Heaven Is a Place on Earth

For the Japanese anime movie, see Hayate the Combat Butler! Heaven Is a Place on Earth.

"Heaven Is a Place on Earth"
Single by Belinda Carlisle
from the album Heaven on Earth
B-side	"We Can Change"
Released	September 18, 1987
Format	CD 7" single 12" single
Genre	Pop rock • power pop
Length	4:06
Label	MCA Records
Writer(s)	Rick Nowels Ellen Shipley
Producer(s)	Rick Nowels
Certification	Silver (BPI)
Belinda Carlisle singles chronology
"Since You've Gone" (1986) "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" (1987) "I Get Weak" (1988)
Music sample "Heaven Is a Place on Earth"

"Heaven Is a Place on Earth" is a song by American singer Belinda Carlisle, featured on her second studio album, Heaven on Earth (1987). Written by Rick Nowels and Ellen Shipley, the song was released as the album's lead single in September 1987, and it hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on December 5, 1987, becoming Carlisle's only US chart-topper. A month later it hit number one on the UK Singles Chart and held the spot for two weeks.

The song reached number one in many other countries, among them Switzerland, Ireland, Sweden, South Africa and Norway. The song also reached number three in Germany and Canada, number two in Australia, and number six in Italy. It is widely considered to be Carlisle's signature song because of its success on the charts and its continued relevance today. The song was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Music video

The promotional video was directed by Academy Award-winning actress Diane Keaton and features an appearance of Carlisle's husband Morgan Mason. It also features children wearing sunglasses and a cape while each of them holds an illuminated plastic globe. Carlisle appeared wearing a strapless dress and later changed to a black off-the-shoulder blouse. The video was partially filmed at Six Flags Magic Mountain theme park in Valencia, California, on the Spin Out ride.

Production

Carlisle's backup vocalists on the track include songwriters Nowels and Shipley as well as Michelle Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas and songwriter Diane Warren. It also featured Thomas Dolby on keyboards.

Track listing

1. "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" - 4:06
2. "We Can Change" - 3:45
3. "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" (Heavenly version) - 6:00
4. "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" (A cappella version) - 3:49

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1987-1988)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)	2
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)	10
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)	3
Canadian Adult Contemporary (RPM)	5
Canadian Top Singles (RPM)	3
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)	1
Germany (Official German Charts)	3
Ireland (IRMA)	1
Italy (FIMI)	6
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)	7
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)	1
Norway (VG-lista)	1
Spain (AFYVE)	10
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)	1
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)	1
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)	1
US Billboard Hot 100	1
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)	7

Year-end charts

Chart (1988)	Position
Australian Singles Chart	11
Dutch Singles Chart	81
German Singles Chart	31
Italian Singles Chart	31
Swiss Singles Chart	8
UK Singles Chart	17
US Billboard Hot 100	7

Sales and certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)	Gold	50,000
United Kingdom (BPI)	Silver	250,000
*sales figures based on certification alone ^shipments figures based on certification alone xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Preceded by "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes	Billboard Hot 100 number-one single December 5, 1987	Succeeded by "Faith" by George Michael
Preceded by "Always on My Mind" by Pet Shop Boys	UK number-one single January 16, 1988 – January 23, 1988	Succeeded by "I Think We're Alone Now" by Tiffany

Cover versions

• The Chipettes included a version of the song on their album Born to Rock in 1988.
• Bessy Argyraki Greek singer in 1988 covered the song in Greek titled I nichta krivi mistika (The night hides secrets)
• The Shadows did an instrumental of the song in 1989 on Steppin' to the Shadows.
• Numerous dance versions of the song have been released by different artists including Nicki French, Becky Baeling on her debut 2003 album Becstasy, and DJ Lhasa. Soda Club's dance cover reached #13 on the UK Singles Chart.
• The Clique Girlz recorded a version for their album Incredible.
• Student Rick covered the song on the 2002 compilation album Punk Goes Pop.
• Gregorian recorded a cover on their album Masters of Chant Chapter IV
• Italian folk metal band Elvenking covered the song on their 2008 album Two Tragedy Poets (...and a Caravan of Weird Figures)
• MxPx covered the song on their 2009 album On the Cover II.
• A cover by pop, R&B and hip-hop singer U-Jean, featuring vocals from Zimbabwe-born German rapper, actor and songwriter Carlprit, was released in Germany on June 17, 2011, as his debut single.
• Hilary Duff sampled "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" in her song "Confetti" for her 2015 album Breathe In. Breathe Out.

See also

• List of Billboard number-one singles
• List of number-one singles and albums in Sweden

External links

• Belinda Carlisle - Heaven Is A Place On Earth music video on YouTube by Universal Music Group.
• Belinda Carlisle - A Place On Earth.
• Belinda discusses "Heaven Is A Place On Earth" - RetroRewind interview
• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics