The 15 Best Sade Songs

From the melancholic classic “Is It A Crime” to the ultimate comeback song of 2010, “Soldier of Love,” here are the 15 best Sade songs.

Next year marks 40 years since the beloved UK band Sade — named after its alluring lead singer Helen Folasade Adu — emerged with hits like “Smooth Operator,” “Your Love Is King,” and “Hang On to Your Love.” Their debut album, Diamond Life, dominated R&B and pop radio with widespread acclaim, ushering in a new era of Quiet Storm and smooth soul that inspired generations after them. Over the course of their career together as a band, they’ve released six studio albums and have sold more than 75 million records worldwide.

Their sporadic process of creating and releasing music has added a layer of mystique to the band and its beloved singer. Aside from Adu assuming the role of lead vocalist, the quartet is completed by members Paul S. Denman (bass), Andrew Hale (keys), and Stuart Matthewman (guitar and saxophone). Together, the foursome has written some of the most well-crafted and articulate songs about the complexities of love. From “Love Is Stronger Than Pride” and its acceptance of a love that has ended to “Soldier of Love” and its battle to keep love alive, it’s the vulnerability and musicality of the group that has led to them becoming one of the most cherished acts in music history.

With new music supposedly being released sometime in the foreseeable future, along with Sade Adu being inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame this year, we’ve highlighted the best songs from the group’s discography. From the melancholic classic “Is It A Crime” to the ultimate comeback song of 2010, “Soldier of Love,” here are the 15 best Sade songs.

15. "The Moon and the Sky" (2010)

The first track on their 2010 album Soldier of Love, “The Moon and the Sky” is a lofty song of regret and failed romance. As Adu laments on the exaggerated efforts she’d make to “pull in all the stars above” and lay them at her partner’s feet, she questions with an intense yearning as to why they’d leave her there alone. It’s also worth noting that even JAY-Z hopped on a remix to the sentimental ballad.

14. "King of Sorrow" (2000)

What makes Sade so relatable is their ability to craft songs that help define the private wars we’re all battling in love and life. Through “King of Sorrow,” a single from their 2000 album Lovers Rock, Adu captures the emotion of grief that comes with a heavy heart, as she tries to push through a world that never stops turning. She is a martyr of love and she’s crying everyone’s tears.

13. "I Never Thought I'd See the Day" (1988)

Sade’s third album, Stronger Than Pride, marked a sonic evolution in the smooth pop-jazz genre they helped pioneer. Throughout the album, much of its production borrows from the club music scene that had exploded in the UK by 1988, and “I Never Thought I’d See the Day” is a standout example of that. Featuring hypnotic, throbbing, and spacey grooves, and smooth horns, the track blurs the line between a romantic ballad and a dance classic, the perfect base for Adu to sing about a love slipping away from her.

12. "Solider of Love" (2009)

With a clear conviction and unshakable resilience, “Soldier of Love” is a declaration of defiance. No amount of heartbreak is enough to stop Sade from “trying her hardest and doing her best,” as she fights on the battlefield of love. Paired with its music video (which is directed by longtime collaborator Sophie Muller and features choreography from the legendary Fatima Robinson), “ Soldier of Love” is a masterpiece that perfectly showcases the quiet strength of Adu.

11. "Pearls" (1992)

Although most people heavily associate Sade’s sound with moving ballads and mid-tempo records about love, some of the group’s best songs also explore everything from drug addiction to poverty. “Pearls,” an example of the latter, is a masterclass in boundless songwriting. The song chronicles a woman in Somalia who is scrapping for pearls to survive in an unfortunate life “she didn’t choose.” After a long day of labor in the heat, the Somalian woman finds enough pearls to go home to her daughter. The hauntingly beautiful tale is ended with a scream of “Hallelujah” from Adu, that serves as a breakthrough for the Somalian woman who is dying just to survive.

10. "Paradise" (1988)

One of Sade’s most well-known songs and a signature during live performances, “Paradise” is the second single from Stronger Than Pride. With heavy percussion and a dancefloor-ready bass line, the track’s uptempo production compliments Sade’s swaggering declarations, saying that she’d “wash the sand off the shore” and “blow” her partner right to her door. “Paradise” is pop perfection, balancing groove and tropical ecstasy to create one of the group’s best songs.

9. "Like a Tattoo" (1992)

In the same vein as “Pearls,” this Love Deluxe cut explores the world of immigration, survivor’s guilt, and the loneliness we share. Inspired by a real-life interaction Sade had with a stranger at a New York City bar, the song tells the story of a former soldier who’s faced with survivor’s guilt and shame over killing a man whose hands were raised in surrender. The warmth of Adu’s tone combined with Stuart Matthewman’s incredibly detailed songwriting, instantly places you at the bar next to the man, broken by a painful burden from his youth.

8. "Your Love Is King" (1984)

The first single from their debut album Diamond Life, “Your Love Is King” is not just one of the best Sade songs ever — it’s one of the best love songs, too. Matthewman’s bluesy saxophone solo and English producer Robin Millar’s soulful production allowed the band to push the subgenre of Quiet Storm to worldwide markets. Soon, UK acts like Soul II Soul, The Brand New Heavies, Jamiroquai, and others followed — serving as the new wave of British R&B. But there’s no denying the foundation “Your Love Is King” provided.

7. "Kiss of Life" (1992)

Evocative and compelling, “Kiss of Life” is one of the sexiest songs ever produced. The fluid production of its slow and enticing beat, the saxophone solo that often drifts in and out, and Adu’s husky vocals create a warmth that spills over into the rest of Love Deluxe. The video for “Kiss of Life,” directed by the legendary Albert Watson, only adds to the song’s allure, creating a timeless expression of desire and projection of love that literally illuminates the whole space into a red hue of passion.

6. "Love is Stronger Than Pride" (1988)

There’s a heartbreaking simplicity to “Love Is Stronger Than Pride” that only Sade could evoke. With minimal production based on fragments of Spanish guitar and airy sounds, Adu mourns the end of a relationship while acknowledging the love hasn’t died. While she won’t pretend that she’ll fall apart without her partner, she makes it clear that wasting her time hating them would be pointless, because her love for them has overpowered her anger. It’s a valid lesson in the game of love, and one that Adu articulates beautifully.

5. "The Sweetest Taboo" (1985)

“The Sweetest Taboo” is a sexy and subdued mid-tempo song that oozes lusty affection through its sensual, Latin-inspired percussion, subtle flute instrumentation, and instantly memorable chorus. Referring to her partner’s ability to make her reach her highest level of sexual pleasure, there’s a tension that builds up throughout the track and lingers well after it ends. Their love is an intense drug that brings out the best in her: a love that even Adu questions might be too good for her.

4. "No Ordinary Love" (1992)

There’s no way to listen to this song and not imagine the Sophie Muller-directed video where Sade, as a mermaid, falls in love underwater with a human sailor. When she sacrifices her life to live with him on Earth, he is nowhere to be found as she aimlessly searches the streets for him. “I gave you all that I had inside and you took my love,” she croons over the mournful arrangement. Only Adu could make one of the band’s most heartbreaking songs about sacrificial devotion sound so ethereal and otherworldly.

3. "Is It a Crime" (Lovers Live version) (2002)

If you’ve had the pleasure of seeing Sade live, then you’ll understand why this particular rendition of their hit record “Is It A Crime?” is considered among not just their best performances, but their best songs ever. The melancholic song plays out over driving guitar riffs, as the sax-based production and added piano solos crash into each other over the course of this nearly seven-minute performance. With a big-band style execution, the highs and lows build up into a show-stopping crescendo as Adu desperately pleads and questions if it’s a crime that she still longs for a lover. The dramatic pauses filtered between shouting from the crowd add to the authenticity of the performance, with Adu ending on a soaring high note that leaves the live rendition permanently etched into your memory.

2. "By Your Side" (2000)

Whether it’s the original or the underrated Neptunes-produced remix, there’s something about the lead single from Sade’s Lovers Rock that reminds you of home. There’s comfort in the snugness of Adu’s vocals and the richness in production, the song laying over you like a blanket on a Sunday afternoon. The softness of the acoustic guitar, synths, and reggae-inspired bass (an homage to the Lovers’ rock sound of the UK) gives space for Adu’s lyrics, as she offers a deeply intimate and personal glimpse into her life as a mother with a newfound love.

1. "Cherish the Day" (1992)

“Cherish the Day” holds one of the greatest opening lyrics in modern music: “You’re ruling the way that I move / And I breathe your air.” That iconic Spanish guitar intro, the enchanting trip-hop production, and the lush synths only amplify the volume of coolness this song evokes. Then, there’s its Derek Allen-directed black and white music video. The mystique and allure of Sade are on full display in the video. Adorned in a white two-piece skirt set, Adu plays a guitar atop a rooftop in New York City, the world below vibing to her and the band’s music. While Matthewman, Hale, and Denman set the sleek and exotic atmosphere for us sonically, “Cherish the Day” is Sade Adu the goddess in totality.