9 Crimes

"9 Crimes"
Single by Damien Rice
from the album 9
B-side	"The Rat Within the Grain"
Released	27 November 2006
Recorded	2005
Genre	Indie rock
Length	3:39
Label	Heffa, 14th Floor
Songwriter(s)	Damien Rice [1]
Producer(s)	Damien Rice
Damien Rice singles chronology
"Unplayed Piano" (2005) "9 Crimes" (2006) "Rootless Tree" (2007)

"9 Crimes" is the first single from the album 9 by Irish musician Damien Rice with additional vocals from Lisa Hannigan. It was released on 27 November 2006. The song had a music video directed by Jamie Thraves.

Production

The song was written by Damien Rice for his album 9. The song and the albums titles are related. Lisa Hannigan, a frequent collaborator of Rice, also worked on the single. ^{[2] [3]}

A music video for the song was directed by Jamie Thraves. Thraves took inspiration from the classic short film, The Red Balloon . He had previously had the idea for the music video for the Radiohead song "No Surprises". In a 2010 interview with The Independent , Thraves stated that "9 Crimes" was his favourite to work on. ^[4]

Release and reception

"9 Crimes" was released on 27 November 2006. ^[5] The B-side of the single features the song "The Rat Within the Grain". ^[6]

Critical Reception

Writing for The Music, David James Young listed the song among the best of Rice's songs. Young wrote, "Like much of his best work, 9 Crimes thrives on the contrast of its beautiful musical landscape with its intentionally ugly lyricism. The shame that hangs in the air with each word is kept up there by means of its lilting, reverberating piano and quivering cello." ^[3]

Writing for Pitchfork, Marc Hogan criticized the song stating that it set a bland and generic tone for the rest of the album. ^[2]

Charts

The songs peak performance on the Irish Recorded Music Association chart was at number 14. The songs best performance was at number 5 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.

Chart performance for "9 Crimes"

Chart (2006–2013)	Peak position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [7]	57
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [8]	7
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) [9]	33
Germany (GfK) [10]	61
Ireland (IRMA) [11]	14
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [12]	39
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [13]	56
UK Singles (OCC) [14]	29
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 ( Billboard ) [15]	5

Certifications

"9 Crimes" was certified Silver in the United Kingdom and Gold in Belgium.

Certifications for "9 Crimes"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Belgium (BRMA) [16]	Gold	25,000*
United Kingdom (BPI) [17]	Silver	200,000‡
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Damien Rice – 9 Crimes". Austrian Charts. Retrieved 20 October 2008.
2. Hogan, Marc (22 November 2006). "Damien Rice: 9". Pitchfork. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
3. Young, David James. "10 Iconic Damien Rice Songs We're Hoping To Hear On His Australian Tour". The Music. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
4. Riley, Jack (4 January 2010). "Jamie Thraves: The art of the music video". The Independent. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
5. "This Week's Releases: 27 November 2006". NME. 27 November 2006. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
6. "9 Crimes – Single by Damien Rice", Apple Music, retrieved 9 April 2025
7. "Damien Rice – 9 Crimes" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
8. "Damien Rice – 9 Crimes" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
9. "Damien Rice – 9 Crimes" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
10. "Damien Rice – 9 Crimes" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
11. "Chart Track: Week 49, 2006". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
12. "Damien Rice – 9 Crimes" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
13. "Damien Rice – 9 Crimes". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
14. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
15. "Damien Rice Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
16. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – singles 2012". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
17. "British single certifications – Damien Rice – 9 Crimes". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 9 June 2023.