“Teardrops” is a song by American husband-and-wife duo Womack & Womack, released on 5 August 1988 by Island Records as the first single from their fourth studio album, Conscience (1988). The song was written by Cecil Womack and Linda Womack, while production was helmed by Chris Blackwell. Although the song was not a hit in their native United States, it charted highly in the United Kingdom and several European countries, as well as Australia and New Zealand.
In 1993, Elton John and K.D. Lang covered “Teardrops” for John’s album Duets. In 1998, UK garage group Lovestation covered the song, and later, German pop band No Angels and Australian singer Kate Alexa released their own cover versions as singles in 2007 and 2008, respectively. In 2002, Lulu and Elton John covered the song for Lulu’s album Together. In 2009, the Sugababes re-recorded the track for the 50 Years of Island Records compilation. It has also been covered by The xx in 2009, on a bonus disc with their debut album xx, as well as by British singer Joss Stone who included the track on her 2012 album The Soul Sessions Vol. 2. In 2011, the song was covered by Cliff Richard and Candi Staton for Richard’s Soulicious album and by Roosevelt in 2016.
“Teardrops” was very successful on the charts in Europe, reaching number one in Belgium and the Netherlands for three and seven weeks, as well as peaking at number two in Switzerland, the UK, and West Germany. The song was a top-10 hit also in Austria (4), Denmark (4), Finland (5), France (4), Ireland (4), and Spain (5). In Sweden, it became a top-20 hit, peaking at number 14. Outside Europe, “Teardrops” also charted in Oceania, reaching number one in New Zealand and number two in Australia. It did not chart in the duo’s native US.
