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Crash (Gwen Stefani song)

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"Crash"
Single by Gwen Stefani
from the album Love. Angel. Music. Baby.
ReleasedJanuary 24, 2006 (2006-01-24)
Recorded2004
StudioKingsbury (Los Feliz, California)
GenreElectroclash[1]
Length4:06
LabelInterscope
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Tony Kanal
Gwen Stefani singles chronology
"Luxurious"
(2005) 		"Crash"
(2006) 		"Wind It Up"
(2006)

"Crash" is a song by American singer Gwen Stefani from her debut solo studio album, Love. Angel. Music. Baby. (2004). Written by Stefani and fellow No Doubt bandmate Tony Kanal, who also produced it, the electroclash song uses automobile metaphors to describe a relationship.[2]

Not originally planned as a single, Interscope Records eventually released "Crash" as the sixth and final single from Love. Angel. Music. Baby. on January 24, 2006. Upon its release, the song received mixed reviews from music critics and peaked at number 49 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Background and release

Stefani had been working on her debut solo studio album with Linda Perry. The two penned several songs, including lead single "What You Waiting For?", but Stefani found the process difficult, commenting, "It's humiliating and intimidating even if they're sweet and excited, because you're drowning in their creativity."[3][4] When the two began working on a song about a deceased friend of Stefani's, Perry began writing the lyrics and Stefani, feeling that Perry was encroaching on her territory, broke down and left.[4]

"Crash"
A 23-second sample of "Crash", an uptempo electroclash song that uses automobile metaphors to describe a relationship.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Stefani's fellow No Doubt bandmate Tony Kanal invited her to his house so that the two could go out with friends.[5] When she arrived, however, Kanal surprised her by playing some songs on which he had been working and revealed that he had prepared some for Stefani.[5] Although Stefani had wanted to work with Kanal, she was concerned that his work would not fit with her dance-oriented album; however, she called it her "favorite track that [she had] written so far", and the two worked on "Crash", modeling it after hip hop group Salt-N-Pepa.[4][5]

"Crash" had originally not been planned as a major single release from Love. Angel. Music. Baby.[6] In late 2005, Stefani announced that she was pregnant (while performing the song on tour in Fort Lauderdale, Florida) and would be delaying her second studio album,[7] and the song was announced as the sixth single in January 2006.[8] The song impacted contemporary hit radio and rhythmic contemporary radio stations in the United States on January 24, 2006.[9]

Critical reception

"Crash" received mixed reviews from music critics. In a review for The New York Times, Kelefa Sanneh noted that the song "successfully conjure[s] up the infectious spirit of early Madonna."[10] David Browne of Entertainment Weekly called the song "a pricey retro fashion blurb" on which Stefani appears as "an old-school, gold-chained rapper".[11] Krissi Murison of NME disagreed, calling it one of "the best bits of the decade of decadence" and referring to it as "Salt-N-Pepa's cartoon rap".[12] Jason Shawhan of About.com stated that the song's "great Narada Michael Walden bleepy synth noises [...] pop out of the mix like the car stereo just decided to sing along",[13] and Jennifer Nine of Yahoo! Music commented that the song had "icy-cool schoolyard sass".[14]

Eric Greenwood of Drawer B opined that the song "carelessly revisits Stefani's blatant fondness for 80's pop, but not even [...] Tony Kanal can save her from lifeless retreads like these."[15] The Washington Post reviewer Sean Daly compared it to Salt-N-Pepa's 1987 song "Push It" and added that Stefani "pushes it real good".[16] Jason Damas of PopMatters gave it a very strong review, writing that "Stefani nails all the vocal mannerisms" and that Kanal "reveals a major mainstream pop jones here, especially in the way he layers the cut [...] with dozens of orchestra hits [...] which have been absent from almost all pop albums for a decade or more now."[17] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine gave the song a mixed review, stating that it "features some near-fatal car metaphors" but that Stefani "maintains her signature sass throughout".[2]

Chart performance

Stefani wore a L.A.M.B. racecar-style tracksuit for performances of "Crash" on the Harajuku Lovers Tour.[18]

In the United States, "Crash" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 95 on the issue dated February 11, 2006.[19] It eventually peaked at number 49 for two weeks and remained on the chart for a total of eight weeks.[20] The single performed better on the pop-oriented charts, reaching number 20 on the Mainstream Top 40 chart and number 28 on the Pop 100 chart. It also had some crossover success, reaching number 38 on the Rhythmic chart.[21][22][23]

"Crash" was the only single from Love. Angel. Music. Baby. that did not receive a CD single release in Canada; in addition, the single experienced minimal radio success, peaking at number 87 on the BDS Airplay Chart in March 2006.[24]

Music video

Due to Stefani's pregnancy, a live music video was released instead of a narrative video. The video was directed by British music video director Sophie Muller at a performance in Anaheim, California during the Harajuku Lovers Tour in 2005.[25]

Track listing and formats

A1. "Crash" (album version) – 4:06
B1. "Crash" (instrumental) – 4:05
B2. "Crash" (a cappella) – 4:06
  1. "Crash" (album version) – 4:06

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Love. Angel. Music. Baby.[28]

  • Gwen Stefani – lead vocals, songwriting
  • Brian "Big Bass" Gardner – mastering
  • Lee Groves – keyboards, mix programming
  • Rob Haggett – second assistant engineer
  • Tony Kanal – keyboards, production, programming, songwriting, synthesizers
  • Colin "Dog" Mitchell – recording
  • Mark "Spike" Stent – mixing
  • David Treahearn – assistant engineering

Charts

Weekly chart performance for "Crash"
Chart (2006) Peak
position
Global Dance Tracks (Billboard)[29] 39
US Billboard Hot 100[20] 49
US Pop Airplay (Billboard)[21] 20
US Pop 100 (Billboard)[22] 28
US Rhythmic (Billboard)[23] 38

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Crash"
Region Date Format Label Ref.
United States January 24, 2006 Contemporary hit radio Interscope [9]
Rhythmic contemporary radio

References

  1. ^ Usinger, Mike (November 25, 2004). "Gwen Stefani – Love. Angel. Music. Baby". The Georgia Straight. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  2. ^ a b Cinquemani, Sal (November 20, 2004). "Gwen Stefani: Love. Angel. Music. Baby". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on December 31, 2017. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  3. ^ Vineyard, Jennifer. "Gwen Stefani: Scared Solo". MTV. Archived from the original on March 17, 2007. Retrieved March 3, 2007.
  4. ^ a b c Vineyard, Jennifer. "Gwen Stefani: Scared Solo". MTV. p. 2. Archived from the original on May 28, 2006. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  5. ^ a b c Vineyard, Jennifer; Pak, SuChin (December 6, 2004). "Gwen Stefani Turns To Bandmate For Aid After Freak-Out". MTV News. Archived from the original on July 4, 2017. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  6. ^ Moss, Corey (November 1, 2005). "For Gwen Stefani, Egyptian Cotton Is Something Like Love". MTV News. Archived from the original on December 26, 2014. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  7. ^ Vineyard, Jennifer (December 24, 2005). "Gwen Stefani Confirms Pregnancy While Onstage In Florida". MTV News. Archived from the original on February 22, 2016. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  8. ^ "For The Record: Quick News On Eminem, Beyonce, Pink, Gwen Stefani, Cam'ron, Jamie Foxx, Coldplay & More". MTV News. January 11, 2006. Archived from the original on March 2, 2016. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  9. ^ a b "Available for Airplay". FMQB. Archived from the original on December 14, 2006. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  10. ^ Sanneh, Kelefa (November 22, 2004). "Critic's Choice: New CD's". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 28, 2015. Retrieved November 29, 2008.
  11. ^ Browne, David (November 23, 2004). "Love. Angel. Music. Baby". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on September 7, 2017. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  12. ^ Murison, Krissi (December 10, 2004). "Gwen Stefani : Love Angel Music Baby". NME. Archived from the original on April 6, 2012. Retrieved June 1, 2007.
  13. ^ Shawhan, Jason (November 23, 2004). "Gwen Stefani – Love, Angel, Music, Baby". About.com. Archived from the original on May 31, 2009. Retrieved March 6, 2007.
  14. ^ Nine, Jennifer (November 25, 2004). "Gwen Stefani – Love, Angel, Music, Baby". Yahoo! Music. Archived from the original on March 12, 2005. Retrieved March 6, 2007.
  15. ^ Greenwood, Eric (January 19, 2005). "Gwen Stefani – Love Angel Music Baby (Interscope)". Drawer B. Archived from the original on October 20, 2006. Retrieved March 3, 2007.
  16. ^ Daly, Sean (November 24, 2004). "No Doubt About It". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved June 1, 2007.
  17. ^ Damas, Jason (November 29, 2004). "Gwen Stefani: Love.Angel.Music.Baby". PopMatters. Archived from the original on May 26, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  18. ^ Sitt, Pamela (November 21, 2005). "Gwen Stefani gives it up for the girls". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on December 31, 2017. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  19. ^ "The Hot 100: The Week of February 11, 2006". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 28, 2015. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  20. ^ a b "Gwen Stefani Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  21. ^ a b "Gwen Stefani Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  22. ^ a b "Pop 100". Billboard. Vol. 118, no. 8. February 25, 2006. p. 56.
  23. ^ a b "Gwen Stefani Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  24. ^ "The Hits Charts (Airplay) : Top 100 singles". Jam!. March 2, 2006. Archived from the original on April 17, 2005. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  25. ^ "For The Record: Quick News On Britney Spears, Mariah Carey, 50 Cent, Gwen Stefani, Nick Lachey & More". MTV News. February 28, 2006. Archived from the original on July 4, 2017. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  26. ^ "Gwen Stefani – Crash (12", Promo)". Discogs. Archived from the original on November 9, 2012. Retrieved July 2, 2010.
  27. ^ "Gwen Stefani – Crash (CD, Promo)". Discogs. Archived from the original on November 8, 2012. Retrieved July 2, 2010.
  28. ^ Love. Angel. Music. Baby. (liner notes). Gwen Stefani. Interscope Records. 2004. B0003469-02.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  29. ^ "Gwen Stefani – Global Dance Songs". Billboard. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
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