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| Last single = "[['03 Bonnie & Clyde]]"<br>(2002)
| Last single = "[['03 Bonnie & Clyde]]"<br>(2002)
| This single = "'''Crazy in Love'''"<br>(2003)
| This single = "'''Crazy in Love'''"<br>(2003)
| Next single = "[[Baby Boy]]"<br>(2003)
| Next single = "[[Baby Boy (song)|Baby Boy]]"<br>(2003)
}}
}}
{{Extra chronology
{{Extra chronology

Revision as of 14:37, 8 September 2007

"Crazy in Love"
Song

"Crazy in Love" is an R&B/funk song written by Beyoncé Knowles, producer Rich Harrison, rapper Jay-Z, and Eugene Record. Released as the first single from Beyoncé's debut album Dangerously in Love in mid 2003 (see 2003 in music), it reached number one in the United States and United Kingdom and the top ten on the majority of charts it entered across the world. The song contains a prominent horn sample from The Chi-Lites' 1970 "Are You My Woman (Tell Me So)", and serves as the song's hook. "Crazy in Love" received a hugely positive response from music critics; most referred to it as the best single release of 2003. Its success established Knowles as a leading solo performer following several years as a member of Destiny's Child.

Writing and recording

"Crazy in Love" was co-written by Beyoncé, Rich Harrison, and Jay-Z, and was co-produced by Beyoncé and Rich Harrison. It features a sample of the song "Are You My Woman (Tell Me So)", originally performed by The Chi-Lites and written by Eugene Record. The single was one of the most commercially-successful songs of 2003. The song's lyrics recall moments of temporary romantic insanity that have her "looking so crazy in love". Beyoncé states the song's hook "Looking so crazy right now" was derived from her telling her producer she shouldn't be going out looking "so crazy right now" before leaving the studio to buy former band member Kelly Rowland a birthday gift. It was a pink, fluffy envelope saying words of imaginative text messages.

Although Beyoncé had released singles as part of Destiny's Child, and had appeared as a solo artist on special soundtrack singles and guest appearances, the first single release from the Dangerously in Love album was seen as crucial in establishing her as a substantial performer in her own right; she and her record company first considered using "Naughty Girl" as the first single. While searching for a backing track, she was introduced to producer, Harrison, who produced Mary J. Blige's "Beautiful Ones", wrote and produced Kelly Rowland's "Can't Nobody", and Amerie's debut album All I Have. Harrison played a beat for her that he had created from the song "Are You My Woman (Tell Me So)". Beyoncé had to take care of some other album-related tasks, and had given Harrison only two hours to write the song. Harrison, severely hungover, was commissioned to create a melodic track for the verses and chorus he wrote. He was able to write the music for the verses and chorus in time for Beyoncé's return as she completed the song by adding the lyrics.

After the completion of "Crazy in Love", record company advisors suggested to Beyoncé that she return to "Naughty Girl" as the lead single from her forthcoming album. It was believed that "Naughty Girl" would probably be a success, and a safe choice, allowing Beyoncé to convey the sexy persona that she had established with Destiny's Child; moreover, the general style, together with a well-known hook from Donna Summer's "Love to Love You Baby", was considered to be more commercial in sound than other songs Beyoncé had recorded for the album. "Crazy in Love" was seen as more of a gamble, and both the aggressive sound and attitude were somewhat different from Beyoncé's previous work.

Beyoncé insisted on moving ahead with "Crazy in Love", however, and although confident that the song was the correct choice, she felt that it might not perform well on urban charts. In order to move beyond Top 40 Mainstream markets, she enlisted her boyfriend, Jay-Z, to record a guest rap vocal performance. Like most of Jay-Z's guest raps, the verse was recorded from memory, and provided a contrast to Beyoncé's more elegant vocal style. Beyoncé hoped that the combination would allow her to move beyond Destiny's Child's reputation of pop-R&B, and as the deadline for the single's release approached, she submitted the final mixed version of the song.

Music video

File:Beyoncecrazyinlove1.PNG
Beyoncé in the music video

The music video (released in May 2003) was filmed by Jake Nava, is relatively plotless. The opening scene begins with Knowles wearing a tank top, shorts, and red high-heels. She performs an elaborate solo dance on a riser. The scene shifts to a gold set detailing a mock photo shoot, before moving into a scene with dancers detailing Knowles and dancing against a wall while wearing caps and full length pants. In a controversial sequence, the video then shifts into its next scene, which shows a helpless Beyoncé struggling inside a car. She is apparently unaware that there is a trail of gasoline outside of the car, which Jay-Z ignites, causing the car to explode.

Knowles does not appear injured; next, she is dancing to Jay-Z's solo rap in an exotic silk print over a fur coat, and decides to kick a fire hydrant. She continues to dance whilst the water is flying all over the place. The video ends with Knowles and her dancers in front of a giant fan in vibrant dresses in contrast to the more neutral colors of the background.

Music and structure

"Crazy in Love" is a love song composed in the key of D minor.[1] It is written in common time and moves at a moderate 100 beats per minute.[1] Knowles' vocal range spans around one and a half octaves in the song, from A3 to D5.[1]

Critical response

"Crazy in Love" attracted a generally positive comments from reviewers. Tim Sendra of the All Music Guide praised the Australian release, and described the song as a "stunning pop masterpiece",[1] while Stephen Thomas Erlewine, who reviewed Dangerously in Love, called it "deliriously catchy". Darryl Sterdan, writing for Jam! Showbiz, noted the song's "instantly addictive horn lines".[2] Anthony DeCurtis for Rolling Stone also remarked upon the horn sample, and noted the contribution of Jay-Z, writing: "'Crazy in Love' ... roars out of the speakers on the strength of a propulsive horn sample and the charged presence of her pal, Jay-Z."[3] Reviewing Dangerously in Love, Sam Smallman of PlayLouder wrote: "'Crazy In Love' ... kick starts the album, and it is well chosen – the track is blatantly huge, a proper club banger, and a fine showcase for Jay-Z's new, more melodic flow".[4] Whudat.com commented on the song's role as a club track, and noted that it was "the '1AM' track in the clubs"; it also gave it a rating of "90/100 degrees".[5] The British magazine NME voted it the best single release of the year, in their end of year review of 2003.[6]

Chart performance

"Crazy in Love" was solicited to radio on May 8 2003 in North America. Upon release, the song became a large success and was able to reach number one on nine of the major U.S. Billboard charts; it spent several weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100, the Hot 100 Airplay, the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, the Hot Dance Club Play, the Top 40 Mainstream, and the Rhythmic Top 40. It also proved somewhat successful on other Billboard charts, but it only climbed to number twenty-eight on the Adult Top 40 format.

The single was a substantial hit throughout the world, and spent eight weeks at number one for the overall tracks and five weeks at number one on sales data chart on the United World Chart (UWC) by Media Traffic. Top40-charts.com records that the single spent ten weeks on the world singles chart, based on physical sales from 65 countries (excluding the downloads whereas UWC does integrate), eight weeks on the world airplay chart with the worldwide sample of 2650 commercial and public radio stations throughout the world by the radio station's Top 40 Radio Playlist Charts – both based on the company's independent research. From APC-Stats by Music & Media, it dominated the European official singles chart by holding the top position for four weeks. It also spent three weeks at number one in the United Kingdom, having her first ever number-one single (and album at the same time) in the UK as a solo artist, selling 955,800. Counting her career with former group Destiny's Child, this becomes her third number-one single in the UK. It reached number two in Australia, Netherlands, and New Zealand; the song debuted at number four in Canada before it climbed to a peak position of number two.

In 2003, Knowles also made history by being the first female artist to have a number-one single and a number-one album, Dangerously in Love, in the U.S. and the UK simultaneously (also to have the simultaneous effect in both countries at the same time). In the U.S., it has occurred when the album made a new entry to the top spot, while the single reached to the top position from number three in the previous week (simultaneous effect in the U.S. for one week). In the UK, the album was released one week earlier than the single. Like the U.S., it too made a new entry to number one for her album – Evanescence's single "Bring Me to Life" made the top that week. The following week, both singles and albums were number one simultaneously for three consecutive weeks. This made her the second female artist to have a simultaneous number-ones for the UK singles chart in the 21st century. The first was Kylie Minogue with the album Fever and the single "Can't Get You out of My Head" in 2001. The album had one more week at number one while the single dropped to number two the next week – Daniel Bedingfield's single "Never Gonna Leave Your Side" had the number one spot that week. To simplify, Knowles obtained five consecutive weeks at number one for the album and three of those weeks at the top consecutively for the single co-inciding with the album in the UK. Earlier artists to achieve this feat are The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, Rod Stewart, and Men at Work.

The song spent twenty-seven weeks on the Hot 100, spending fifteen of those weeks in the top ten, and twenty-six of those weeks in the top fifty, as the song debuted at fifty-eight. Because the song was so popular, airplay became dominating, and eventually became "played out" like many of her songs. This caused the song to decline rather quickly after its peak. It eventually became the fourth biggest hit of the year.[7]

In Asia, the song topped the MTV Asia Hitlist for seven weeks, becoming the longest chart topper for 2003. Knowles became the first artist to reach number one because of digital downloads and viewers' requests. It was considered to be the most-played song during that year.

Cover versions

Awards

By 2005 the digital downloads of "Crazy in Love", counting sales of the original version and the remixes of the song, known as "Krazy in Luv", had sold over 100,000 copies. As a result of this, the song was awarded the Gold single certification by the RIAA for sales of at least 100,000 digital downloads. (Note: Sales of the DVD single and 12" maxi single were not counted in this tabulation). In terms of certification, the song has also been recognized in the UK by the Official UK Charts Company (OCC) from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), and in Australia by ARIA; unlike the U.S., it has been recognized for mostly shipments of the CD single earning a Silver (for shipments of at least 265,000 units) and Platinum[8] certification respectively. It was also ceritified gold in New Zealand by RIANZ after spending sixteen weeks in the official singles chart. (At least 5,000 to 6,500 units sold in NZ for shipments).

Beyoncé was nominated for three Grammy Awards for "Crazy in Love" at the 2004 ceremony, in the categories of "Record of the Year", "Best R&B Song", and "Best Rap/Sung Collaboration", winning the last two. The award for "Record of the Year" was won by Coldplay's "Clocks". A remix of "Crazy in Love" known as "Krazy in Luv" (Maurice's Soul Nu Mix) won the award "Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical" for the remixer, Maurice Joshua). It was also recognized at the ASCAP awards by the label companies receiving the "Publisher of the Year" from EMI and "Most Performed Songs" award in 2004.

The music video of the song won acclaim from both American and international video awarding-committees. It was nominated for four 2003 MTV Video Music Awards in the categories of "Best Female Video", "Best R&B Video", "Best Choreography", and "Viewer's Choice". It won the awards for "Best Female Video", "Best R&B Video", and "Best Choreography", but the "Viewer's Choice" award was won by Good Charlotte for their video "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous". In Europe, "Crazy in Love" won the award for "Best Song" at the 2003 MTV Europe Music Awards.

The song has also been recognized by Beyoncé's peers in the urban markets, and won the award for "Best Collaboration" at the BET Awards in 2004. VIBE magazine's VIBE Awards also recognized the song for "Coolest Collabo" in 2003.

Formats and track listings

Charts

Notes and references

  1. ^ Sendra, Tim Crazy in Love (Australia CD) Review. All Music Guide. Retrieved Oct. 28, 2005.
  2. ^ Sterdan, Darryl Beyonce Album Review: DANGEROUSLY IN LOVE. Jam! Showbiz. Retrieved Oct. 28, 2005.
  3. ^ DeCurtis, Anthony Dangerously in Love Review. Rolling Stone. Retrieved Oct. 28, 2005.
  4. ^ Smallman, Sam Review - Dangerously in Love. PlayLouder. Retrieved Oct. 28, 2005.
  5. ^ CG Dangerously in Love - Music Review. Whudat. Retrieved Oct. 28, 2005.
  6. ^ Neal, Marc Anthony Dangerously in Love - PopMatters Music Review. PopMatters.com. Retrieved Oct. 28, 2005.
  7. ^ Hopkins, Bunny Crazy in Love - Video Review. Bunny on a Stick.com. Retrieved Oct. 28, 2005.
  8. ^ Rocklist (NME) 2003. Retrieved Oct. 28, 2005.
  9. ^ ARIA 2003 Certification Singles 2003 Certification. Retrieved Oct. 30, 2005.
  • Beyoncé (2003). "Crazy in Love" (DVD single) New York: Columbia Records Co. — Beyoncé explains the making of the video
  • Beyoncé (2004). Live at Wembley (DVD/CD) New York: Columbia Records Co. — Beyoncé explains the risks she took by making this song her first single.
  • D'Angelo, Joe Road To The Grammys: The Making of Beyonce's 'Crazy In Love'", MTV.com Retrieved Oct. 28, 2005. — Rich Harrison talks about the creation of "Crazy in Love".
  • Bronson, Fred (2003, 5th ed.). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits. New York: Billboard Books. ISBN 0-8230-7677-6 — more information on the creation of "Crazy in Love"
  • "40 Top 20 & Top 40 Music Charts from 25 Countries" (2005). top40charts.com. Retrieved from Full Chart History of "Crazy in Love" by Beyonce feat. Jay-Z on Oct. 28, 2005. — International chart information.
  • Media Traffic - United World Chart: Singles and Album Data.

External links

Preceded by Billboard Hot 100 number one single
July 12, 2003 - August 30, 2003 		Succeeded by
Preceded by UK Singles Chart number one single
July 6, 2003 - July 24, 2003 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
"May We Never Have to Say Goodbye" by Ronan Tynan and Rita Connolly
 Irish Singles Chart number one single
July 12, 2003 - August 2, 2003 		Succeeded by
"Fly The Wings Of Love" by XTM
Preceded by Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs number one single
July 26 2003- August 9 2003 		Succeeded by
"Frontin'" by Pharell featuring Jay-Z
Preceded by United World Chart number one single
August 9 2003 - September 27 2003 		Succeeded by
  1. ^ a b c Sheet music for "Crazy in Love". Alfred Publishing. 2003.
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