of those rare recordings that belongs to everyone — not just rock fans, not just people who grew up in the 1980s, but anyone who has ever asked the question the title poses. That universality is its greatest achievement.
"I Want To Know What Love Is" is the emotional peak of every Head Games performance. It's the song where the concert stops being entertainment and becomes a shared experience. The arrangement builds with excruciating patience from its quiet opening — just voice and keyboard — through the gradual addition of instruments until the full band is carrying the song to its climactic chorus.
The audience always sings along. Always. It's not optional — the song demands participation, and people give it willingly. There's a moment in every performance where the boundary between band and audience dissolves completely, and the entire room becomes one voice asking the same question together. For Head Games, performing this song is a privilege and a responsibility. You can't fake the emotion it requires. You either commit fully or the song exposes you.
It's typically placed late in the set, after the high-energy material has established the connection between band and crowd. By that point, the audience trusts the band enough to be vulnerable with them — and that trust is what makes the performance work. The song requires an emotional contract between performer and listener, and Head Games honors that contract every single time they play it.
Head Games brings "I Want To Know What Love Is" to life with the emotional commitment and dynamic precision this song demands. If you've never experienced it performed live — with the full build from silence to catharsis — check the tour schedule and prepare to sing along.
Yes. "I Want To Know What Love Is" is Foreigner's only #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. It also reached #1 in the UK, Australia, and multiple other countries, making it the band's biggest-selling single and most recognized song worldwide.
The original recording features the New Jersey Mass Choir, arranged by choir director Tom Bailey, along with Jennifer Holliday — the Tony Award-winning star of Dreamgirls — on backing vocals. Their gospel-rooted performance transforms the song into something transcendent.
"I Want To Know What Love Is" appears on Foreigner's album Agent Provocateur, released in 1984. The album was a massive commercial success, driven largely by this single's worldwide chart dominance.
Yes. "I Want To Know What Love Is" is the emotional peak of every Head Games performance. The band builds the song with patience from its quiet opening to a full climactic chorus, and the audience always sings along.
Explore the stories behind more classic Foreigner tracks performed live by Head Games: