Crazy in Love
| "Crazy in Love" | ||
|---|---|---|
| File:Crazy In Love.jpg | ||
| Single by Beyonce featuring Jay-Z | ||
| From the album Dangerously in Love | ||
| Released | 2003 | |
| Format | DVD single 12" maxi single | |
| Genre | Pop/R&B | |
| Length | 3:55 | |
| Label | Columbia | |
| Writers | Beyonce Knowles Rich Harrison Jay-Z Eugene Record | |
| Producers | Beyonce Knowles Rich Harrison | |
| Director | Jake Nava | |
| Certification | Gold | |
| Chart Positions | #1 USA (8 Weeks) #1 U.K. (3 Weeks) #3 AU #1 CAN (2 Weeks) | |
| Beyonce singles chronology | ||
| "Work It Out" (2002) |
"Crazy in Love" (2003) |
"Baby Boy" (2003) |
"Crazy in Love" was the first single from Beyoncé's first album Dangerously in Love. The song was a 2003 U.S. number-one single, and featured Jay-Z.
Song information
Beyoncé's debut solo single was co-written by her, Rich Harrison, and Jay-Z, and 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, and is generally considered to be Beyoncé's signature solo song. In the single, notable for its harsh, blaring horns and beat-driven melody, Beyoncé recalls moments of temporary romantic insanity that have her "looking so crazy in love".
Although Beyoncé had released singles as part of Destiny's Child before, and had appeared as a solo artist on special soundtrack and guest appearances, much pressure was put on her to perform for her first major solo single ever. Knowles began shopping for beats, and had at one point considered using "Naughty Girl" (another song off the album, eventually the fourth single released) for her first single. While searching for a backing track, she discovered struggling producer Rich Harrison.
Harrison played a beat that he had created from the song "Are You My Woman", and was soon commissioned to create a melodic track for the verses and chorus. Harrison was about to write the lyrics too, but Beyoncé's manager and father, Matthew Knowles instructed Harrison to keep away from lyrics as Beyoncé held a vested interest in them. Beyoncé had only given Rich one hour to write the song, and problems soon arose as he was severely hungover from a night of partying and Beyoncé's manager began to laugh at and criticize his drunk behavior. Luckily, Harrison was able to write the music of the verses and chorus in time for Beyoncé's return, and she subsequently wrote the bulk of the lyrics and bridge.
Industry advisors suggested to Knowles that she return to "Naughty Girl" as her debut single. It was believed that "Naughty Girl" would probably not be a big hit, but was guaranteed to do moderately well. On the other hand, "Crazy in Love" was seen as a gamble: it would either flop horribly or take off. However, Knowles insisted on moving ahead with "Crazy in Love".
Having dismissed all insecurities about the song, Beyoncé still felt that it did not have the edge it needed to perform well on urban charts. In order to move beyond Top 40 Mainstream markets, she called in her boyfriend, Jay-Z, who flew in during the middle of the night to record his rapped parts. Like most of Jay-Z’s guest raps, the verse was recorded from memory, not written down. By doing so, Beyoncé hoped to move beyond Destiny’s Child's reputation of pop-R&B. With time running out, Beyoncé turned in the final mixed version of the song.
Chart success
The release of "Crazy in Love" troubled Beyoncé's industry advisors, who felt the song would not perform well due to the unconventional sound. Their worries proved to be misplaced, as "Crazy in Love" became one of the biggest hits of 2003, where it topped The Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks for several weeks. The single also topped other charts like 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 single was such a hit that it even crossed over and entered the Adult Top 40, where it peaked at number twenty-eight (a notable accomplishment considering the traditionally conservative composition of the Adult Top 40). The song also became Beyoncé's first digital hit by topping the Hot Digital Tracks chart. Unfortunately for Beyoncé, digital downloads were not yet counted towards the Hot 100. In any case, the song didn’t seem to need the points anyway, as the song only had a 12" maxi single and a DVD single released (those formats provide only small points, and the song was supported by its airplay).
Music video
Just as Beyoncé took risks on "Crazy in Love" as her first solo single, she decided to take risks on the song’s music video by enlisting Jake Nava, a relative rookie in the world of music video directors, to direct her video. The elaborate video displays Knowles dancing solo and with backup dancers, as well as a cameo by Jay-Z (paralleling his rap interlude). The song is often credited for jump-starting the music video directing career of Jake Nava. Beyoncé's music video won three MTV Video Awards in 2003: the Best Choreography, the Best Female Video, and the Best R&B Video. The video also went on to be named one of the top 12 videos of the year by Reel Images Magazine.
Awards
To date, the digital download of "Crazy in Love" (counting sales of the original version and the remixes of the song, known as "Krazy in Luv") have sold over 100,000 copies. As a result of this, the song has been awarded the gold single certification by the RIAA for sales of digital downloads of at least 100,000 downloads.
The song also proved to be popular among the NARAS committee of the Grammy Awards. Beyonce was nominated for three awards for the song at the 2004 ceremony: Record of the Year, Best R&B Song, Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. She ended up winning two of the three nominations in the categories of Best R&B Song and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. ("Krazy In Luv (Maurice's Soul Nu Mix)" also was nominated and won Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical, but its award for only given to the song's remixer, Maurice Joshua.)
The music video of the song has also garnered intrerst from both domestic and international video awarding comittees. In 2003, the music video of the song was nominiated for four MTV Video Music Awards: Best Female Video, Best R&B Video, Best Choreography, and Viewer's Choice. The video managed to get three of four nominations, netting wins for Best Female Video, Best R&B Video, and Viewer's Choice.
Comprehensive charts
USA
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | "Crazy in Love" | Billboard Hot 100 | #1 (8 weeks) |
| 2003 | "Crazy in Love" | Billboard Hot 100 Singles Sales | #11 |
| 2003 | "Crazy in Love" | Billboard Hot 100 Airplay | #1 |
| 2003 | "Crazy in Love" | R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks | #1 |
| 2003 | "Crazy in Love" | R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales | #4 |
| 2003 | "Crazy in Love" | R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay | #1 |
| 2003 | "Crazy in Love" | Hot Dance Singles Sales | #4 |
| 2003 | "Crazy in Love" | Hot Dance Music/Club Play | #1 |
| 2003 | "Crazy in Love" | Dance Radio Airplay | #7 |
| 2003 | "Crazy in Love" | Hot Digital Tracks | #1 |
| 2003 | "Crazy in Love" | Top 40 Tracks | #1 |
| 2003 | "Crazy in Love" | Top 40 Mainstream | #1 |
| 2003 | "Crazy in Love" | Rhythmic Top 40 | #1 |
| 2003 | "Crazy in Love" | Adult Top 40 | #29 |
International
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | "Crazy in Love" | UK Singles Chart | #1 (3 weeks) |
| 2003 | "Crazy in Love" | ARIA Singles Chart | #3 |
| 2003 | "Crazy in Love" | Canadian Singles Chart | #1 (2 weeks) |
| 2003 | "Crazy in Love" | New Zealand Singles Chart | #3 |
Official remixes/versions list
- "Crazy in Love" (Album Version) featuring Jay-Z
- "Crazy in Love" (Album Version) featuring Vaness Wu
- "Crazy in Love" (Instrumental)
- "Crazy in Love" (Live) (Edited Performance from Live at Wembley)
- "Krazy in Luv" (Junior's Dance Radio Mix)
- "Krazy in Luv" (Maurice’s Nu Soul Remix)
- "Krazy in Luv" (Adam 12 So Crazy Remix)
- "Krazy in Luv" (Rockwilder Remix)
- "Krazy in Luv" (Rockwilder Remix Instrumental) (on 12" vinyl only)
- "Krazy in Luv" (Lego's Poontin Muzik Dub) (on 12" vinyl only)