Crazy in Love
| "Crazy in Love" | ||
|---|---|---|
| File:Crazy In Love.jpg | ||
| Single by Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z | ||
| From the album Dangerously in Love | ||
| Released | 2003 | |
| Format | DVD single 12" single | |
| Genre | Pop/R&B | |
| Length | 3:55 | |
| Label | Columbia | |
| Writers | Beyoncé Knowles Rich Harrison Jay-Z Eugene Record | |
| Producers | Beyoncé Knowles Rich Harrison | |
| Director | Jake Nava | |
| Certification | Gold (USA-RIAA) Silver (UK-OCC) Platinum (AU-ARIA) Gold (NZ-RIANZ) | |
| Chart positions | #1 USA (8 weeks) #1 U.K. (3 weeks) #1 CAN (2 weeks) #3 AUS | |
| Professional reviews | ||
| AMG | Link | |
| Beyoncé singles chronology | ||
| "'03 Bonnie & Clyde" (2002) |
"Crazy in Love" (2003) |
"Baby Boy" (2003) |
| Jay-Z singles chronology | ||
| "Beware of the Boys" (2002) |
"Crazy in Love" (2003) |
"Frontin'" (2003) |
- This article is about the song by Beyoncé. The article about the song by Eminem can be found at Crazy in Love (Eminem song).
"Crazy in Love" is the first single from Beyoncé's debut album Dangerously in Love. Released in 2003, the song, which features a guest-rapped verse from Jay-Z, immediately became a hit, becoming Beyoncé's first number-one single in the United States and Jay-Z's second. It was also an international hit, reaching number one in several other countries, such as the United Kingdom and Canada.
The single is noted for containing a prominent horn sample from the Chi-Lites song "Are You My Woman" which serves as the song's hook. At the time of the single's release, the sexual innuendo in its lyrics attracted some comment from the music media, who believed that it reflected the feelings between Beyoncé and Jay-Z; the artists went to great lengths not to comment on the innuendo or their rumored relationship. Although not Beyoncé's first solo single release, its widespread success throughout the world established her as a leading solo performer, after several years of success as a member of the R&B trio 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. The song is built around a sample of the song "Are You My Woman", 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".
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 discovered a struggling producer, Harrison, who played a beat for her that he had created from the song "Are You My Woman". He was commissioned to create a melodic track for the verses and chorus, and was going to write the lyrics too, until Beyoncé's manager and father, Matthew Knowles instructed Harrison to focus only on the music, as Beyoncé was writing the lyrics. Beyoncé had given Harrison only two hours to write the song, and problems soon arose, as he was severely hungover. He was able to write the music of the verses and chorus in time for Beyoncé's return, however, and she subsequently wrote the bulk of the lyrics and bridge.
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.
Critical response
"Crazy in Love" attracted 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 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 song also attracted some negative reviews, such as that of Marc Anthony Neil of Popmatters who called the song, "R&B on crack", and noted: "it's just some other shit and it don't let up" [6]. Bunny Hopkins of Bunny on a Stick criticized the song's music video, writing: "If I wanted to watch a fashion show, I'd watch my local cable channel's high school prom preview". She further criticized Beyoncé with the comment: "She’s unnecessarily trampy in this video, especially when she's spontaneously performing stripper moves on the sidewalk" [7]
The British magazine New Musical Express provided the single with the highest praise they could offer by voting it the best single release of the year, in their end of year review of 2003. [8]
Chart performance
The pending release of "Crazy in Love" caused some negative comments from Beyoncé's advisors, who felt the song would not attract a large audience due to its unconventional sound. Upon its release, however, it quickly became a major hit, and went on to become one of the biggest successes of 2003. It reached number one on The Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks where it remained at the top of the charts for several weeks. It also reached number one on the Hot 100 Airplay, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, Hot Dance Music/Club Play, Hot Digital Tracks, Top 40 Tracks, Mainstream Top 40, and the Rhythmic Top 40. The chart success of the song was also considered notable because the song was only released in 12" single and a DVD single formats. These formats attracted fewer points than other single formats; however, the song gained high points for the widespread airplay it received.
The outstanding success of the single led to it reaching a wider demographic than had been originally expected, and as its success grew it became a hit on the Adult Top 40, a chart traditionally associated with more slightly more conservative non-urban music, where it peaked at number twenty-eight. The song also became Beyoncé's first digital hit by topping the Hot Digital Tracks chart, although digital downloads were not yet counted towards the Hot 100.
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 by Media Traffic. Top40-charts.com records that the single spent four weeks at number one on the European official singles chart, ten weeks on the world singles chart, based on sales from 65 countries, and 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. It also spent three weeks at number one in the United Kingdom and two weeks at number one in Canada, with the latter based exclusively upon sales. Top40-charts.com, which counts airplay in addition to sales, recorded that the single peaked at number two in Canada. It reached number three in Australia and New Zealand. It has sold more than 3.2 million units worldwide, with cumulative levels of certification at around 2 milllion (Sales Only) and 4 Million (Sales, Votes, Downloads and Airplay) respectively.
In 2003, Knowles also made history by being the first female artist to have a number-one single and number one-album Dangerously in Love in the US and the UK simultaneously. In the US, it has occured when the album made a new entry to the top spot, while the single reached to the top position from number 3 in the previous week. (Only one-week simultaneous in the US). In the UK, the album was released one week earlier than the single. Like the US, it too made a new entry to number one for her album. (Evanesence'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 Official UK Chart in the 21st century (after year 2000 - the first was Kylie Minogue with the album "Fever" and single "Can't Get You Out of My Head"). The album had one more week at number one while the single dropped down to number two the next week. (Daniel Bedingfield's single "Never going to leave your side" had the number one spot that week). (ie. 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). Her album and single was simultaneous in both countries from July 12 to July 20 (1 week) making her the first female artist to top simultaneous charts for two countries (or more). (The Official US Chart for album and singles is released on Thursdays with the effect (week ending) on Saturdays, The Official UK Chart is released and bought to effectiveness every Sunday).
Music video
For the "Crazy in Love" video, Beyoncé enlisted the services of the director Jake Nava, who was a relative newcomer as a music-video director. Although the video is relatively plotless, its choreography, cinematography, and extravagant production values brought it recognition as one of the best videos of the year.
The opening scene begins with Beyoncé wearing a tanktop, shorts, and red high-heels performing an elaborate solo dance. The scene shifts to a gold set detailing a mock photo shoot, before moving into a scene with dancers detailing Beyoncé 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.
Beyoncé is not hurt, and is next seen dancing to Jay-Z's rap in an exotic silk print over a fur coat, before kicking open a fire hydrant and dancing in the resulting sprays of water. The video ends with Beyoncé and her dancers in front of a giant fan in vibrant dresses in contrast to the more neutral colors of the background.
The video was named as one of the top twelve videos of the year by Reel Images Magazine, and won several awards, with its success promoting the directing career of Jake Nava. Because of the grand scale of the music video, a behind-the-scenes film of the video was produced, and was released on the DVD single of the song. The video was released in 2005 as a video download on iTunes.
Live performances
As one of the most successful singles of 2003, Beyoncé often performed "Crazy in Love" live. Like most of Destiny's Child's other songs and her other solo songs, "Crazy in Love" had many differences in its live version compared to its studio version. For instance, Beyoncé does not sing the choruses of "Crazy in Love", but is instead found ad libbing or interacting with her audience over the choruses (she does perform the verses live). She also changes the bridge of the song to a certain degree; she does not sing all of it, and some live performances even omit the mid-section completely; she also always adds a new harmonic scale-like ad lib to the end of it. In terms of performance and not song composition, Beyoncé also usually adds a section in the middle of the song where she screams "Stop!" and all music and dancing stops for a second, before two male dancers come out in trenchcoat to flash Beyoncé. As part of the program, Beyoncé usually feigns shock and disgust at this action. This interlude is usually, but not always used in place of the rap from Jay-Z.
The song has been performed at several notable award ceremonies and concerts including the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards. Beyoncé's performance here was actually a medley of "Crazy in Love" and "Baby Boy". Beyoncé and her dancers performed an intricate dance to the first half of "Baby Boy" before switching over to "Crazy in Love". As the event was high profile, Jay-Z himself stepped in and performed his rap live (instead of omitting it or using a video of him). The performance attracted some minor controversy as Beyoncé lip-synced her performance; due to her dancing that evening, singing would have been impractical. But, it should be pointed out Beyoncé also made no effort to hide her the fact that she had no microphone during the performance. However, the incident was not widely noted as the kiss between Britney Spears and Madonna attracted more attention that evening.
Another notable performance of this song was performed at Jay-Z farewell concert in late November 2003. Although the show was meant to be focused on the career of Jay-Z, "Crazy in Love" was one of the few songs that evening peformed that deviated from that theme. As the concert was a Jay-Z concert, Jay-Z himself once again rapped live for the song. The performance of this song was later included on the motion picture documentary, Fade to Black and its DVD release. The song also made a "cameo" appearance of sorts at the 2004 Grammy Awards. That evening Beyoncé performed "Dangerously in Love 2" and a medley of Prince hits, with Prince himself, of "Crazy" and "Purple Rain". In between the medley's transitions, the horn sample of "Crazy in Love" was briefly played a few times to tie into "Crazy". "Crazy in Love" can also be seen on Beyoncé live DVD, Live at Wembley. A bonus performance of "Crazy in Love" at the 2004 Brit Awards is also included as a bonus feature. Knowles won "Best International Female Solo Artist" award at the Brits.
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 U.K. by the Official U.K. Charts Company (OCC) and in Australia by ARIA; unlike the USA, it has been recognized for mostly shipments of the CD single earning a silver (for shipments of at least 265,000 units) and platinum [9] 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).
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 single, "Lifestyles of the Rich and the Famous". In Europe, the "Crazy in Love" video won the award for "Best Song" at the 2004 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 tracklistings
These are the formats and track listings of major single-releases of "Crazy in Love".
U.S. DVD single
- "Crazy in Love" (Video)
- "Behind the Scenes of 'Crazy in Love'" (Video)
Australian CD single
- "Crazy in Love (Album Version)"
- "Summertime" featuring P. Diddy
- "Krazy in Luv (Maurice's Nu Soul Remix)"
- "Krazy in Luv (Rocwilder Remix)"
Music charts
Worldwide
| Chart (2003 to/or 2004) | Position # | Weeks On Chart | Chart Company |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Singles Chart / Billboard Hot 100 | 1 (8 weeks) | 24 (in Top 40) | Billboard |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Airplay | 1 | ? | Billboard |
| U.S. Hot R&B / Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks | 1 | ? | Billboard |
| U.S. Hot R&B / Hip-Hop Singles Sales | 4 | ? | Billboard |
| U.S. Hot R&B / Hip-Hop Airplay | 1 | ? | Billboard |
| U.S. Hot Dance Music / Club Play | 1 | ? | Billboard |
| U.S. Hot Dance Singles Sales | 4 | ? | Billboard |
| U.S. Dance Radio Airplay | 7 | ? | Billboard |
| U.S. Hot Digital Tracks | 1 | ? | Billboard |
| U.S. Top 40 Tracks | 1 | ? | Billboard |
| U.S. Top 40 Mainstream | 1 | ? | Billboard |
| U.S. Rhythmic Top 40 | 1 | ? | Billboard |
| U.S. Adult Top 40 | 29 | ? | Billboard |
| The Official U.K. Singles Chart (Top 75) | 1 (3 weeks) | 15 | The Official UK Charts Company (OCC) |
| Canadian Singles Chart (Top 40) | 1 (2 weeks) | 53 | Nielsen Soundscan / IFPI |
| Ireland Singles Chart (Top 40) | 1 (4 weeks) | 12 (in Top 20) | ? |
| Taiwan Top 10 | 1 (1 week) | 14 | ? |
| Chile Top 20 | 1 (1 week) | 13 | ? |
| German Singles Chart (Top 40) | 6 | 12 | Media Control Germany |
| New Zealand Singles Chart (Top 50) | 3 | 16 | RIANZ |
| Australian Singles Chart (Top 50) | 3 | 13 (in Top 40) | ARIA |
| Greece Top 20 | 3 | 12 | ? |
| Dutch Singles Chart (Top 40) | 2 | 11 | Mega Charts BV |
| Italy Singles Chart | 5 | 16 (in Top 20) | FIMI / AC Nielsen |
| Spain Singles Chart | 2 | 23 (in Top 20) | AFYVE / Media Control |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 4 | 16 | GLF |
| Norway Singles Chart | 5 | 16 (in Top 20) | Verdens Gang |
| France Singles Chart | 21 | 16 (in Top 40) | SNEP / IFOP |
| Brazil Singles Chart (Top 100) | 4 | 9 | Hot100 BR@SIL |
| Japan Pop Chart (Top 40) | 9 | 9 (in Top 20) | Oricon / Soundscan |
| Austria Singles Chart (Top 40) | 6 | 14 | Media Control |
| Denmark Singles Chart (Top 40) | 5 | 11 | AC Nielsen |
| Switzerland Top 20 | 3 | 14 | Media Control |
| Finland Singles Chart | 12 | 6 (in Top 20) | YLE |
| Belgium Top 20 | 5 | 12 | AC Nielsen |
| Portugal Top 20 | 6 | 15 | AFP |
| United World Chart (Sales, Votes, Downloads & Airplay) | 1 (8 weeks) | 26 | Media Traffic |
| United World Chart (Sales Only) | 1 (5 weeks) | 20 | Media Traffic |
| World Singles Official Top 100 (Sale Based) | 1 (10 weeks) | 22 | Top40-charts.com |
| Europe Official Top 100 | 1 (4 weeks) | 22 | Top40-charts.com |
| World Airplay Official Top 100 | 1 (8 weeks) | 23 | Top40-charts.com |
| World Internet Sales/Downloads (Top 40) | 1 (11 weeks) | 22 | Top40-charts.com |
| World Dance/Trance Top 30 | 1 (1 week) | 11 | Top40-charts.com |
| World Adult Top 20 | 1 (6 weeks) | 11 | Top40-charts.com |
| World R&B Top 30 Singles | 1 (4 weeks) | 27 | Top40-charts.com |
| Canadian Music Video Countdown (Top 30) | 1 (2 weeks) | 15 | Muchmusic TV |
| Weekly Personal Chart (Top 100) | 1 (9 weeks) | 25 | Top Hits Online |
Official remixes/versions
- "Crazy in Love"
- Album version (featuring Jay-Z)
- Album version (featuring Vaness Wu)
- Instrumental
- Live (edited performance from Live at Wembley)
- "Krazy in Luv"
- Junior's Dance radio mix
- Junior's World remix
- Maurice’s Nu Soul remix
- Adam 12 So Crazy remix
- Rockwilder remix
- Rockwilder remix instrumental
- Lego's Poontin Muzik dub
Sample
- an audio sample of "Crazy in Love"
Notes and references
- ^ Sendra, Tim Crazy in Love (Australia CD) Review. All Music Guide. Retrieved Oct. 28, 2005.
- ^ Sterdan, Darryl Beyonce Album Review: DANGEROUSLY IN LOVE. Jam! Showbiz. Retrieved Oct. 28, 2005.
- ^ DeCurtis, Anthony Dangerously in Love Review. Rolling Stone. Retrieved Oct. 28, 2005.
- ^ Smallman, Sam Review - Dangerously in Love. PlayLouder. Retrieved Oct. 28, 2005.
- ^ CG Dangerously in Love - Music Review. Whudat. Retrieved Oct. 28, 2005.
- ^ Neal, Marc Anthony Dangerously in Love - PopMatters Music Review. PopMatters.com. Retrieved Oct. 28, 2005.
- ^ Hopkins, Bunny Crazy in Love - Video Review. Bunny on a Stick.com. Retrieved Oct. 28, 2005.
- ^ Rocklist (NME) 2003. Retrieved Oct. 28, 2005.
- ^ 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 082-307677-6— 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.
- Top Hits Online - Personal Chart by beyondradio.com and Alaska Jim's Music Archive: Weekly Chart Evidence.