"Crazy" is the debut single by American soul duo

Gnarls Barkley Gnarls Barkley are an American soul duo, composed of singer-songwriter CeeLo Green and producer Danger Mouse. They released their debut studio album, ''St. Elsewhere'', in 2006. It contained their hit single "Crazy", which peaked at number two ...

, taken from their 2006 debut album '' St. Elsewhere''. It peaked at number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and topped the charts in the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and several other countries. The song was leaked in late 2005, months before its regular release: it received airplay on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

in the United Kingdom, and radio DJ

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...

also used the song in television commercials for his show. When it was finally released in March 2006, it became the first single to top the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

on download sales alone. The song remained at the top of the British charts for nine weeks, the longest number-one spell for more than ten years. The band and their record company then decided to remove the single from music stores in the country so people would "remember the song fondly and not get sick of it". In spite of this deletion, the song was the best-selling single of 2006 in the UK. Due to continued download sales, it reached one million copies in January 2011. In December 2006, it was nominated for the United Kingdom's

Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...

but lost to "

Patience (or forbearance) is the ability to endure difficult circumstances. Patience may involve perseverance in the face of delay; tolerance of provocation without responding in disrespect/anger; or forbearance when under strain, especially when face ...

" by

Take That Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singer ...

. The song won a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for Best Urban/Alternative Performance in 2007 and was also nominated for

, which it lost to "

Not Ready to Make Nice "Not Ready to Make Nice" is a song co-written and performed by American country music trio Dixie Chicks. It was released in March 2006 as the first single from the band's seventh studio album, ''Taking the Long Way''. The Dixie Chicks wrote the s ...

" by

Dixie Chicks The Chicks (previously known as Dixie Chicks) are an American country music band from Dallas, Texas. Since 1995, the band has consisted of Natalie Maines (lead vocals, guitar) and sisters Martie Maguire (vocals, fiddle, mandolin, guitar) and ...

. It was also nominated and further won a 2006 MTV Europe Music Award for Best Song. The song was also named the best song of 2006 by ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' and by ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

''s annual

Pazz & Jop Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abs ...

critics poll. The song was listed at number 11 on ''Pitchfork Media'''s top 500 songs of the 2000s. "Crazy" is also in the number 46 place in the list of the best songs ever of '' Acclaimed Music''. In 2010, it was placed at number 100 in the "updated" version of ''Rolling Stone''s list of "

The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 in ...

" and ranked at the top position of ''Rolling Stone''s top 100 songs of the decade (2000–2009). "Crazy" was performed at the

2006 MTV Movie Awards The 2006 MTV Movie Awards were held on Saturday, June 3, 2006, and were hosted by Jessica Alba, with it being broadcast on June 8 on tape delay. It featured performances by Christina Aguilera, AFI and Gnarls Barkley. In addition to the below awards ...

, with Danger Mouse and Green dressed as various '' Star Wars'' characters.

Background

The song was picked up by

Downtown Records Downtown Records is an American record label based in New York City with offices in Los Angeles. Owned and operated by Josh Deutsch and Terence Lam, the label is distributed by Geffen Records (formerly Interscope Records and The Orchard) in the ...

. Danger Mouse's manager sent the song to Downtown's A&R Josh Deutsch because they were looking for an independent label with the same resources as a major. According to an interview with Deutsch in HitQuarters, he heard the song and signed it after a single listen. He said:

"Once in a while you hear a record that is obviously so important on so many levels. The beauty of my position is that it's very direct. If I find something I like there's no bureaucratic process associated with signing it."

By the time the record was signed to Downtown, there was already a huge swell of anticipation, in part due to the established reputation of the two artists but even more as a result of the demo being played on BBC Radio 1 and sparking a profound online awareness. The record began to break even before the deals with Downtown Records were complete. On its release, "Crazy" became the most downloaded song in the history of the UK music business, going to number one in the strength of downloads alone.

Composition and inspiration

Musically, "Crazy" was inspired by

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to e ...

s of Spaghetti Westerns, in particular by the works of Ennio Morricone, and the song "Last Men Standing" by

Gian Piero Reverberi Gian Piero Reverberi (born 29 July 1939 in Genoa) is an Italian pianist, composer, arranger, conductor, and entrepreneur. Biography After obtaining Diplomas in piano and composition from the Paganini Conservatory in Genoa, Reverberi worked in ...

and

Gian Franco Reverberi Gian Franco Reverberi (born 12 December 1934) is an Italian composer and musician. He worked mainly on the soundtracks for Spaghetti Westerns. Reverberi was one of the first Italian rock music artists. He also worked with his brother Gian Pier ...

from the 1968 Spaghetti Western ''

Django, Prepare a Coffin ''Django, Prepare a Coffin'' ( it, Preparati la bara!, “Prepare the Coffin!”), alternatively titled ''Viva Django'', is a List of Italian films of 1968, 1968 Cinema of Italy, Italian Spaghetti Western film directed by Ferdinando Baldi. The f ...

'', an unofficial prequel to '' Django''. "Crazy" samples the song, and also utilizes parts of the main melody and chord structure. Because of this, the Reverberis are credited as songwriters along with

CeeLo Green Thomas DeCarlo Callaway - Burton (born May 30, 1975), known professionally as CeeLo Green (or Cee Lo Green), is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer and actor. He is known for his work in hip hop and R&B, including the Gnarls ...

and Danger Mouse. The lyrics for the song developed out of a conversation between Danger Mouse and Green. According to Danger Mouse, "I somehow got off on this tangent about how people won't take an artist seriously unless they're insane... So we started jokingly discussing ways in which we could make people think we were crazy... CeeLo took that conversation and made it into 'Crazy', which we recorded in one take."

Reception

Critical

Upon release, "Crazy" was met with widespread acclaim from music critics. This song was number one on ''Rolling Stone''s 2009 list of the 100 Best Songs of the Decade. They also placed it at number 100 in the list of the

500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 in ...

, but was dropped at the number 307 in it's 2021 list. In October 2011, ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' placed it at number 32 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years". In 2007, "Crazy" was named the best single of 2006 by ''The Village Voice''s

annual year-end critics' poll. ''NME'' also placed the song at number 475 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Chart performance

In the United Kingdom, following its release as a digital download on March 13, 2006, the song debuted at the number-one spot on the

UK Download Chart The UK Singles Downloads Chart is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) on behalf of the music industry. Since July 2015, the chart week runs from Friday to Thursday, with the chart date given as the following Thursday. The main chart co ...

on March 22, 2006. At the time, chart rules allowed a song to appear in the

based on their download sales if a physical equivalent was to be released the following week. "Crazy" became the first number-one single in the United Kingdom based on download sales alone (more than 31,000 that week), on April 2, 2006―for the week ending date April 8, 2006―with the

CD single A CD single (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any si ...

being released one day later. It remained on top of the chart for nine weeks and on top of the download chart for a record 11 weeks, until the single was pulled from British stores by the band and their record label on May 29, 2006, after nine consecutive weeks at number one, so people will "remember the song fondly and not get sick of it". The last song to spend such a long time at number one in the UK was "

Love Is All Around "Love Is All Around" is a song recorded by English rock band the Troggs, featuring a string quartet and a 'tick tock' sound on percussion, in D-major. Released as a single in October 1967, it was a top-ten hit in both the UK and US. "Love I ...

" by

Wet Wet Wet Wet Wet Wet are a Scottish soft rock band formed in 1982. They scored a number of hits in the UK charts and around the world in the 1980s and 1990s. They are best known for their 1994 cover of The Troggs' 1960s hit " Love Is All Around", which ...

in 1994, which was number one for 15 weeks. "Crazy"'s eleven weeks at the top of the

were the longest stay on that chart that any song had achieved as of 2006. Despite its official removal, record shops had enough stock remaining to sell 19,827 physical copies; along with download sales, this kept the song at number two in the chart week ending date June 10, 2006. The following week, "Crazy" was at number five, before disappearing completely from the chart a week later, as under chart rules a physically deleted single could not remain on the chart longer than two weeks after deletion date. Thus, "Crazy" made history at both ends of its chart run. It marked the most rapid exit from the British chart ever for a former number one, and number five was the highest position at which a single has ever spent its final week on the chart until

Alex Day Alex Richard George Day (born 8 April 1989) is an English musician, vlogger and writer. Day has released seven studio albums, two EPs, and had three UK Top 40 hits.Holiday, RyanYouTube and Chart Sensation Alex Day the Future of Music? ''Forbes ...

's " Forever Yours" fell out from number four. In the first week of 2007, "Crazy" recharted at number 30, based purely on downloads. The chart rules had been changed yet again, allowing any sold song to chart, irrespective of whether or not it was still on sale in stores. Due to continued download sales, the single became a million-seller in January 2011. It was the 104th single to do this. During its long stay in the British charts, the single also entered multiple other single charts throughout Europe, including the German, the Swedish, the Austrian and the Irish Singles Charts, and the Dutch Top 40, resulting in a number one position on the European Hot 100 Singles. "Crazy" also performed strongly outside Europe, with top-five positions on the New Zealand and Australian Single Charts, and was also certified

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

in both countries. On May 29, 2006, the single went down in New Zealand music history by becoming the 500th number-one single in New Zealand since the official top 40 chart was started in 1973. The Discount Rhinos Full Control remix of the track also featured in the top 20 of the Australian ARIA Club chart. When the album ''St. Elsewhere'' was released in the United States on May 9, 2006, the song had debuted at number 91 on the '' Billboard'' Hot 100. The song reached the top 40 on May 23, 2006. In the summer of 2006, "Crazy" spent seven consecutive weeks in the number two spot, below

Nelly Furtado Nelly Kim Furtado (; ; born December 2, 1978) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Furtado has sold over 40 million records worldwide making her one of the most successful Canadian artists. She first gained fame with her trip hop-inspired deb ...

's "

Promiscuous Promiscuity is the practice of engaging in sexual activity frequently with different partners or being indiscriminate in the choice of sexual partners. The term can carry a moral judgment. A common example of behavior viewed as promiscuous by ma ...

" for four weeks and Fergie's " London Bridge" for an additional three weeks. It became the year's first single to peak at number two and never reach number one. The song also charted well on other charts, hitting number seven on the US Modern Rock chart and number 53 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Tracks. As of June 2013, the song has sold 3,401,000 downloads copies in the United States.

Music videos

There are two different music videos for this song. Going along with the psychiatric theme of the song, Gnarls Barkley's

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

for "Crazy" is done in the style of the Rorschach test. Animated, mirrored inkblots morph one into another, while taking on ambiguous shapes. Both Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse appear in the shapes, as do the duo's gunshot/heart logo, "Satan", a cranium and various animals, including centipedes, birds,

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...

spider Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

s, and

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three ...

s. The music video for "Crazy" was directed by

Robert Hales Sir Robert Hales ( – 14 June 1381) was Grand Prior of the Knights Hospitaller of England, Lord High Treasurer, and Admiral of the West. He was killed in the Peasants' Revolt. Career In 1372 Robert Hales became the Lord/Grand Prior of th ...

, who had previously directed music videos for Jet, Nine Inch Nails and

Richard Ashcroft Richard Paul Ashcroft (born 11 September 1971) is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer and occasional rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band The Verve from their formation in 1990 until their original split in 1999. So ...

, among others. The inkblot illustrations were produced by motion design studio Blind, Inc., led by creative director and animation director, Vanessa Marzaroli. The video was nominated for three

2006 MTV Video Music Awards The 2006 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on August 31, 2006, honoring the best music videos from June 11, 2005, to June 26, 2006. The show was hosted by Jack Black at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The 2006 Video Music Awards marked th ...

Best Group Video The MTV Video Music Award for Best Group (also known as the MTV Video Music Award for Best Group Video) is given to recording artists at the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs). The award was introduced at the inaugural ceremony in 1984 by vocalis ...

, Best Direction, and Best Editing, and won the latter two. It was also nominated for a 2006 MTV Europe Music Award for Best Video, but lost to "We Are Your Friends" by Justice vs. Simian. Before the final music video was finished, the band's UK label released a different video to media outlets such as the BBC. This early promo, directed by Mina Song, is also completely animated and features several symbols from many cultures and religions that appear in a disjointed harmony to the lyrics. Lyrics of the song, and again the band's gunshot/heart logo also appear prominently. The video also includes elements of the single's cover art.

Usage in media

"Crazy" was used in several films and TV shows including '' Kick-Ass'', ''

I Think I Love My Wife ''I Think I Love My Wife'' is a 2007 American romantic comedy film starring Chris Rock, Gina Torres and Kerry Washington. Rock co-wrote the film with Louis C.K. and also directed and produced it. It is a remake of the 1972 French film '' Love i ...

'', ''

Religulous ''Religulous'' () is a 2008 American documentary film written by and starring comedian Bill Maher and directed by Larry Charles. The title of the film is a portmanteau derived from the words ''religious'' and ''ridiculous''. The documentary exami ...

'', ''

The Big Short ''The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine'' is a nonfiction book by Michael Lewis about the build-up of the United States housing bubble during the 2000s. It was released on March 15, 2010, by W. W. Norton & Company. It spent 28 weeks on '' ...

'', ''

Cold Case A cold case is a crime, or a suspected crime, that has not yet been fully resolved and is not the subject of a current criminal investigation, but for which new information could emerge from new witness testimony, re-examined archives, new or r ...

'', ''

How to Rock ''How to Rock'' is an American teen sitcom that ran on Nickelodeon from February 4 to December 8, 2012. It stars singer Cymphonique Miller, who previously sang the theme song for Nickelodeon's ''Winx Club''. The series is based on the 2011 book ...

'', ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into s ...

'', ''

Medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation *Medium bomber, a class of war plane *Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium of ...

'', '' Boyhood'', and ''

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'' is an American sitcom created by Rob McElhenney and developed by McElhenney and Glenn Howerton that premiered on August 4, 2005 on FX and later FXX beginning with the ninth season in 2013. It stars Char ...

''. A slower remix of the song was used in the trailer for the 2014 film '' Birdman'' while the original version was used for the film's TV spots. The song was also featured in the indie horror game ''Donald: The Return''. It is featured, among many pop covers, in the 2018 musical ''

Moulin Rouge Moulin Rouge (, ; ) is a cabaret in Paris, on Boulevard de Clichy, at Place Blanche, the intersection of, and terminus of Rue Blanche. In 1889, the Moulin Rouge was co-founded by Charles Zidler and Joseph Oller, who also owned the Paris Ol ...

'', the theatrical version of

Baz Luhrmann Mark Anthony Luhrmann (born 17 September 1962), known professionally as Baz Luhrmann, is an Australian film director, producer, writer and actor. With projects spanning film, television, opera, theatre, music and recording industries, he is re ...

's 2001 film of the same name. Starting in the summer of 2020, the song went viral on

TikTok TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. TikTok is an international version o ...

as part of the “Who Do You Think You Are?” challenge, appearing on many videos. Since 2007,

The Kidd Kraddick Morning Show ''The Kidd Kraddick Morning Show'' (formerly ''Kidd Kraddick in the Morning'') is an American ensemble morning radio show that originates from Dallas, Texas. The show is heard weekday mornings on flagship station, KHKS, and on dozens of other r ...

has used the song as the basis for their call-in segment "Does That Make Me Crazy?!" where listeners announce odd things they do and the hosts of the show vote to declare them crazy, or not.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Cover versions

Violent Femmes cover

Violent Femmes Violent Femmes are an American folk punk band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The band consists of founding members Gordon Gano (guitar, lead vocals) and Brian Ritchie (bass, backing vocals), joined by multi-instrumentalist Blaise Garza (joined 200 ...

released a cover of the song on June 24, 2008, through the

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

and on a limited edition, baby blue 12" vinyl. It was their first newly recorded song since 2000.

had previously covered the

song "

Gone Daddy Gone "Gone Daddy Gone" is a song written by Gordon Gano and originally recorded by his group Violent Femmes as the first single for their first album, '' Violent Femmes''. The lyrics use a complete verse from Willie Dixon's 1954 song " I Just Want ...

" on their album '' St. Elsewhere''. Gnarls Barkley described the Violent Femmes' version as: "I might compare it to a calm pond. I caught my reflection in it. And I seemed to be momentarily at peace. This track sounds entirely different in the rain, and supports some intriguing lilypads." The Violent Femmes hosted a

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

contest beginning on June 10, 2008, with a cash award of one thousand dollars and "other cool prizes" for creating and submitting a promotional video clip.

Violent Femmes track listing

# "Crazy" – 3:28 # "Crazy (instrumental)" – 3:30 # "Crazy (a capella)" – 3:04

Other covers and remixes

The Kooks The Kooks () are an English pop-rock band formed in 2004 in Brighton. The band consists of Luke Pritchard (vocals/rhythm guitar), Hugh Harris (lead guitar/synthesizer/bass) and Alexis Nunez (drums). Their music is primarily influenced by th ...

, and

The Zutons The Zutons are an English indie rock band, formed in 2001 in Liverpool. The band are currently composed of singer, songwriter and guitarist Dave McCabe, drummer Sean Payne and saxophonist Abi Harding. They released their debut album, '' Who K ...

have covered "Crazy" on

Live Lounge The Live Lounge is a segment on the British radio stations BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra. It was originally hosted by Simon Mayo, and later by Jo Whiley on her weekday mid-morning, and later weekend lunchtime radio shows, then by Fearne Cotton ...

. The Kooks' version was released on ''

Radio 1's Live Lounge ''Radio 1's Live Lounge'' is a collection of live tracks played on Jo Whiley's Radio 1 show. It consists of both covers and the bands' own songs. Originally, it was scheduled for release in May 2006, but later changed to be released on 16 Octob ...

'', while Furtado's version was released as a B-side on her UK single "

" and she performed the song live with Welsh singer Charlotte Church on ''

The Charlotte Church Show ''The Charlotte Church Show'' is a Channel 4 entertainment television show presented by Welsh singer Charlotte Church. It was first broadcast on 1 September 2006 and ran for six subsequent Fridays. The show was commissioned for a further two ser ...

''. Folk singer

Ray LaMontagne Raymond Charles Jack LaMontagne (; born June 18, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. LaMontagne has released eight studio albums: ''Trouble'', ''Till the Sun Turns Black'', '' Gossip in the Grain'', '' God Willin' & the Creek Don ...

has also covered the song, a version very well received by critics and

Paris Hilton Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981) is an American media personality, businesswoman, socialite, model, and entertainer. Born in New York City, and raised there and in Beverly Hills, California, she is a great-granddaughter of Conrad ...

had delayed the release of her debut album ''

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

'' to include a cover of "Crazy" as well, although it was not included in the final track list. G4 also included an operatic cover of "Crazy" on the album '' Act Three''. Other artists, including Maroon 5,

Ninet Tayeb Nati Ninet Tayeb ( he, נינט טייב; born October 21, 1983), commonly known as Ninet, is an Israeli musician, singer-songwriter, composer, DJ, model, actress, and a reality television program judge in '' Rising Star: Israel''. She is conside ...

The Raconteurs The Raconteurs (, also known as The Saboteurs in Australia) is an American rock band from Detroit, Michigan, formed in 2005. The band consists of Jack White (vocals, guitar), Brendan Benson (vocals, guitar), Jack Lawrence (bass guitar), and ...

Billy Idol William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is a British-American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer o ...

, The Academy Is... (with

Travie McCoy Travis Lazarus "Travie" McCoy (born August 5, 1981) is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is the co-founder and former lead vocalist of the rap rock band Gym Class Heroes, in addition to having a solo career. McCoy became involved w ...

of Gym Class Heroes),

Butch Walker Bradley Glenn "Butch" Walker (born November 14, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He was the lead guitarist for the glam metal band SouthGang from the late 1980s to early 1990s as well as the lead vocalist ...

, Cat Power,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

The Twilight Singers The Twilight Singers are an American indie rock band. The group was formed in 1997 by Greg Dulli as a side project during a hiatus from his group The Afghan Whigs. After the Afghan Whigs disbanded, Dulli used The Twilight Singers as his own arti ...

Mates of State Mates of State are an American indie pop duo, active since 1997. The group is the husband-and-wife team of Kori Gardner (born June 16, 1974) (vocals, organ, synthesizer, piano, electric piano, and occasional guitar and drums) and Jason Hammel ...

, Paco Estrada & One Love, and of Montreal have performed cover versions of the song live in concert.

Trey Lorenz Trey Lorenz (born Lloyd Lorenz Smith; January 19, 1969) is an American R&B singer-songwriter and record producer. He was born in Florence, South Carolina and is a graduate of Wilson High School. Lorenz is best known for his duet with recording a ...

( Mariah Carey's backup singer) has also performed the song on Carey's

The Adventures of Mimi The Adventures of Mimi was a 2006 concert tour of arenas by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It was one of a few tours in her then-sixteen-year career and was named after a fan's "Carey-centric" diary of the same name. The bus tour starte ...

tour throughout the summer and autumn of 2006.

Shawn Colvin Shawn Colvin (born Shawna Lee Colvin, January 10, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. While Colvin has been a solo recording artist for decades, she is best known for her 1998 Grammy Award-winning song " Sunny Came Home". Early ...

performed the song on '' A Prairie Home Companion'' on November 4, 2006. On her recent tour, Cat Power performed the song during her set. Singer-songwriter Jude's cover of the song can be found on

. David Gilmour used to play the song during some of his soundchecks for his On an Island tour in 2006.

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

covered the song in his one-off performance at London's KOKO Club on May 10, 2007, and at several of his 21 concerts at London's O2 Arena in August and September 2007.

Pink Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...

covered "Crazy" during the entire

Funhouse Tour The Funhouse Tour was the fourth concert tour by American singer-songwriter Pink. The tour supported her fifth studio album, ''Funhouse'' (2008). The tour visited Europe, Australia and North America. According to Pollstar, the Funhouse Tour (200 ...

(2009). Paolo Nutini frequently covers the song at his concerts.

Little Ghost Little Ghost may refer to: * Little Ghost (song), "Little Ghost" (song), a song by The White Stripes from ''Get Behind Me Satan'' * Little Ghost (band), a British alternative rock band ** Little Ghost EP, ''Little Ghost'' EP, a 2013 release by the g ...

performed a cover of the song for their BBC session in 2014. '' Australian Idol 2007'' contestant

Natalie Gauci Natalie Rose Gauci (born 26 November 1981) is an Australian musician, producer and teacher. Gauci undertook music tuition at the Victorian College of the Arts, formed her own band that played gigs in Melbourne, while also working as a music tea ...

covered the song during the Doin' It for the Kids special, using her own arrangement. On November 6, 2008, the band OneRepublic covered "Crazy" in front of a hometown crowd at the Fillmore Auditorium in Denver, Colorado. British soul singer Alice Russell included a cover of the song in her 2008 album ''Pot of Gold''. Relient K covered the song for their 2011 cover album, ''

Is for Karaoke ''Is for Karaoke'' (also known as ''Relient K Is for Karaoke'') is a 2011 cover album by American rock band Relient K. The first seven songs were released on July 28 as ''Is for Karaoke EP'', and on October 4 the remaining songs were released a ...

''.

The Neighbourhood The Neighbourhood (sometimes rendered as "THE NBHD") is an American rock band formed in Newbury Park, California, in 2011. The band is composed of vocalist Jesse Rutherford, guitarists Jeremy Freedman and Zach Abels, and bassist Mikey Margot. ...

performed "Crazy" live during their 2015 tour, The Flood tour. On February 28, 2019

Kacey Musgraves Kacey Lee Musgraves (born August 21, 1988) is an American country singer. She has won six Grammy Awards, seven Country Music Association Awards, and three Academy of Country Music Awards. Musgraves self-released three solo albums and one as Texa ...

performed "Crazy" live with

during the second Nashville show of the Oh, What a World Tour at the

Ryman Auditorium Ryman Auditorium (also known as Grand Ole Opry House and Union Gospel Tabernacle) is a 2,362-seat live-performance venue located at 116 Rep. John Lewis Way North, in Nashville, Tennessee. It is best known as the home of the ''Grand Ole Opry'' fr ...

. Actor

Stephen Kramer Glickman Stephen Kramer Glickman (born March 17, 1979) is a Canadian-American comedian, actor, musician and podcast host based in Los Angeles, California. He is best known as for his role as Gustavo Rocque on the Nickelodeon sitcom ''Big Time Rush'' (20 ...

also covered the song for his debut album, ''The Moving Company''. The

Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain (UOGB) is a British musical ensemble founded in 1985 by George Hinchliffe and Kitty Lux as a bit of fun. The orchestra features ukuleles of various sizes and registers from soprano to bass. The UOGB is ...

covered the song as part of their Ukulele Lockdown series, released on YouTube on April 12, 2020. At Glastonbury 2014, on the final night, Kasabian covered the song while headlining on the pyramid stage. This was aired on BBC Two at 10:50 pm on June 29, 2014. Similarly, many unofficial remixes and mashups of the song were released as

white label A white label record is a vinyl record with white labels attached. There are several variations each with a different purpose. Variations include test pressings, white label promos, and plain white labels. Test pressings Test pressings, usua ...

s and are circulating on

file sharing networks File sharing is the practice of distributing or providing access to digital media, such as computer programs, multimedia (audio, images and video), documents or electronic books. Common methods of storage, transmission and dispersion include r ...

and

MP3 blog An MP3 blog is a type of blog in which the creator makes music files, normally in the MP3 format, available for download. They are also known as musicblogs, audioblogs or soundblogs (the latter two can also mean podcasts). MP3 blogs have become ...

s. The Discount Rhinos Full Control remix of the track even reached number 15 of the Australian ARIA Club chart. Honduran-Canadian singer Daniela Andrade also covered the song. Her version was featured in American TV series '' Suits'' and superhero web television series ''

The Umbrella Academy ''The Umbrella Academy'' is an American comic book series created and written by Gerard Way and illustrated by Gabriel Bá. The first six-issue limited series, '' The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite,'' was released by Dark Horse Comics betw ...

''.

References

External links

Official music video

"Crazy" charts data at Music Square
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crazy (Gnarls Barkley Song) 2006 debut singles 2008 singles 2006 songs Animated music videos Downtown Records singles European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Funk songs Gnarls Barkley songs Grammy Award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance Irish Singles Chart number-one singles MTV Video Music Award for Best Direction Music videos directed by Robert Hales Number-one singles in Denmark Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Scotland Number-one singles in Switzerland Song recordings produced by Danger Mouse (musician) Songs written by CeeLo Green Songs written by Danger Mouse (musician) UK Singles Chart number-one singles Violent Femmes songs Warner Music Group singles

Background

Composition and inspiration

Reception

Critical

Chart performance

Music videos

Usage in media

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Cover versions

Violent Femmes cover

Violent Femmes track listing

Other covers and remixes

See also

References

External links