The Meaning of Love (Michelle McManus song)

"The Meaning of Love" is the second single from Pop Idol winner Michelle McManus, released under the mononym "Michelle" on 5 April 2004. It did not match the success of her chart-topping debut single "All This Time", reaching number 16 in the United Kingdom and number 29 in Ireland. Soon after the single's commercial failure, BMG dropped McManus from the label.

Reception
Daily Record critic John Dingwall called the song a "great ballad"; a colleague of his, however, wrote: "Michelle's going to have to aim much higher... 'The Meaning of Love', while good, isn't great." Writing for AllMusic, journalist Sharon Mawer described the track as "a charity sounding record without the All Saints rhythm [of 'All This Time'], without the multi-vocals, and without much of a tune either".

Commercial performance
"The Meaning of Love" debuted at number 16 in the United Kingdom and number 29 in Ireland. The single did not chart as well as expected. Considered a flop, with sales of only 8,000 in its first week, one newspaper drew comparisons of McManus' fortunes to Popstars: The Rivals rejects One True Voice.

Track listing
UK CD single


 * 1) "The Meaning of Love" (radio edit)
 * 2) "Believe"
 * 3) "Tell Me Now"
 * 4) "The Meaning of Love" (enhanced section including music video)

UK digital download


 * 1) "The Meaning of Love" (album version)