"Criminal" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Fiona Apple | ||||
from the album Tidal | ||||
B-side | "Sleep to Dream" | |||
Released | June 2, 1997 [1] | |||
Studio | Ocean Way Recording (Los Angeles, California) | |||
Genre | Blues [2] [3] | |||
Length | 5:41 | |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) | Fiona Apple | |||
Producer(s) | Andrew Slater | |||
Fiona Apple singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"Criminal" on YouTube |
"Criminal" is a song by American recording artist Fiona Apple, the third single from her debut studio album, Tidal , released on June 2, 1997 through Work Records and Columbia Records. Apple has stated that the song is about "feeling bad for getting something so easily by using your sexuality". [4] Apple's highest-charting single, it peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 (her only entry to date), as well as No. 4 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks.
The song won the Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance at the 40th Grammy Awards and was nominated for Best Rock Song. "Criminal" was listed at No. 55 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the '90s", [5] and No. 71 on Blender magazine's 2005 list of "The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born". [4]
The song's music video was directed by Mark Romanek in May 1997 with cinematography by Harris Savides. It was released a month later in June 1997. Visual enhancements including the retroreflector in Fiona's eyes and additional lighting vignettes were created by visualist Ash Beck. The video features Apple sulking in various states of undress, and The New Yorker described her as "looking like an underfed Calvin Klein model", [6] known as the "heroin chic" look. It explores themes of voyeurism and adolescence. [7] In 1998, the video won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Cinematography.
The video was featured in the 1997 MTV special "Beavis and Butt-Head Do Thanksgiving". [8] Up until Beavis and Butt-Head's revival in 2011, it was the last to be critiqued by the duo among other videos in the special. [8]
Personnel taken from Tidal liner notes [14]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United States (RIAA) [28] | Platinum | 1,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
United States | June 2, 1997 | Alternative radio | Work | [1] |
September 16, 1997 |
| [28] |
Singer Natalie Cole covered the song for her 20th studio album, Leavin' (2006). Len Righi of The Morning Call wrote that she was surprised at Cole's ability to transform the "agonizing, brazen lament" into "a funky, Tina Turner-type, rump-shaker". [29]
In "Massacres and Matinees", the second episode of American Horror Story: Freak Show , Bette and Dot Tattler (played by Sarah Paulson) perform a duet version of "Criminal". [30] [31]
The music video for "Criminal" was the main inspiration for It Was Romance frontperson Lane Moore's music video to her song "Hooking Up with Girls", with many visuals as well as costumes inspired by the video. [32] [33] "Criminal" was ranked number 423 on Rolling Stone's 2021 list of the "Top 500 Songs of All Time". [34]
"MMMBop" is a song written and performed by American pop rock band Hanson. It was released on April 15, 1997, by Mercury Records as the lead single from their first full-length studio album, Middle of Nowhere (1997). The song is the band's most successful single to date and was nominated for Record of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards. "MMMBop" was a major success worldwide, reaching number one in at least 12 countries, including Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. Its music video was directed by Tamra Davis.
"Building a Mystery" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan from her fourth studio album, Surfacing (1997). At a live performance, Sarah explains the song as being "basically about the fact that we all... have insecurities to hide, and we often do that by putting on a facade." She also goes on to say that "unfortunately, if we just be who we are, that's usually the more attractive and beautiful thing".
"No Rain" is a song by American rock band Blind Melon. It was released in 1993 as the second single from the band's debut album Blind Melon. The song is well known for its accompanying music video, which features the "Bee Girl" character. The music video, directed by Samuel Bayer, received heavy airplay on MTV at the time of its release. It subsequently helped propel Blind Melon to multi-platinum level.
"Monkey Wrench" is a song by American rock band Foo Fighters. It was released as the lead single from their second album, The Colour and the Shape. The lyrics chronicle the 1997 disintegration of singer/songwriter Dave Grohl's four-year marriage to Jennifer Youngblood. The song peaked at number 9 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Lightning Crashes" is a song by American rock band Live. It was released in September 1994 as the third single from their second studio album, Throwing Copper. Although the track was not released as a single in the United States, it received enough radio airplay to peak at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart in 1995. The song also topped the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart for 10 weeks and the Modern Rock Tracks chart for nine weeks. Internationally, the song reached No. 3 in Canada, No. 8 in Iceland, and No. 13 in Australia.
"I Try" is a song co-written and performed by American musician Macy Gray. Issued as the second single from her debut album, On How Life Is (1999), the song was first released in Japan as a double A-side with "Do Something" on July 23, 1999. Two months later, on September 27, "I Try" was released officially in the United Kingdom, where it topped the UK Hip Hop/R&B Singles chart and peaked at No. 6 on the main UK Singles chart. Globally, the song would be Gray's most successful single, peaking at No. 5 in the United States and Norway, No. 4 in Scotland, No. 3 in Austria, No. 2 in Canada, and No. 1 in Australia, Ireland and New Zealand. At the 2001 Grammy Awards, "I Try" won Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, and was nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year.
"Take a Picture" is a song by American rock band Filter, released to radio in September 1999 as the second single from their second studio album, Title of Record (1999). The song became a hit at the start of 2000 following its January 18 retail release, peaking at number 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number three in Canada. It also became a top-10 hit in New Zealand, peaking at number eight on the RIANZ Singles Chart.
"Everyday Is a Winding Road" is the second single from American singer and songwriter Sheryl Crow's 1996 eponymous album. Neil Finn, lead singer of Crowded House, provides backing vocals. Paul Hester, another member of Crowded House, was the inspiration for the song. The single was issued in the United Kingdom in November 1996 and was released in the United States the following year.
"Counting Blue Cars (Tell Me Your Thoughts on God)" is a song by American alternative rock band Dishwalla from their 1995 A&M Records album Pet Your Friends. It is their only hit song, peaking at number 15 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and topping the same magazine's Modern Rock Tracks chart in 1996. It received two ASCAP awards (1997 and 1998) as the most-played song of the year on radio in the United States.
"One Headlight" is a song by American rock band the Wallflowers. The song was written by lead singer Jakob Dylan, and produced by T Bone Burnett. It was released in January 1997 as the second single and opening track from the band's second studio album, Bringing Down the Horse (1996).
"A Long December" is a song by American rock band Counting Crows. The ballad is the second single and 13th track from their second album, Recovering the Satellites (1996). Lead singer Adam Duritz was inspired to write the track after his friend was hit by a motorist and injured, making the song about reflecting on tragedy with a positive disposition.
"To the Moon and Back" is a song by Australian pop duo Savage Garden, released in Australia on 4 November 1996 as the second single from their self-titled 1997 album. It was the follow-up to their first hit "I Want You" and won the 1997 ARIA Music Award for Song of the Year. The song became the band's first number-one single in their native country, reached number three on the UK Singles Chart, and peaked at number 24 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"Push" is a song by American rock band Matchbox Twenty. It was released in 1997 as the second single from their debut album, Yourself or Someone Like You (1996). After landing "Long Day" on several rock radio stations paving the way, "Push" topped the US Modern Rock Tracks chart and became one of the band's signature songs.
"Santa Monica" is a song by American rock band Everclear, from their 1995 album Sparkle and Fade. The song was written by the band's lead singer, Art Alexakis. Though it was not commercially released as a single in the United States, radio stations played "Santa Monica" enough for it to reach number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart and number one the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart for three weeks in 1996. It became a top-40 hit in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom; it is the band's highest-charting single in Australia.
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"Sweet Surrender" is a song by Canadian singer Sarah McLachlan. It was released in 1997 as the second single from her fourth studio album, Surfacing (1997). The song peaked at number two in Canada and number 28 on the US Billboard Hot 100. In 2001, a maxi-single with remixes by DJ Tiësto was released peaking at number six on the US Hot Dance Club Play chart, three years after its original release.
"Free to Decide" is a song by Irish rock band the Cranberries, released as the second single from their third studio album, To the Faithful Departed (1996), on 1 July 1996. The song achieved minor chart success in Europe but became a top-10 hit in Canada, peaking at number two on the RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart. In the United States, it peaked at number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number eight on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. In 2017, the song was released as an acoustic version on the band's Something Else album.
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