Mystery of Love
"Mystery of Love" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens and produced by Thomas Bartlett. It was self-released digitally, under license to Madison Gate Records and Sony Classical, on 1 December 2017. Luca Guadagnino, director of the 2017 film Call Me by Your Name, approached the singer to contribute to the film as a narrator, but Stevens declined and agreed to record an original song instead. Stevens was granted full creative control during the songwriting process and received inspiration from the film's script and André Aciman's novel of the same name. An acoustic song, the lyrics describe romance and allude to the relationship between film characters Elio and Oliver. They also make several references to the state of Oregon, birds, and Christianity.
This article is about the Sufjan Stevens song. For the Larry Heard song, see Mystery of Love (Larry Heard song)."Mystery of Love"
- "Visions of Gideon"
- "Futile Devices" (Doveman Remix)
1 December 2017
4:08
Sufjan Stevens
A music video for the track was released on 4 January 2018, on Pitchfork's YouTube channel. It contains clips from the film and footage of artwork recorded at the National Archaeological Museum in Naples. The song was featured in the trailer for the movie and during a scene in the film where Elio and Oliver go hiking in Bergamo. It was featured on the film's official soundtrack in addition to two other Stevens-penned songs ("Futile Devices" and "Visions of Gideon"). Critical response to the song was generally positive.
"Mystery of Love" was nominated for awards at several ceremonies, including the Critics' Choice Movie Awards, Georgia Film Critics Association, and Guild of Music Supervisors Awards. It was also nominated by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. The song also received a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 61st ceremony.[1] Commercially, "Mystery of Love" entered Billboard's Hot Rock Songs chart in the United States and reached the main record charts in France, Hungary, Portugal, and Scotland.
Commercial performance[edit]
In the United States, "Mystery of Love" entered the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart compiled by Billboard, which tracks digital download sales, streaming data, and radio airplay for rock songs over all formats and determines the most successful ones.[50] During the issue dating 20 January 2018, the single debuted at number 47, becoming Stevens' first and only appearance on the chart. Following Stevens' performance of “Mystery of Love” during the Academy Awards, it garnered 129,000 on-demand audio streams, up 60 percent compared to the day prior, when it received 80,000 plays. Among the five nominees, "Mystery of Love" was the greatest gainer in terms of daily streams.[51] During the week of 17 March, it peaked at number 13.[52] It also reached the Alternative Songs digital component chart in the US, reaching number 6.[53] "Mystery of Love" also entered the record charts in three European countries. It reached number 44 on France's SNEP chart, peaked at number 34 on the Hungarian Single Top 40 list, and entered Portugal's AFP chart at number 93.[54][55][56]
Promotion and music video[edit]
"Mystery of Love" is featured in the official trailer for Call Me by Your Name and during a scene in the film where Elio and Oliver go hiking in Bergamo.[28][57] As part of his nomination for the Academy Award for Best Song, Stevens was invited to perform "Mystery of Love" at the awards ceremony, which took place on 4 March 2018. He was joined onstage by fellow musicians Chris Thile, Moses Sumney, and St. Vincent. While on stage, he wore a custom Gucci pink and purple-striped tuxedo, embossed with blue dragons. Stevens told reporters at the show that he had never worn a tuxedo prior to his live performance.[58] The song also appears in the episode titled "What Have They Done?" of HBO's Big Little Lies, aired on 9 June 2019.[59]
A music video for "Mystery of Love" was uploaded onto Pitchfork's YouTube channel on 4 January 2018.[60] The video featured scenes from the film and new footage captured at the National Archaeological Museum in Naples.[61][62] Lauren O'Neill from Noisey lauded the video, called it a collection of "the film's most iconic moments", and claimed that "the whole package [is] sure to make you misty eyed". She also noted that the clip focused on common symbols and images from the movie, such as "peaches, swimming, [and the] Italian countryside".[63] The Film Stage's Jordan Raup described the video as "a beautiful ode to one of 2017's best romances".[64]