Animals (Maroon 5 song)

"Animals"
Single by Maroon 5
from the album V
Released August 25, 2014 (2014-08-25)
Format
Recorded
Length 3:51
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Shellback
Maroon 5 singles chronology
"Maps"
(2014)		 "Animals"
(2014)		 "Sugar"
(2015)

"Maps"
(2014)		 "Animals"
(2014)		 "Sugar"
(2015)
Music video
"Animals" on YouTube

"Animals" is a song by American pop rock band Maroon 5. It was released on August 25, 2014 as the second official single from the band's fifth studio album, V (2014). It was written by Adam Levine, Benny Blanco and Shellback; the latter is also the producer. The official Remix features J. Cole and another remix features Big Boi, both written and produced by Freaky Ta, DCBC, and Aftermath artist Me3mo (Sameem Nadeem).

The song peaked at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 giving Maroon 5 their tenth top 10 single in the U.S.

"Animals" was featured in the promotional advertisement of the 2015 Kia Soul[1] and the television shows Elementary[2] and Dancing with the Stars.[3]

Critical reception

Rolling Stone ranked "Animals" at number 32 on its year-end list of the 50 best songs of 2014.[4]

Music video

The music video was released on September 29, 2014 on Vevo. Directed by Samuel Bayer, the video features Adam Levine and his wife, Behati Prinsloo who portrays the woman. The other musicians of Maroon 5 (including their touring member, Sam Farrar, who appeared in a music video of the band for the very first time) also make an appearance - they are seen playing at a nightclub in some scenes of the video.

The video starts with a woman entering a slaughterhouse, where Levine's character works. After she leaves, an infatuated Levine begins to stalk the woman by following her in the streets and standing outside her apartment in the pouring rain to watch her. He also watches the woman in her sleep and takes numerous photos of Prinsloo which he later trims and places on wires around a dark room. Intercut with this are scenes of a shirtless Levine dripping in fake blood, singing the song inside a meat locker and using animal carcasses for punching bags (referencing to Rocky). One evening, Levine follows the woman into a nightclub, where he tries to talk to her. Though Prinsloo is amused by Levine and his interest in her, she spends the evening talking to her girlfriends instead. Eventually, Levine is left with no luck, so he goes back to fantasizing about the girl. After an erotic dream, Levine wakes up in a shock and returns to stalking Prinsloo by standing outside her apartment in the rain watching in a dazed state, leading to the similar opening. The final scenes feature Levine and Prinsloo as obsessed lovers kissing—whilst disrobed and covered in fake blood.

The music video was heavily panned by critics and has been condemned for dehumanizing women and glamorizing violence.[5][6] Jessica Valenti of The Guardian criticized the video for attempting to make violence against women seem "edgy" stating that "there is nothing 'alternative' about showing women being stalked, hunted, raped or killed because it’s something that happens every damn day."[5] RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) released a statement condemning the video, which wrote that "No one should ever confuse the criminal act of stalking with romance. The trivialisation of these serious crimes, like stalking, should have no place in the entertainment industry."[6] Levine reacted to the controversy in a 2018 interview with The Independent, saying "That was fucking ridiculous. It was the last video I would have expected to receive any criticism on that front. It was supposed to be creepy! I play the role of the creep, it's literally a character out of a movie. And the song is about animalistic tendencies, I'm talking about eating someone alive. Use your fucking imagination. It's like watching a horror film and notifying the people who made it to tell them you think they're disgusting. People are sometimes too rooted in reality and they can't differentiate. They take everything too personally."[7]

Chart performance

In the United States, the song debuted at number 86 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. On October 18, 2014, the song rose from the number 33 to 8,[8] giving the band their tenth top-ten hit overall and their seventh consecutive Hot 100 top-ten hit since the 2011 chart-topping single "Moves like Jagger". The song reached its million sales mark in the US in November 2014.[9] The song peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 issue dating November 22, 2014 and spent fourteen weeks in the top 10.

In other countries, the song has made the top-ten progress as well, reaching number 2 in Canada. It is also a moderate success in the United Kingdom, where it charted at number 27.

Live performances

The band performed the song on A Very Grammy Christmas,[10] Saturday Night Live, The Voice, The X Factor[11] and Z100's Jingle Ball.[12] In February 2015, the band performed the song for the 2015 Victoria's Secret Swim Special in Puerto Rico.[13]

Track listing

  1. "Animals" (Gryffin Remix) – 4:42
  2. "Animals" (Danny Olson Remix) – 4:59
  3. "Animals" (Sammy Bananas Remix) – 5:39
  4. "Animals" (Zaeden Remix) – 4:59

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of V.[14]

Locations
Personnel
  • Songwriting – Adam Levine, Shellback, Benjamin Levin
  • Production – Shellback
  • Lead Vocals – Adam Levine
  • Instrumentation, background vocals, programming – Shellback
  • Mixing – Serban Ghenea
  • Vocals recording – Shellback, Max Martin
  • Engineering – Noah Passovoy
  • Assistant engineers – Eric Eylands, Tim Roberts
  • Mix engineer – John Hanes
  • Lead and Rhythm Guitar – James Valentine, Jesse Carmichael
  • Bass – Mickey Madden
  • Drums and percussion – Matt Flynn
  • Keyboards and synthesizers – Jesse Carmichael, PJ Morton

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/Sales
Canada (Music Canada)[74] 2× Platinum 160,000^
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[75] Platinum 0^
Germany (BVMI)[76] Gold 200,000^
Italy (FIMI)[77] Platinum 30,000*
Sweden (GLF)[78] Platinum 40,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[79] Silver 200,000double-dagger
United States 1,000,000[9]
Streaming
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[80] Gold 4,000,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history

Country Date Format Version Label
Germany[81] August 25, 2014 Digital download Album version Universal
United States[82] September 23, 2014 Contemporary hit radio
United States[83] October 21, 2014 Rhythmic contemporary radio Remix featuring J. Cole
Germany[84] November 14, 2014 CD single Album version
Remix featuring J. Cole		 Universal

References

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  2. ↑ "Elementary - T-Bone and the Iceman". Tune Find. March 12, 2015. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Dancing with the Stars - S19 E11 Week #8". Tune Find. November 10, 2014. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  4. ↑ "50 Best Songs of 2014". rollingstone.com.
  5. 1 2 Guardian. "Guardian review". Guardian. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  6. 1 2 Independent. "Independent". Independent. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  7. ↑ O'Connor, Roisin (July 25, 2018). "Adam Levine: 'I don't know what the f*** Maroon 5 are anymore... we occupy a weird space'". The Independent. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  8. ↑ Trust, Gary. "Meghan Trainor Leads Hot 100's Record-Setting All-Female Top Five". Billboard.com. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
  9. 1 2 Paul Grein (November 21, 2014). "Taylor Swift Replaces Herself At #1 on the Hot 100". Yahoo! Music.
  10. ↑ Mitchell Peters (October 25, 2014). "Ariana Grande, Maroon 5, Pharrell Williams to Perform on 'A Very Grammy Christmas'". Billboard. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
  11. ↑ Finbow, Katy (12 October 2014). "X Factor week 2 will be '80s Night: Jessie J and Maroon 5 to perform". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  12. ↑ Jim Farber (October 9, 2014). "Z100s Jingle Ball 2014 line-up includes Taylor Swift, Sam Smith, Iggy Azalea". New York Daily News. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
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  14. ↑ V (inlay cover). Maroon 5. United States: Interscope. 2014. p. 4.
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  57. ↑ "Maroon 5 Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  58. ↑ "Maroon 5 Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  59. ↑ "Maroon 5 Chart History (Dance Mix/Show Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  60. ↑ "Maroon 5 Chart History (Latin Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  61. ↑ "Maroon 5 Chart History (Latin Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  62. ↑ "Maroon 5 Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  63. ↑ "Maroon 5 Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
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