"Crazy" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Gnarls Barkley | ||||
from the album St. Elsewhere | ||||
B-side |
| |||
Released | March 2006 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 2:58 | |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Danger Mouse | |||
Gnarls Barkley singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Audio sample | ||||
"Crazy" is the debut single of American soul duo Gnarls Barkley, taken from their 2006 debut album, St. Elsewhere . It peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the charts in the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and several other countries.
The song was leaked in late 2005, months before its regular release: it received airplay on BBC Radio 1 in the United Kingdom, and radio DJ Zane Lowe also used the song in television commercials for his show. [6] When it was officially released in March 2006, it became the first single to top the UK Singles Chart on download sales alone. [7] The song remained at the top of the British charts for nine weeks, the longest number-one spell for more than ten years. The band and their record company then decided to remove the physical single from music stores in the country (while keeping the download available) so people would "remember the song fondly and not get sick of it". [8] In spite of this deletion, the song was the best-selling single of 2006 in the UK. [9] Due to continued download sales, it reached one million copies in January 2011. In December 2006, it was nominated for the United Kingdom's Record of the Year but lost to "Patience" by Take That.
The song won a Grammy Award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance in 2007 and was also nominated for Record of the Year, which it lost to "Not Ready to Make Nice" by Dixie Chicks. [10] It was also nominated and further won a 2006 MTV Europe Music Award for Best Song. The song was also named the best song of 2006 by Rolling Stone [11] and by The Village Voice 's annual Pazz & Jop critics poll. [12] The song was listed at number 11 on Pitchfork Media's top 500 songs of the 2000s.[ citation needed ] In 2010, it was placed at number 100 in the "updated" version of Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time"[ citation needed ] and ranked at the top position of Rolling Stone's top 100 songs of the decade (2000–2009).[ citation needed ] "Crazy" was performed at the 2006 MTV Movie Awards, with Danger Mouse and Green dressed as various Star Wars characters. [13] [14]
The song was picked up by Downtown Records. Danger Mouse's manager sent the song to Downtown's A&R Josh Deutsch because they were looking for an independent label with the same resources as a major. According to an interview with Deutsch in HitQuarters, he heard the song and signed it after a single listen. [15] He said:
"Once in a while you hear a record that is obviously so important on so many levels. The beauty of my position is that it's very direct. If I find something I like there's no bureaucratic process associated with signing it." [15]
By the time the record was signed to Downtown, there was already a huge swell of anticipation, in part due to the established reputation of the two artists but even more as a result of the demo being played on BBC Radio 1 and sparking a profound online awareness. The record began to break even before the deals with Downtown Records were complete. On its release, "Crazy" became the most downloaded song in the history of the UK music business, going to number one in the strength of downloads alone. [15]
Musically, "Crazy" was inspired by film scores of Spaghetti Westerns, in particular by the works of Ennio Morricone, [16] and the song "Last Men Standing" by Gian Piero Reverberi and Gian Franco Reverberi from the 1968 Spaghetti Western Django, Prepare a Coffin , an unofficial prequel to Django . "Crazy" samples the song, and also utilizes parts of the main melody and chord structure. [7] Because of this, the Reverberis are credited as songwriters along with CeeLo Green and Danger Mouse.
The lyrics for the song developed out of a conversation between Danger Mouse and Green. According to Danger Mouse, "I somehow got off on this tangent about how people won't take an artist seriously unless they're insane... So we started jokingly discussing ways in which we could make people think we were crazy... CeeLo took that conversation and made it into 'Crazy', which we recorded in one take." [17]
Upon release, "Crazy" received widespread acclaim from music critics. The song was ranked at number one on Rolling Stone 's 2009 list of the 100 Best Songs of the Decade. They also placed it at number 100 in the list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, but was dropped at the number 307 in its 2021 list. [18] In October 2011, NME placed it at number 32 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years". [19] In 2007, "Crazy" was named the best single of 2006 by The Village Voice 's Pazz & Jop annual year-end critics' poll. NME also placed the song at number 475 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. [20]
In the United Kingdom, following its release as a digital download on March 13, 2006, the song debuted at the number-one spot on the UK Download Chart on March 22, 2006. [21] At the time, chart rules allowed a song to appear in the UK Singles Chart based on their download sales if a physical equivalent was to be released the following week. "Crazy" became the first number-one single in the United Kingdom based on download sales alone (more than 31,000 that week), on April 2, 2006―for the week ending date April 8, 2006 [6] ―with the CD single being released one day later. It remained on top of the chart for nine weeks and on top of the download chart for a record 11 weeks, until the single was pulled from British stores by the band and their record label on May 29, 2006, after nine consecutive weeks at number one, so people will "remember the song fondly and not get sick of it". [8] The last song to spend such a long time at number one in the UK was "Love Is All Around" by Wet Wet Wet in 1994, which was number one for 15 weeks.
"Crazy"'s eleven weeks at the top of the UK Download Chart were the longest stay on that chart that any song had achieved as of 2006. Despite its official removal, record shops had enough stock remaining to sell 19,827 physical copies; along with download sales, this kept the song at number two in the chart week ending date June 10, 2006. [22] The following week, "Crazy" was at number five, before disappearing completely from the chart a week later, as under chart rules a physically deleted single could not remain on the chart longer than two weeks after deletion date. Thus, "Crazy" made history at both ends of its chart run. It marked the most rapid exit from the British chart ever for a former number one, and number five was the highest position at which a single has ever spent its final week on the chart until Alex Day's "Forever Yours" fell out from number four. In the first week of 2007, "Crazy" recharted at number 30, based purely on downloads. The chart rules had been changed yet again, allowing any sold song to chart, irrespective of whether or not it was still on sale in stores. [23] Due to continued download sales, the single became a million-seller in January 2011. It was the 104th single to do this.
During its long stay in the British charts, the single also entered multiple other single charts throughout Europe, including the German, the Swedish, the Austrian and the Irish Singles Charts, and the Dutch Top 40, resulting in a number one position on the European Hot 100 Singles. "Crazy" also performed strongly outside Europe, with top-five positions on the New Zealand and Australian Single Charts, and was also certified gold in both countries. [24] On May 29, 2006, the single went down in New Zealand music history by becoming the 500th number-one single in New Zealand since the official top 40 chart was started in 1973. The Discount Rhinos Full Control remix of the track also featured in the top 20 of the Australian ARIA Club chart. [25] When the album St. Elsewhere was released in the United States on May 9, 2006, the song had debuted at number 91 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song reached the top 40 on May 23, 2006. In mid-2006, "Crazy" spent seven consecutive weeks in the number-two spot. It became the year's first single to peak at number two and never reach number one. The song also charted well on other charts, hitting number seven on the US Modern Rock chart and number 53 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Tracks. As of June 2013, the song has sold 3,401,000 downloads copies in the United States. [26]
There are two different music videos for this song.
Going along with the psychiatric theme of the song, Gnarls Barkley's music video for "Crazy" is done in the style of the Rorschach test. Animated, mirrored inkblots morph one into another, while taking on ambiguous shapes. Both Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse appear in the shapes, as do the duo's gunshot/heart logo, "Satan", a cranium and various animals, including centipedes, birds, bats, spiders, and insects.
The music video for "Crazy" was directed by Robert Hales, who had previously directed music videos for Jet, Nine Inch Nails and Richard Ashcroft, among others. The inkblot illustrations were produced by motion design studio Blind, Inc., [27] led by creative director and animation director, Vanessa Marzaroli.
The video was nominated for three 2006 MTV Video Music Awards: Best Group Video, Best Direction, and Best Editing, and won the latter two. It was also nominated for a 2006 MTV Europe Music Award for Best Video, but lost to "We Are Your Friends" by Justice vs. Simian.
Before the final music video was finished, the band's UK label released a different video to media outlets such as the BBC. This early promo, directed by Mina Song, is also completely animated and features several symbols from many cultures and religions that appear in a disjointed harmony to the lyrics. Lyrics of the song, and again the band's gunshot/heart logo also appear prominently. The video also includes elements of the single's cover art.
"Crazy" was used in several films and TV shows including Kick-Ass , I Think I Love My Wife , Religulous , The Big Short , Cold Case , How to Rock , Grey's Anatomy , Medium , Boyhood , and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia . A slower remix of the song was used in the trailer for the 2014 film Birdman while the original version was used for the film's TV spots. [28]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [105] | Gold | 35,000^ |
Austria (IFPI Austria) [106] | Gold | 15,000* |
Belgium (BEA) [107] | Gold | 25,000* |
Canada (Music Canada) [108] Ringtone | 2× Platinum | 80,000* |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [109] | 2× Platinum | 16,000^ |
Germany (BVMI) [110] | Platinum | 300,000^ |
Italy (FIMI) [111] | Platinum | 50,000‡ |
New Zealand (RMNZ) [112] | Gold | 5,000* |
Sweden (GLF) [113] | Platinum | 20,000^ |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [114] | Gold | 15,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [115] | 4× Platinum | 2,400,000‡ |
United States (RIAA) [116] | 4× Platinum | 4,000,000‡ |
United States (RIAA) [117] Mastertone | Platinum | 1,000,000* |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
"Crazy" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Violent Femmes | ||||
Released | June 24, 2008 (iTunes) | |||
Genre | Alternative rock | |||
Length | 3:28 | |||
Label |
| |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Violent Femmes | |||
Violent Femmes singles chronology | ||||
|
Violent Femmes released a cover of the song on June 24, 2008, through the iTunes Store [118] and on a limited edition, baby blue 12" vinyl. [119] It was their first newly recorded song since 2000. Gnarls Barkley had previously covered the Violent Femmes song "Gone Daddy Gone" on their album St. Elsewhere .
Gnarls Barkley described the Violent Femmes' version as: "I might compare it to a calm pond. I caught my reflection in it. And I seemed to be momentarily at peace. This track sounds entirely different in the rain, and supports some intriguing lilypads." [120] The Violent Femmes hosted a YouTube contest beginning on June 10, 2008, with a cash award of one thousand dollars and "other cool prizes" for creating and submitting a promotional video clip.
The Kooks, [121] Nelly Furtado, [122] and The Zutons have covered "Crazy" on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge. The Kooks' version was released on Radio 1's Live Lounge , while Furtado's version was released as a B-side on her UK single "Promiscuous" and she performed the song live with Welsh singer Charlotte Church on The Charlotte Church Show . [123] Folk singer Ray LaMontagne has also covered the song, a version very well received by critics [124] and Paris Hilton had delayed the release of her debut album Paris to include a cover of "Crazy" as well, [125] although it was not included in the final track list. G4 also included an operatic cover of "Crazy" on the album Act Three . Other artists, including Maroon 5, Ninet Tayeb, The Raconteurs, [126] Billy Idol, [127] The Academy Is... (with Travie McCoy of Gym Class Heroes), [128] Butch Walker, [129] Cat Power, [130] Texas, [128] The Twilight Singers, [128] Mates of State, [131] Paco Estrada & One Love, and of Montreal [132] have performed cover versions of the song live in concert. Trey Lorenz (Mariah Carey's backup singer) has also performed the song on Carey's The Adventures of Mimi tour throughout the summer and autumn of 2006. [133] Shawn Colvin performed the song on A Prairie Home Companion on November 4, 2006. [134] On her recent tour, Cat Power performed the song during her set. [130] Singer-songwriter Jude's cover of the song can be found on YouTube. David Gilmour used to play the song during some of his soundchecks for his On an Island tour in 2006. Lil Wayne remixed the song for his 2007 mixtape Da Drought 3. Prince covered the song in his one-off performance at London's KOKO Club on May 10, 2007, and at several of his 21 concerts at London's O2 Arena in August and September 2007.[ citation needed ] Pink covered "Crazy" during the entire Funhouse Tour (2009). Paolo Nutini frequently covers the song at his concerts. Little Ghost performed a cover of the song for their BBC session in 2014. Australian Idol 2007 contestant Natalie Gauci covered the song during the Doin' It for the Kids special, using her own arrangement. On November 6, 2008, the band OneRepublic covered "Crazy" in front of a hometown crowd at the Fillmore Auditorium in Denver, Colorado. British soul singer Alice Russell included a cover of the song in her 2008 album Pot of Gold. Relient K covered the song for their 2011 cover album, Is for Karaoke . The Neighbourhood performed "Crazy" live during their 2015 tour, The Flood tour. On February 28, 2019 Kacey Musgraves performed "Crazy" live with CeeLo Green during the second Nashville show of the Oh, What a World Tour at the Ryman Auditorium. [135]
Actor Stephen Kramer Glickman also covered the song for his debut album, The Moving Company.
The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain covered the song as part of their Ukulele Lockdown series, released on YouTube on April 12, 2020. [136]
At Glastonbury 2014, on the final night, Kasabian covered the song while headlining on the pyramid stage. This was aired on BBC Two at 10:50 pm on June 29, 2014.
Similarly, many unofficial remixes and mashups of the song were released as white label records and are circulating on file sharing networks and MP3 blogs. The Discount Rhinos Full Control remix of the track even reached number 15 of the Australian ARIA Club chart. [25]
Honduran-Canadian singer Daniela Andrade also covered the song. Her version was featured in American TV series Suits and superhero web television series The Umbrella Academy .
Thomas DeCarlo Callaway-Burton, known professionally as CeeLo Green, is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and actor. He is known for his soul-infused delivery in hip hop and R&B, displayed in his signature song "Crazy" and his solo single "Fuck You."
"Dani California" is a song from American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers' ninth studio album, Stadium Arcadium (2006). The single was first made available at the iTunes Music Store and was officially released on April 28, 2006. The international radio premiere was on April 3, 2006, when Don Jantzen, from the Houston radio station KTBZ-FM, played "Dani California" continuously for his entire three-hour program.
"SOS" is a song by Barbadian singer Rihanna, and included in her second studio album, A Girl Like Me (2006). It was released on February 13, 2006, through Def Jam Recordings as the lead single of the album. "SOS" was written by J. R. Rotem and E. Kidd Bogart, with additional credit assigned to Ed Cobb for inspiration built around a sample of Soft Cell's 1981 recording of "Tainted Love". This song was written by Cobb in 1965, later influencing the creation of "SOS". Production of the dance-pop, hip hop and R&B song was handled by Rotem. Critical reception of "SOS" was generally positive, with the majority of music critics praising the inclusion of the "Tainted Love" sample. Some critics compared "SOS" to Rihanna's debut single, "Pon de Replay".
St. Elsewhere is the debut studio album by American soul duo Gnarls Barkley. It was released on April 24, 2006, in the United Kingdom, where it debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, and on May 9, 2006, in the United States, although it was available for purchase one week earlier as a digital download in the US iTunes Store. St. Elsewhere debuted at No. 20 on the US Billboard 200, and peaked at No. 4. It topped the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart for 39 non-consecutive weeks in 2006 and 2007.
"Steady, As She Goes" is the debut single of American rock band the Raconteurs from their first album, Broken Boy Soldiers (2006). In early 2006, a limited-edition 7-inch vinyl record was released as a double A-sided single with the relatively unpromoted "Store Bought Bones" as the flipside. "Steady, As She Goes" was released physically on April 24, 2006, with the B-side "Bane Rendition". Two further vinyl releases were produced: the first with "Store Bought Bones" as the B-side; the second an acoustic rendition of "Steady, As She Goes" with "Call It a Day" as the B-side.
"Put Your Records On" is a song by the English singer Corinne Bailey Rae from her self-titled debut studio album (2006). Written by Bailey Rae, John Beck, and Steve Chrisanthou, it was released as the album's second single in February and early March 2006 throughout Europe and as the lead single in North America. The song spent several weeks on the UK Singles Chart and became her signature tune.
"Maneater" is a song by Canadian singer Nelly Furtado from her third studio album, Loose (2006). The song was written by Furtado, Jim Beanz, and its producers Timbaland, and Danja. It was released to mainstream radio in the United States in July 2006. The song's musical style and production were inspired by the Hall & Oates song of the same name and other music from the 1980s.
"Smiley Faces" is a song by American soul music duo Gnarls Barkley from their debut album, St. Elsewhere (2006). It was released July 17, 2006, as the second single from that album in the United Kingdom and peaked at number 10 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Lil Star" is the second international single from Kelis' fourth studio album, Kelis Was Here (2006). Released outside US, the single features Cee-Lo, who was at the time half of the duo Gnarls Barkley. Following the moderate success of "Bossy", the single has proven to be a return to form for Kelis; it debuted at number eight in Ireland and was also a huge hit in the United Kingdom reaching number three on the UK Singles Chart. The track was hailed by many music fans and critics as Kelis' "comeback" single, despite the fact "Bossy" was written specifically for Kelis' return to music.
"Who Cares?" and "Gone Daddy Gone" are songs performed by Gnarls Barkley and are featured on their debut album, St. Elsewhere. The songs were released on November 6, 2006 as a double A-sided single from that album in the United Kingdom. A week later, on November 13, 2006, the single debuted at No. 60 in the UK Singles Chart. "Gone Daddy Gone" is a cover of the Violent Femmes song. The song peaked at No. 26 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart, and at No. 35 on Billboard's Adult Top 40 chart. The song "Gone Daddy Gone" is also featured in the soundtrack for the video game Tony Hawk's Project 8, the soundtrack for Forza Motorsport 2 and in the trailer for the Chris Rock film I Think I Love My Wife.
Gnarls Barkley is an American soul duo composed of singer-songwriter CeeLo Green and producer Danger Mouse. They released their debut studio album, St. Elsewhere, in 2006. It contained their hit single "Crazy", which peaked at number two on the US Hot 100 and topped the UK Singles Chart. It was nominated at the 2007 Grammy Awards for Record of the Year, and was platinum certified for shipping over 1,000,000 records. St. Elsewhere also received a nomination for Album of the Year. Their second studio album, The Odd Couple, was scheduled for release in April 2008, but due to a leak of the album over the internet, they decided to release it early. The album in its entirety received similarly positive reviews.
"Grace Kelly" is a song by British singer Mika. It was released as the lead single from Mika's debut studio album Life in Cartoon Motion (2007) on the 8th January 2007. It was written by Mika alongside Jodi Marr, John Merchant and Dan Warner. The song was produced and mixed by Greg Wells.
"Beggin'" is a song composed by Bob Gaudio and Peggy Farina and first released as a single by American band the Four Seasons in 1967. Initially charting at number 16 in the US Billboard Chart, the song became popular in the Northern soul scene in the United Kingdom in the 1970s. It has been covered multiple times, with versions by Norwegian hip-hop duo Madcon and Italian rock band Måneskin topping music charts in Europe and beyond. The Four Seasons' version was remixed in 2007 by French DJ Pilooski and re-released as a single, reaching number 32 in the UK Singles Chart, commercially outperforming the band's original release in the UK.
The Odd Couple is the second studio album by Gnarls Barkley, released digitally on March 18 and physically on March 25, 2008. Due to an early leak of the album over the Internet in early March 2008, the duo decided to push up the release from April 8. The album was released to the iTunes Store and Amazon MP3 on March 18.
"Run (I'm a Natural Disaster)", also known more commonly as "Run", is a song written and recorded by Gnarls Barkley. It is the first single to be released from the band's second album The Odd Couple. Released in February 2008 as a digital download in the UK and the US via the iTunes Store, a physical release of the single followed in the UK on March 31. The song features a sample from Keith Mansfield's "Junior Jet Set" from the KPM LP Flamboyant Themes and "Starting Out the Day" by Strawberry Alarm Clock. The song is featured in the film X-Men: First Class, as a playable song in the video game Dance Central 2, and is heard in promos for Disney-Pixar's Cars 2 and the eight series of CBBC's Raven. This song was number 34 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2008.
"All Dressed in Love" is a song written by Gnarls Barkley's Cee-Lo, Jack Splash and Salaam Remi and recorded by Jennifer Hudson for Sex and the City: The Movie. Despite not being released as a single, the song debuted at number 72 on the UK Singles Chart on the strength of paid downloads alone.
"Fuck You", known as "Forget You" or "FU" for the clean versions, is a song by American singer CeeLo Green. It was written as a collaboration among Green, Bruno Mars, his production team the Smeezingtons, and Brody Brown. It was released on August 19, 2010, as the first single from Green's third solo studio album, The Lady Killer (2010). "Fuck You" received widespread acclaim from music critics, and was an international commercial success, making the top-10 in thirteen countries, including topping charts in the United Kingdom, and number two on the Billboard Hot 100.
The discography of Gnarls Barkley, an American alternative hip-hop duo composed of record producer Danger Mouse and soul singer Cee Lo Green, consists of two studio albums, two extended plays, seven singles and seven music videos. The duo originally met in the late 1990s, and began to record music together in 2003 following the release of Danger Mouse's 2003 album Ghetto Pop Life. Their first single, "Crazy", was released in 2006; it achieved worldwide chart success, reaching number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 – where it was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) – and reaching the top ten of the Australian, New Zealand and Swiss singles charts, among others. It also topped the UK Singles Chart, attracting considerable attention for becoming the first song ever to top the chart on digital download sales alone, following a change to the chart's eligibility rules allowing songs to chart purely on digital sales providing that it was given a physical release the following week. The song appeared on Gnarls Barkley's debut studio album, St. Elsewhere, which peaked at number four on the US Billboard 200 as well as topping the New Zealand and United Kingdom albums charts. Three further singles – "Smiley Faces", which reached the top ten of the UK and Irish singles charts, "Who Cares?" and a cover of the Violent Femmes song "Gone Daddy Gone" – were released from St. Elsewhere, although none of them appeared on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Let Her Go" is a song recorded by English singer-songwriter Passenger. It was recorded at Sydney's Linear Recording and co-produced by Passenger and Chris Vallejo. The recording features Australian musicians Stu Larsen, Georgia Mooney, Stu Hunter, Cameron Undy, and Glenn Wilson. "Let Her Go" was released on 24 July 2012 as the second single from Passenger's fourth album, All the Little Lights.
"Lose My Mind" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Brett Eldredge. It was released on May 4, 2015 as the first single from Eldredge's second studio album, Illinois. Eldredge co-wrote the song with Ross Copperman and Heather Morgan. Writing credit is also given to CeeLo Green, Danger Mouse, Gian Franco Reverberi and Gian Piero Reverberi for a line borrowed from Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy". Critics praised it for the mixture of both country and pop music elements throughout the production.
...the idea of a universal pop hit, a song anybody could love, seemed like a sweet old-fashioned notion...But was this the most glorious pop thrill of our time? Totally.