Editors Frontman Tom Smith wrote this breakup ballad after betting he could write a tune for a former X Factor contestant. The unnamed singer got dropped and Smith kept the song for band.
Smith has been in a relationship with the mother of his children, BBC Radio 1 DJ Edith Bowman, since 2005. He told Digital Spy that just because he hadn't gone through a break-up recently, it doesn't mean he can't write a sad song. Said the singer: "The tortured artist thing I think generally is nonsense - there are very few examples of that when the art is any good, at least! I obviously like writing about things that are darker than what's in or anywhere near the charts. I just try to find interesting ways about writing around the topic [of love]. They're the most straightforward lyrics I've ever written."
Smith told The Sun that the confidence his family have given him is reflected on this song. "I'm singing falsetto on 'What Is This Thing Called Love,'" he said, "and would never have tried that before. It's vocally ambitious and I've really stretched myself as a singer."
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