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crazy in love

mix by dave jackson / ultimix

"Crazy in Love" is an R&B–funk song written by the 10-time Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter Beyoncé Knowles, producer Rich Harrison, rapper Jay-Z, and Eugene Record. Released as the second single from Beyoncé's debut album Dangerously in Love in the summer of 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 generally positive response from music critics; some 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. Many legendary recording artist such as Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston, and Cher have called this song one of the best female records ever.

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 (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".

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.

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 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.

This text is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Crazy In Love".
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