E major · Camelot 12B · 123 BPM
Heaven Is a Place on Earth
by Belinda Carlisle
- 123
- BPM
- E major
- Key
- 12B
- Camelot
- 64
- Danceability
- 4
- Acousticness
Belinda Carlisle recorded "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" for her second studio album, Heaven on Earth, released in 1987. The song was written by Rick Nowels and Ellen Shipley, who also contributed backup vocals alongside Michelle Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas, Chynna Phillips of Wilson Phillips, and songwriter Diane Warren. Thomas Dolby played synthesizers on the track. Released on September 14, 1987, as the lead single from the album, it climbed to number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 on December 5 that year, giving Carlisle her first and only American chart-topper. It also reached number seven on the Adult Contemporary chart.
A month after its American success, the single peaked at number one in the United Kingdom, where it stayed at the top of the UK Singles Chart for two weeks. It also topped the charts in Switzerland, Ireland, Zimbabwe, Sweden, South Africa and Norway, reached number three in Germany and Canada, number two in Australia, and number six in Italy. The single earned gold status in Canada and platinum in the United Kingdom.
In 1988, the song received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, losing to Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)". The promotional music video was directed by actress Diane Keaton and was partially filmed at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California, featuring children in black masks holding illuminated plastic globes.
Heaven Is a Place on Earth runs at 123 BPM, the tempo of house, disco and most club dance music. In classical terms it sits in allegro territory. A bar of 4/4 lasts 1.95 seconds, and a quarter-note delay is 488 ms. It is in E major, Camelot 12B, which shares its notes with C# minor and mixes cleanly with A major and B major.
We use multiple sources as part of our online research for the song story including Wikipedia.