"Accidentally in Love" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Counting Crows | ||||
from the album Shrek 2: Motion Picture Soundtrack | ||||
B-side |
| |||
Released | May 3, 2004 | |||
Genre | Pop rock [1] [2] | |||
Length | 3:08 | |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Brendan O'Brien | |||
Counting Crows singles chronology | ||||
|
"Accidentally in Love" is a song by American rock band Counting Crows. The song was written for the opening scene of the 2004 DreamWorks animated film Shrek 2 and appears on the movie's soundtrack as the opening track. [3] It was released as a single on May 3, 2004, two weeks before the movie premiered in theaters. "Accidentally in Love" was commercially successful, peaking within the top 40 on several music charts, including the Irish Singles Chart, where it reached number three and spent 10 weeks in the top 50. The song was nominated for Best Original Song at the 77th Academy Awards.
DreamWorks Animation chose Counting Crows lead singer Adam Duritz to write a song that would be featured in the opening scene of their 2004 film Shrek 2 , in which Shrek and his wife, Princess Fiona, celebrate their honeymoon following the events of the first movie. [4] To get an idea on how to write the song, Duritz went to the DreamWorks animation camp and watched approximately half of the film. Duritz reported to Billboard magazine that he almost did not write the song, as he was not used to writing songs on demand and was experiencing a block. However, DreamWorks allowed him creative freedom on the song and did not force him to work tirelessly. [5]
According to Duritz, the song had to be uplifting, and the studio told him to write a song about himself, not Shrek. Duritz said that the song was indeed about the events that were happening in his life during the writing process, including falling in love with an "inconvenient" lover. He was happy with the track's results, especially since it would appeal to multiple age groups, and he also claimed that "Accidentally in Love" would be "timeless" since it was an original song written for a film. [5]
Geffen Records and DreamWorks Records released the song to American hot adult contemporary and triple A radio stations on May 3, 2004, two weeks before Shrek 2 premiered in theaters. [4] [6] On June 8, 2004, it was serviced to contemporary hit radio. [7] A digital download of the song was released on July 5, 2004, in various countries, including the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. [8] [9] [10] In the latter country, a CD single was issued on July 12, 2004, containing live versions of "American Girls" and "If I Could Give All My Love (Richard Manuel Is Dead)" recorded in Oslo, Norway, as well the song's music video. [11] [12] In Australia, a different CD single was issued, containing a live version of "Miami" from Oslo and the music video. [13]
Billboard magazine reviewed the song on their May 22, 2004, issue, with Susanne Ault writing that "Accidentally in Love" was the "perfect kickoff for the summer" and would please both children and their parents, going on to write that it contains a "light and breezy" hook for the beach season. However, she also noted that the song's success would be temporary and called it "a little sappy". [1] Reviewing the film's soundtrack on AllMusic, Heather Phares called the song a cross between one of the Counting Crows' older song and "Closer to Free" by BoDeans, targeting parents and older siblings rather than children. [3] On the same site, Johnny Loftus wrote that "Accidentally in Love" was the band's most "uplifting" song since "Hanginaround" in 1999 and that the band approached the track well, referring to its beat as "cartoon-y sunshine" and its chorus as "love-drenched XTC". [14] Dillon Eastoe of British news site Gigwise called the track "brilliant". [15] In April 2022, American Songwriter ranked the song at number seven on their list of "The Top 10 Counting Crows Songs". [16]
"Accidentally in Love" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song; Counting Crows performed the song at the ceremony but did not win the award. [17] The song also received nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media. [18] [19]
In the United States, "Accidentally in Love" topped the Billboard Triple-A chart for five weeks in July and August 2004. [20] On the Billboard Hot 100, it debuted at number 61 on June 26, 2004, [21] rising to its peak of number 39 eight weeks later (on August 21) and spending 20 weeks on the chart. [22] It also appeared on several other Billboard rankings, reaching number three on the Adult Top 40, [23] number 23 on the Adult Contemporary chart, [24] and number 35 on the Mainstream Top 40. [25] The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) awarded the song a gold disc in January 2005 for shipping over 500,000 units. [26]
Overseas, the single found its highest national chart peak in Ireland. It first appeared on the Irish Singles Chart at number six on the week ending July 15, 2004, [27] taking three weeks to reach its peak of number three, where it remained for three weeks. [28] [29] It spent 10 weeks in the top 50, tallying its final week on September 16 at number 49. [30] In the United Kingdom, the song debuted and peaked at number 28 on the UK Singles Chart and logged five weeks in the top 100. [31] In June 2022, it was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales and streaming figures exceeding 400,000. [32]
Across mainland Europe, "Accidentally in Love" peaked at number 86 in Germany, number 59 in Austria, and number 47 in Romania. [33] [34] [35] It became a top-20 hit in Hungary and the Netherlands, achieving a peak of number 12 in the former country and number 14 in the latter. [36] [37] In Hungary, it was the 54th-most-aired song of 2004, [38] and in the Netherlands, it was the 97th-best-selling single of the year according to the Dutch Top 40. [39] On Australia's ARIA Singles Chart, the track charted for 13 weeks, peaking at number 11 on August 15, 2004, and ended the year at number 78 on the ARIA year-ending ranking. [40] [41] The same year, it was awarded a gold certification by the Australian Recording Industry Association, denoting 35,000 shipments. [42] In New Zealand, the song grazed the top 40, making its only chart appearance at number 39 on the week of September 27, 2004. [43]
The main music video for the song, directed by Meiert Avis, features a stuffed toy rabbit (voiced by and patterned after the band's frontman Adam Duritz) in the apartment of a young couple (the girl is Ashley Roberts from the Pussycat Dolls [44] and the boy is LA Models model Steve Vanda), complete with a TV showing scenes from the film. The rabbit comes to life and serenades the girl. She falls in love with him and leaves her boyfriend behind while he is in the kitchen making breakfast for her. The band itself is not present at all in the video.
An alternative music video for the song is included on the Shrek 2 DVD as a bonus feature and combines clips from the movie with scenes of Duritz recording the song. [45]
UK 7-inch picture disc single [46]
UK CD single [12]
| European CD single [47]
Australian CD single [13]
|
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [42] | Gold | 35,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [32] | Gold | 400,000‡ |
United States (RIAA) [26] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
United States | May 3, 2004 | [4] | ||
June 8, 2004 | Contemporary hit radio | [7] | ||
July 5, 2004 | Digital download | [8] | ||
Canada | [9] | |||
United Kingdom | [10] | |||
July 12, 2004 | CD | [11] |
Adam Fredric Duritz is an American singer, best known as the frontman for the rock band Counting Crows, for which he serves as a founding member and principal composer. Since its founding in 1991, Counting Crows has sold over 20 million records, released seven studio albums that have been certified gold or platinum, and been nominated for two Grammy Awards and an Academy Award.
Recovering the Satellites is the second studio album by American rock band Counting Crows, released on October 15, 1996, in the United States. Released three years after their debut album, it reached No. 1 in the United States and was a top seller in Australia, Canada, and the UK as well. The album featured founding Counting Crows members Adam Duritz, David Bryson (guitar), Charlie Gillingham (keyboards), Matt Malley (bass), as well as new additions Ben Mize (drums) and Dan Vickrey (guitars). Multi-instrumentalist David Immerglück played on the album as a session musician as well. Counting Crows brought in producer Gil Norton for Recovering the Satellites. Three singles were released from the album, with "A Long December" being the best charting, reaching number 6 on the US Radio Songs chart and number 1 in Canada. The album itself peaked on the top spot of the Billboard Hot 200 album chart and has been certified double-platinum in both the US and Canada.
"Boulevard of Broken Dreams" is a song by American rock band Green Day. The power ballad is the fourth track from their seventh studio album American Idiot (2004). Reprise Records released "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" as the second single from American Idiot on November 29, 2004. The song's lyrics were written by lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong, and the music was composed by the band. Production was handled by Rob Cavallo and Green Day.
"Let Me Love You" is a song by American singer Mario, released as a single on October 4, 2004, from his second studio album, Turning Point (2004). The song was written by Ne-Yo, Kameron Houff, and Scott Storch, while the production was handled by Storch. The song garnered Mario a Grammy Award nomination for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance in 2006 and became a top-10 hit worldwide, reaching number one in the United States, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.
"Big Yellow Taxi" is a song written, composed, and originally recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell in 1970, and originally released on her album Ladies of the Canyon. It was a hit in her native Canada as well as Australia and the UK. It only reached No. 67 in the US in 1970, but was later a bigger hit there for her in a live version released in 1974, which peaked at No. 24. Charting versions have also been recorded by The Neighborhood, and most notably by Amy Grant in 1994 and Counting Crows in 2002. The song was also sampled in Janet Jackson's "Got 'til It's Gone" (1997).
"The Dolphin's Cry" is a song by American alternative rock band Live, released on August 24, 1999, as the lead single from their fourth studio album, The Distance to Here. The song was co-produced by Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads, and features Adam Duritz of Counting Crows on backing vocals. It reached number one on the Canadian RPM Top 30 Rock Report and number two on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. Internationally, "The Dolphin's Cry" peaked at number one in Iceland, number seven in Flanders, and number 10 in the Netherlands while reaching the top 50 on the Australian and New Zealand music charts.
"Dream On" is a song by the British musical group Depeche Mode. It was released in the United States on 17 April 2001 and in the United Kingdom on 23 April 2001 as the first single from the band's 10th studio album, Exciter (2001). The song topped the charts of Denmark, Germany, Italy and Spain and reached the top 10 in Austria, Canada, Finland, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Wallonia. The song's music video was directed by Stéphane Sednaoui.
"Mr. Jones" is the debut single of American rock band Counting Crows. It was released in December 1993 by Geffen as the lead single from the band's debut album, August and Everything After (1993). The song was the band's first radio hit and has been described as their breakout single. "Mr. Jones" reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay charts. Internationally, the song peaked at number one in Canada and number seven in France. In April 2022, American Songwriter ranked the song at number four on their list of "The Top 10 Counting Crows Songs".
"Soak Up the Sun" is a song by American singer Sheryl Crow. She and her longtime co-worker Jeff Trott wrote the song following a conversation they had during a plane flight, when they discussed the changing weather as they flew to New York City from Portland, Oregon. Crow was recovering from surgery at the time, inspiring her and Trott to write a happy song that would cheer her up. In the song, Crow has no money to afford any luxuries or necessities, but she decides that wallowing in her sadness is not a productive activity, so she reflects on what she currently has and "puts on a happy face" that she plans to spread to others. Crow chose to release the song as the lead single from her fourth studio album, C'mon, C'mon (2002), as she wanted to enliven people living in a post-9/11 society.
"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.
"If It Makes You Happy" is a song by American singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow, released as the lead single from her 1996 eponymous album in September 1996. The song peaked at number 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming Crow's final top-10 solo hit in the United States, and at number nine on the UK Singles Chart. It also reached number one in Canada and won Best Female Rock Vocal Performance at the 1997 Grammy Awards. In 2003, Q Magazine ranked "If It Makes You Happy" at number 663 in their list of the "1001 Best Songs Ever".
"Try" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado, taken from her second studio album, Folklore (2003). The song, written by Furtado herself, and Brian West, was released as the second single from the album in February 2004. The song was moderately successful in several European countries, including Italy, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, where it reached the top 20. It did not chart on the US Billboard Hot 100, but it did peak at number 29 on the Adult Top 40 chart.
"Angels of the Silences" is a song by American alternative rock band Counting Crows. It is the lead single and second track from their second album, Recovering the Satellites (1996). The song peaked at number three on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, making it the highest-placing single from the album.
"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.
"Round Here" is a song by American rock band Counting Crows, released as the second single from their debut album, August and Everything After (1993), on June 20, 1994, by Geffen Records. The song's origin predates the formation of Counting Crows, when the band's future frontman Adam Duritz wrote the song with The Himalayans members Dan Jewett, Chris Roldan and Dave Janusko.
The American rock group Counting Crows has released seven studio albums, one extended play, two compilation albums and five live albums. Five of the band's singles charted within the top 40 of the US Radio Songs chart, and "Mr. Jones" and "A Long December" reached the top 10.
"Rain King" is a single by the rock band Counting Crows. It was released as the band's fourth single. The title is a reference to Saul Bellow's Henderson the Rain King. "Rain King" peaked at number 66 on the US Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart, number 18 in Canada, and number four in Iceland. In April 2022, American Songwriter ranked the song at number eight on their list of "The Top 10 Counting Crows Songs".
"Hanginaround" is a song by American rock band Counting Crows. It is the first track on their third album, This Desert Life (1999). Released on October 18, 1999, the song reached number 28 on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming their biggest hit on the chart from this album. It also reached number one on the Billboard Triple-A chart, their second number-one single on this listing.
"If I Could Give All My Love (Richard Manuel Is Dead)" is a song by American rock band Counting Crows. It is the fourth track on their fourth album, Hard Candy (2002), inspired by the death of the Band member Richard Manuel. When released as a single, it reached number 40 in Ireland, number 50 in the United Kingdom, and became a minor chart hit in Australia and the Netherlands. In the United Kingdom, it debuted and peaked at number nine on the UK Rock Chart.
"Obsesión" is a song by Dominican-American bachata band Aventura with Judy Santos as the female vocalist. It was included on their second studio album, We Broke the Rules (2002), and an English-language version was made for the same album. The song achieved success in many countries, topping many international charts. In France, the song held the French Singles Chart's number-one slot for seven weeks, and as of August 2014, it was the 19th-best-selling single of the 21st century in France, with 565,000 units sold. A radio remix of the song was added to the 2004 special edition version of Love & Hate, which was exclusively released in Italy.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)