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Ava Fulker

English Composition II

Debra Blouch

02/21/2021

What is Love?

“Don’t hurt me no more” a line from two different music videos that can be perceived

differently. They both have the same general meaning but they are also quite different. The two

versions of this hit song from the 90’s can give opposite feelings to the audience while watching

the two videos. The original version by Haddaway is upbeat and gives off a lot of energy, while

the cover by Jaymes Young is more somber and slower moving.

Released in August 1993, Haddaway’s song “What is Love?” became the number one hit

song in thirteen countries. In the genre Dance/Electronic, Haddaway received the Echo Award

for Best Dance Single (National) and the Echo Award for Best Single of the Year (National).

The song became popular in night clubs and in younger audiences. In only a year the hit song

reached 2.6 million hits.

The music video was released on June 18, 2014 and has a total of 123.5 million views.

The scene of the music video is set in a dark mansion and the main characters are Haddaway, a

woman “vampire”, and several other women. The video is very fast moving with heavy motion

and bright flashes of light adding to the upbeat music’s impact on the audience. Thus, the video

could give the audience a lot of energy and give them the urge to get up and move.
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The main claim of the music video would be that Haddaway is in love with a woman that

only hurts him, even if there are plenty of other women that are eligible. The vampire plays as

the women Haddaway is in love with. He returns to her several time throughout the video

overlooking the other women that after him and dancing all over him. When he finally gets to her

see proceeds to push him around and “bite” him, showing how Haddaway is addicted to the

woman. The women dancing alone are the people that Haddaway could easily have but rejects

them to get to his love. The appeal in this video is Pathos and Logos. Pathos is used because the

video gives viewers a relatable feeling that they are with someone that only hurts them in the

end. Logos is also applied here because it puts the viewers in the situation of going back to the

same person even if there are other people that are eligible and would treat them a lot better.

Jaymes Young is an America singer that created a cover on Haddaway’s hit song “What

is Love”, but he took it in a different direction. Instead of the song remaining in the

Dance/Electronic genre, Young, converted the song to the pop genre. The style of the song also

changed. He slowed down the tempo, changed the key, and added instrumental with minor chord

progressions making the sound of the song emotionally depressing. This song would be

appealing to people that might be in emotional pain or have a similar situation happen to them in

the past.

Young released the music video on March 2, 2018 and has 2.5 million views. The music

video only contains a cover photo of Jaymes Young appearing to be crying, so the main

character would be Jaymes young. Even though there is no actual choreographed movement in

video the audience can get relate to the tone and emotional quality of the song itself. The slow

somber music adding the photo of Young crying can bring a heavy feeling to anyone that is
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listening. The video appeal is Pathos. This is because of the somber sounding rhythm and slow

tempo giving the audience a relatable feeling.

The main claim of this video is the loss of someone that you loved. Just like Haddaway’s

version, Young’s version is also pertaining to the fact that he is in love with someone that

doesn’t love him back. The person that he is in love with only hurts him. Even though Young

might love that person he does not return to them.

The two versions may have similar claims, but they have very different appeals to the

audience. Both of them have the meaning of loving someone that doesn’t care for you or love

you. Haddaway’s original version is very upbeat and may give off energy appealing to a younger

audience and be popular in night clubs. While Jaymes Young’s cover is a somber style that is

slower giving of the feeling of sadness, appealing to people in a more desperate emotional state.

These factors make the purpose of the two videos very different.
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Work Cited

Haddaway. “What is Love.” Haddaway, Coconut, June 18, 2014, Accessed on 2/21/2021

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEXWRTEbj1I

Young, Jaymes. “What is Love.” What is Love, Atlantic, March 2, 2018, Accessed on 2/21/2021

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRP3Cqgpd6Q