Arabella (song)

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"Arabella"
Arctic Monkeys - Arabella.jpg
Single by Arctic Monkeys
from the album AM
Released28 January 2014 (2014-01-28) (radio)
Recorded2012–13
Genre
Length3:27
Label Domino
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s) Alex Turner
Producer(s)
Arctic Monkeys singles chronology
"One for the Road"
(2013)		"Arabella"
(2014)		"Snap Out of It"
(2014)
Music video
"Arabella" on YouTube

"Arabella" is a song by English rock band Arctic Monkeys from their fifth studio album, AM (2013). The song was confirmed as the album's fifth single by the band and their label Domino [4] [5] and impacted radio in Italy on 28 January 2014 [6] and the United Kingdom on 10 March 2014. [7] A physical 7" vinyl single was also planned for release on 28 March 2014, but was ultimately cancelled. [8]

Contents

Composition

The song is described by Far Out magazine as a "fusing of late '90s hip-hop and R&B with '70s hard rock," they also noted musical references "to the likes of Sabbath or Zeppelin and the futurism of Dr. Dre, combined with lyrical extracts like "Arabella's got a '70s head, but she's a modern lover…she's made of outer space". [9]

Performances

"Arabella" was played live for the first time on 30 August 2013, during Zurich Openair festival performance, which was a part of the AM Tour. [10] The band often play part of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" during live performances of the song, done to give Alex Turner time to equip a guitar for the solo. The part "War Pigs" is played due to the similarities between the riffs of the two songs. [11]

Music video

An official music video for the song, directed by English director Jake Nava, premiered on 2 March 2014. [12]

Reception

"Arabella" is widely regarded as one of the band's best songs. In 2023, Rolling Stone and Paste ranked the song number ten and number four, respectively, on their lists of the greatest Arctic Monkeys songs. [13] [14]

Commercial performance

In September 2013, following the release of AM, "Arabella" charted at number 155 on the UK Singles Chart, [15] number 26 on the UK Indie Chart, [16] and number 7 on the Ultratip chart of Belgium's Flanders region. [17] Following the announcement of its single release in March 2014, the single re-entered the UK Singles and Indie charts, peaking at numbers 70 and 9 respectively. "Arabella" was added to the BBC Radio 1 playlist on the B-list on 10 February 2014. [18]

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2013)Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders) [17] 7
UK Indie (OCC) [16] 26
UK Singles (Official Charts Company) [15] 155
Chart (2014)Peak
position
Mexico Ingles Airplay ( Billboard ) [20] 45
UK Indie (OCC) [21] 9
UK Singles (Official Charts Company) [22] 70
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs ( Billboard ) [23] 47

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Italy (FIMI) [24] Gold25,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [25] Gold30,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI) [26] Platinum600,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

RegionDateFormatLabel
Italy [6] 28 January 2014 Contemporary hit radio Domino
United Kingdom [7] 10 March 2014

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References

  1. ↑ Williams, Sophie (17 December 2020). "Every Arctic Monkeys song ranked in order of greatness". NME . Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  2. ↑ Fletcher, Harry (11 May 2018). "Arctic Monkeys albums ranked from worst to best". Evening Standard . Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  3. ↑ AM (liner notes). Arctic Monkeys . 2013.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  4. ↑ "Arctic Monkeys announce new single, Arabella for March 10th". Domino Recording Company. 27 January 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  5. ↑ Trendell, Andrew (27 January 2014). "Arctic Monkeys confirm that 'Arabella' will be their next single". Gigwise . Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  6. 1 2 di Chiara, Camilla. "Arctic Monkeys – Arabella (Domino Records)" (in Italian). Radio Airplay SRL. Archived from the original on 17 June 2014. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  7. 1 2 Lane, Daniel (3 March 2014). "This Week's New Releases 10-03-2014". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  8. ↑ "Arabella [Vinyl Single]" (in German). Amazon.de . Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  9. ↑ Lownds, David J. (11 September 2013). "Arctic Monkeys – Arabella". Far Out Magazine.
  10. ↑ Baggs, Michael (2 September 2013). "Listen: Arctic Monkeys debut new track 'Arabella' from AM album". Gigwise . Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  11. ↑ Franks, Nico (3 February 2014). "Arctic Monkeys – Live At The Fillmore, Miami Beach". Clash . London. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  12. ↑ "Arctic Monkeys – Arabella (Official Video)". YouTube. 2 March 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  13. ↑ "The 30 Best Arctic Monkeys Songs". Rolling Stone . 25 August 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  14. ↑ Mitchell, Matt (1 September 2023). "The 40 Greatest Arctic Monkeys Songs". Paste . Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  15. 1 2 Zywietz, Tobias. "Chart: CLUK Update 21.09.2013 (wk37)". Zobbel.de. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  16. 1 2 "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  17. 1 2 "Arctic Monkeys – Arabella" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  18. ↑ Hart, Tina (10 February 2014). "Radio playlist update: BBC Radio 1" . Music Week . London. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  19. ↑ Adapted from AM album liner notes.
  20. ↑ "Mexico Ingles Airplay : Mar 01, 2014". Billboard . Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  21. ↑ "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
  22. ↑ "Official Singles Chart UK Top 100 – 15th March 2014". UK Singles Chart. Archived from the original on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
  23. ↑ "Arctic Monkeys Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  24. ↑ "Italian single certifications – Arctic Monkeys – Arabella" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana . Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  25. ↑ "Arctic Monkeys - Arabella". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España . Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  26. ↑ "British single certifications – Arctic Monkeys – Arabella". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 26 January 2021.
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