Crazy in Love (Beyoncé Knowles song)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| “Crazy in Love” | ||
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| Single by Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z from the album Dangerously in Love |
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| Released | July 8, 2003 (North America) | |
| Format | CD single (worldwide) DVD single (U.S.) 7" single (UK) |
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| Recorded | Sony Music Studios (New York City, New York) |
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| Genre | R&B, funk, dance pop | |
| Length | 3:55 | |
| Label | Columbia | |
| Writer(s) | Beyoncé Knowles, Rich Harrison, Shawn Carter, Eugene Record | |
| Producer | Beyoncé Knowles, Rich Harrison | |
| Certification | Gold (RIAA, RIANZ) Silver (BPI/OCC) |
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| Beyoncé singles chronology | ||
| "'03 Bonnie & Clyde" (2002) |
"Crazy in Love" (2003) |
"What's It Gonna Be" (2003) |
| Jay-Z singles chronology | ||
| "Excuse Me Miss" (2002) |
"Crazy in Love" (2003) |
"Change Clothes" (2003) |
| Audio sample | ||
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"Crazy in Love" is an R&B–funk song by American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles in 2003. It was written by Knowles, Rich Harrison, Jay-Z for Knowles' debut solo album Dangerously in Love. The track was produced by Harrison and Knowles using a sample from The Chi-Lites' 1970 "Are You My Woman (Tell Me So)" that serves as the song's horn hook.
Released as the lead single from the album on July 8, 2003, it reached number one in the charts of United States and the United Kingdom, and the top ten of many charts worldwide. "Crazy in Love" received a mainly positive response from music critics and has earned Knowles several awards.
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[edit] Background and writing
With marketing strategies of staggering Destiny's Child member's solo album, Knowles was slated last to release. By 2002, Knowles already recorded considerable amount of songs for Dangerously in Love, with productions handled by various record producers including Scott Storch. Her management scheduled the album for an October 2002 release; however, it was pushed to the end of the year, then to 2003, to capitalize the success of American rapper Nelly's single "Dillema" which features group mate Kelly Rowland.[1] The decision allowed Knowles to go back to the studio and record more songs.
Rich Harrison produced the beat of "Crazy in Love" before he met Knowles.[2] He played the beat several times to his friends, as he normally do to his newly created music. His friends could not "dig" the song and he pointed out that "sometimes people need to hear the whole record".[2] Harrison, however, did not offer the song to anyone until he received a call from Knowles. He recalled: "I hadn't really shopped it much, because sometimes you don't want to come out of the bag before its right. People don't really get it and you'll leave them with a foul taste in their mouth. So it was just something that I held on to until I got the call from B."[2]
Knowles was introduced to Harrison three months before the song was laid down.[3] Harrison, who was a neophyte producer at that time, went to the studio late and had a little hung over because of prior evening festivities. He played the demo to Knowles and waited for her reaction. After she listened to the sample, Knowles "loved the idea" and requested Harrison to write the song and told him she would be back on the session after two hours.[2] Harrison wrote the lyrics for 120 minutes. He worked on the verses and hooks, and left the bridge to Knowles; he arranged the instruments as well. When Knowles was back, they continue on writing the song. The idea of the hook came in when Knowles was conscious with her clothes. She wanted to buy Rowland a gift but was scared to go out the studio because people might take pictures of her disorganized look. She kept saying "I'm looking crazy right now" and Harisson thought of it as a good hook.[3] Although Harrison was not in the studio, Knowles' then-boyfriend Jay-Z added a rap that he wrote in his mind in about ten minutes.[2][4]
[edit] Music and lyrics
"Crazy in Love" is a love song composed in the key of D minor.[5] It is written in common time and moves at a moderate 100 beats per minute.[5] Knowles' vocal range spans around one and a half octaves in the song, from A3 to F5.[5] "Crazy in Love" builds a song out of two major chords, B♭ and G, a third apart. One of the main vocal riffs uses the traditional cowbell rhythm that is often found in samba music and the like.[6] Aside from its go-go vibe, "Crazy in Love" has also old soul influences that is derived from the horn hook.[2] The hook is sampled by Harrison from the 1970 song "Are You My Woman? (Tell Me So)", originally recorded by the Chicago-based vocal group Chi-Lites.[2]
The lyrics of "Crazy in Love" is composed in the traditional verse-chorus form. Jay-Z opens the song with a brief spoken lyrics. After Knowles sings "uh-oh, uh-oh", he continues the monologue. Knowles begins the first verse, followed with the chorus. She repeats the "uh-oh, uh-oh" phrase, leading to the second verse. The chorus follows, giving way to the second rap. The song continues to the bridge, chorus, then fades out.
[edit] Critical response
"Crazy in Love" attracted generally positive comments from reviewers. Tim Sendra of Allmusic, an online music database, described the song a "stunning pop masterpiece",[7] while Stephen Thomas Erlewine of the same website called it "deliriously catchy".[8] Darryl Sterdan, writing for the Canadian website Jam!, noted the song's "instantly addictive horn lines".[9] Anthony DeCurtis for Rolling Stone magazine also remarked to 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."[10] Marc Anthony Neal of the international webzine Popmatters complimented the "uh-oh, uh-oh" phrase as "catchy".[11]
Knowles 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 its remixer, Maurice Joshua. It was also recognized at the 2004 ASCAP Awards as Most Performed Songs and its publisher, EMI, received the Publisher of the Year accolade. Vibe magazine's VIBE Awards also recognized the song for Coolest Collabo in 2003. 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 Konwle's peers in the urban markets, and won the award for Best Collaboration at the BET Awards in 2004.
[edit] Chart performance
"Crazy in Love" was a commercial success in the United States. Although not yet served to retail stores, the single was already gaining massive attention. The single peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, the official US singles chart, based on heavy rotation alone.[12] The same week it reached number one, Dangerously in Love debuted on the Billboard 200 at number one as well. The substantial airplay, and later in retail, gains of "Crazy in Love" facilitated it to dominate the chart,[13] subsequently spending eight straight weeks atop the Hot 100,[14] making it Knowles' first and longest-charting single in her solo career. The feat was not broken until the release of the album's second single, "Baby Boy", which topped the chart week longer than "Crazy in Love" achieved.[15] The single charted for 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. Certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales in excess of 500,000 copies,[16] "Crazy in Love" eventually became the fourth biggest hit of 2003 in the United States.[17]
In international markets, "Crazy in Love" fared as well. Knowles made history by being second female artist to have a number-one single and a number-one album simultaneously in the UK.[18] The first was Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue with her album Fever and its single "Can't Get You out of My Head" in 2001. Counting her career with former group Destiny's Child, this becomes her third number-one single in the UK. The single spent three weeks at number one in the UK,[19] and reached the top ten in many European countries.[20] It reached number two in Australia; "Crazy in Love" was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association with sales in excess of 70,000 units,[21] and emerged as the twenty-eighth best-selling single in Australia.[22] The single was a substantial hit throughout the world, reaching number one on the United World Chart, an aggregate chart.[20]
[edit] Music video
The music video of "Crazy in Love", released in May 2003, was filmed by English director Jake Nava. The video showcases Knowles in various dance sequences. 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. She is dancing to Jay-Z's solo rap in an exotic silk print over a fur coat, and kicks a fire hydrant. She continues to dance while 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.
The music video received acclaim from video-awarding organizations. "Crazy in Love" won three at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards in the categories of Best Female Video, Best R&B Video, and Best Choreography.[23]
[edit] Versions
A version of the song included on Asian releases of Dangerously in Love features a rap in Mandarin Chinese performed by American-Taiwanese singer Vanness Wu, in lieu of Jay-Z's performance. The version had remix counterparts as well, including the Rockwilder remix, Maurice's Nu Soul remix, and Juniors World remix. These remixes appeared on the single releases of "Crazy in Love".
The song was covered many times by several artist. English rock band The Magic Numbers made a cover version of "Crazy in Love" that appeared on Australian radio station Triple J's segment to the volume three of Like a Version CD/DVD. American alternative rock band Switchfoot produced a rock version released in part of Yahoo!'s CoverArt series.[24] While maintaining the fundamental elements of the track, Switchfoot added their "rock flavor" in it.[24] The band shot a video for the cover version and is available on the Yahoo! Pepsi Smash website. Scottish pop group had a cover on the song as well, performed by the group for the 2005 British reality show Hit Me, Baby, One More Time.[25] In 2003, Irish singer-songwriter Mickey Joe Harte made an acoustic version of "Crazy In Love" for the charity album Even Better Than the Real Thing Vol. 1. Other cover versions were made by Australian singer Jessica Mauboy, English musical trio The Puppini Sisters, Polish singer Nina Cieślińska, and Scottish rock band Snow Patrol.
[edit] Cultural references
In 2002, Knowles signed with beverage company Pepsi. Subsequently, she appeared on various advertising campains of the company's product, and, in one of those promotional footages, the song "Crazy in Love" is being used as background music.[26]
"Crazy in Love" was featured as one of the official soundtracks to the 2004 romantic comedy film Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. A compilation of the soundtrack by various artists was released the following.[27] In the same year, it was featured to the soundtracks of the American comedy film White Chicks and the remake of Taxi. The 2007 comedy film Good Luck Chuck also used "Crazy in Love" to its soundtrack.[28]
[edit] Formats and track listings
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[edit] Charts
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[edit] References
- ^ Moss, Corey. "Nelly Hit Forces Change In Plans For Destiny's Child LPs", MTV News, (2002-07-22). Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
- ^ a b c d e f g D'Angelo, Joe. "Road To The Grammys: The Making of Beyonce's 'Crazy In Love'", MTV News, (February 04, 2004). Retrieved on 2007-02-24.
- ^ a b Uh-oh! Uh-oh! Uh-oh!. The Guardian (2003-12-14). Retrieved on 2008-05-19.
- ^ Horn, Geoffrey (2006). Beyonce. Gareth Stevens, 27. ISBN 0836842308. Retrieved on 2008-02-25.
- ^ a b c Sheet music for "Crazy in Love", Alfred Publishing, (2003)
- ^ Beyonce - Crazy in Love - Free Sheet Music Riff. 8notes.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-25.
- ^ Sandra, Tim. Review: Crazy in Love (Australia CD). Allmusic. Macrovision Company. Retrieved on 2005-10-28.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Review: Dangerously in Love. Allmusic. Macrovision Company. Retrieved on 2008-02-25.
- ^ Sterdan, Darryl. Review Album: Beyonce - DANGEROUSLY IN LOVE. Canoe Jam!. Retrieved on 2005-10-28.
- ^ DeCurtis, Anthony. Album Reviews: DANGEROUSLY IN LOVE. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2005-10-28.
- ^ Neal, Marc Anthony (July 11, 2003). BEYONCÉ: Dangerously in Love. Popmatters. Retrieved on 2005-10-28.
- ^ Martens, Todds. "Beyonce Dominates Billboard Charts", Billboard, Nielsen Business Media, Inc., (2003-07-03). Retrieved on 2008-06-04.
- ^ Martens, Todds. "Beyoncé, Jay-Z Go Chart 'Crazy'", Billboard, Nielsen Business Media, Inc., (2003-07-17). Retrieved on 2008-06-04.
- ^ Martens, Todds. "Beyoncé, Jay-Z: 'Crazy' As Ever", Billboard, Nielsen Business Media, Inc., (2003-08-21). Retrieved on 2008-06-04.
- ^ Bonson, Fred (2006-02-17). Chart Beat Chat. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
- ^ "Gold and Platinum", Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved on 2008-06-04.
- ^ The Billboard Hot 100: 2003. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
- ^ Sexton, Paul. "Beyonce Continues U.K. Chart Dominance", Billboard, Nielsen Business Media, Inc., (2003-07-21). Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
- ^ Sexton, Paul. "Bedingfield Bounces Beyonce On U.K. Charts", Billboard, Nielsen Business Media, Inc., (2003-07-28). Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
- ^ a b c d Beyoncé and Jay-Z - Crazy In Love. αCharts. Retrieved on 2008-06-04.
- ^ ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2003 Singles. Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved on 2008-06-04.
- ^ AARIA Charts - End Of Year Charts - Top 100 Singles 2003. Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved on 2008-06-04.
- ^ Moss, Corey. "Madonna Smooches With Britney And Christina; Justin, Coldplay Win Big At VMAs", MTV News, (2003-08-28). Retrieved on 2008-06-04.
- ^ a b Jackson, Kevin. "Switchfoot Covers Beyonce's Smash Single", The Christian Post, (2007-02-07). Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
- ^ HUE & CRY PIPPED BY SHAKY IN GRAND FINAL OF 'HIT ME BABY ONE MORE TIME'!. Theplayethic.com. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
- ^ Brand Republic staff. "Beyonce smash 'Crazy In Love' features in new Pepsi ad", Brand Republic, (2003-07-16). Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
- ^ Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason [UK Bonus Tracks]. MTV Shop. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
- ^ Rocchi, James (2007-09-20). Review: Good Luck Chuck. Cinematical. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
- ^ a b Beyoncé: Billboard Singles. Allmusic. Macrovision Company. Retrieved on 2008-06-04.
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