"Love Ballad" is a song by Swedish recording artist and songwriter Tove Lo. It was co-written by Lo, Ludvig Söderberg and Jakob Jerlström, and was produced by her co-writers under their production name The Struts. In 2012, after signing a publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music and co-writing songs for artists including Girls Aloud and Icona Pop, Lo decided to become an independent singer to keep her most personal songs for herself.

She eventually sent her debut single "Love Ballad" to Swedish radio stations on 15 October 2012. It was digitally released on 5 November 2012. The track was later included on Lo's debut extended play Truth Serum and her debut studio album Queen of the Clouds, both of which were released in 2014. "Love Ballad" is a pop song with drum instrumentation; its lyrics detail the protagonist's exaggerated ways to show affection to a romantic partner. Critics described it as an "ode to falling dangerously in love with someone" and a parody of love songs.

The song drew the attention of music blogs and received positive reviews from some critics but failed to chart anywhere. A music video for the song, which was directed by Motellet Film and Lo, was released on 5 October 2012. It shows the singer covered in black paint and performing acrobatics in the middle of a road and on a football field. Lo performed the track several times, including on the Swedish campaign Musikhjälpen and at Notting Hill Arts Club in London, United Kingdom.

After the dissolution of her band Tremblebee, Tove Lo focused on writing songs and she signed a publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music in 2011. In the following year, she co-wrote "Something New" for Girls Aloud, and "We Got the World" and "Ready for the Weekend" for Icona Pop. After she signed the publishing deal, she felt "lost" and unsure of her identity. She was also going through a difficult time during a relationship, which led her to write songs that were not related to her life. However, at one point, she "couldn't handle it anymore" and needed to write a personal song. Lo then co-wrote "Love Ballad" with Ludvig Söderberg and Jakob Jerlström; it was their first collaboration. Söderberg and Jerlström also produced the track under their production name The Struts. According to Lo, an artist became interested in recording the song but considered it "too brutal" and wanted to change some of the lyrics. Because of this, Lo kept the song for herself. She said that after co-writing "Love Ballad", she started to write songs "that I felt I needed to get out of me".

...
Wikipedia