"Jungle" is a song by American rock band

X Ambassadors X Ambassadors (also stylized XA) are an American pop rock band from Ithaca, New York. Its members currently include lead vocalist Sam Harris, keyboardist Casey Harris, and drummer Adam Levin. Russ Flynn is a touring member that plays guitar and ...

and British blues rock singer

Jamie N Commons James Nicholas Commons (born 22 October 1988) is a British singer and songwriter, based in New Cross, London. Early life and education Commons was born in Bristol, England, but was raised, in part, in Chicago, Illinois, United States. At age ...

. It was released as a single on 18 December 2013 by

KIDinaKORNER Kidinakorner (stylized as KIDinaKORNER) is an American record company founded in 2011 by British music producer and songwriter Alexander "Alex da Kid" Grant. The company houses a record label, music publishing, commercial production and a market ...

and

Interscope Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Musi ...

. The track appeared on X Ambassadors' 2014 EP '' The Reason'' and their 2015 studio album '' VHS''.

Composition

"Jungle" has been described as an "amped up"

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

and

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

song, as well as a "rock-heavy, upbeat track". The song features "a drum-beat reminiscent of

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

's '

We Will Rock You "We Will Rock You" is a song written by Brian May and recorded by British rock band Queen for their 1977 album ''News of the World''. ''Rolling Stone'' ranked it number 330 of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2004, and it placed at numbe ...

. Jeff Benjamin of

Fuse Fuse or FUSE may refer to: Devices * Fuse (electrical), a device used in electrical systems to protect against excessive current ** Fuse (automotive), a class of fuses for vehicles * Fuse (hydraulic), a device used in hydraulic systems to protect ...

compared it to an

Imagine Dragons Imagine Dragons is an American pop rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, consisting of lead singer Dan Reynolds, guitarist Wayne Sermon, bassist Ben McKee and drummer Daniel Platzman. The band first gained exposure with the release of their sing ...

track, stating it "is full of Alex

a Kid ''A Kid'' (french: Le Fils de Jean) is a 2016 French-Canadian drama film written and directed by Philippe Lioret and starring Pierre Deladonchamps, Gabriel Arcand and Catherine De Léan. It is loosely based on the book ''Si ce livre pouvait me ...

s booming electronic-rock percussion, but with soulful humming and bluesy belting in place of Dragons singer

Dan Reynolds Daniel Coulter Reynolds (born July 14, 1987) is an American singer and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist of the pop rock band Imagine Dragons. Reynolds also released an EP in 2011, titled ''Egyptian – EP,'' as a duo with his former wife A ...

' signature shouty approach." "Jungle" was co-written by X Ambassadors, Jamie N Commons,

Alex da Kid Alexander Junior Grant (born 27 August 1983), professionally known as Alex da Kid or by.ALEXANDER, is a British musician, record producer, songwriter, record executive and fashion designer from Wood Green, London. He has gained recognition for p ...

and

Mike Del Rio Michael Francis Gonzalez (born March 8, 1988), also known by his stage name Mike Del Rio, is a musical artist, producer, and songwriter from New York, NY now based in Los Angeles, CA. He is the co creator and lead member of the alternative group ...

. Alex da Kid and

also produced the song. Speaking about the goal of the song in a ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' interview,

stated, "It was my goal to write and produce an anthemic song that would resonate with anyone that has grown up in or been around underprivileged surroundings." In an interview with ''

The News & Observer ''The News & Observer'' is an American regional daily newspaper that serves the greater Triangle area based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The paper is the largest in circulation in the state (second is the '' Charlotte Observer''). The paper has be ...

'', X Ambassadors member Sam Harris commented on the writing process: "I had written a hook for it, and Alex had the beat. I thought he was gonna put a rapper on it, but then he gave it to Jamie, and Jamie wrote these great verses on it." According to Sam Harris, the negative experiences that his brother and bandmate Casey Harris had encountered as a blind person after relocating to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

served as an inspiration for the song.

Release and reception

"Jungle" was made available for digital download on 18 December 2013 by

and

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...

. Jason Warshof of Ithaca.com described the song as a "thumping, gritted-teeth anthem". Harlew Brown of ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'' called it "a soulful heavy hitter". Andy Gensler of ''

'' regarded it as a "pounding, foot-stomping

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

beat", noting that it sounds like "

John Bonham John Henry Bonham (31 May 1948 – 25 September 1980) was an English musician, best known as the drummer for the rock band Led Zeppelin. Esteemed for his speed, power, fast single-footed kick drumming, distinctive sound, and feel for groove,J ...

with a shotgun, holding up a guttural-sounding blues vocal."

Music video

The official music video for the song was exclusively premiered on 16 June 2014 on the website of ''

'' magazine. It was co-directed by Emile Rafael and

. The video features members of various subcultures in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. AXS contributor William Pankey described it as "a fly-covered, grubby slice of life centered around the piss-stained, impoverished streets of Los Angeles."

Live performances

X Ambassadors and Jamie N Commons included the song on the setlist for their Into the Jungle U.S. Tour, which lasted from 30 September to 18 October 2014. On 31 January 2017, X Ambassadors performed "Jungle" alongside "Collider" at the Opening Night celebration of

Super Bowl LI Super Bowl LI was an American football game played at NRG Stadium in Houston, Houston, Texas, on February 5, 2017, to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2016 NFL season, 2016 season. The American Football Confer ...

Minute Maid Park Minute Maid Park is a retractable roof stadium in Houston, Texas, United States. It opened in 2000 as the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Houston Astros. It has a seating capacity of 41,168, which includes 5,197 club seats and 63 ...

, Houston.

Remixes

Jay-Z remix

On 14 June 2014, a remix version featuring a rap segment by American rapper

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

debuted during Game 5 of the

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

between

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Southe ...

and

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

. On the same day, the remix was made available exclusively on

Beats Music Beats Music was a subscription-based online music streaming service owned by the Beats Electronics division of Apple Inc. The service combined algorithm-based personalization with expert music suggestions from a variety of sources. Development ...

, before it was released as a single for digital download on 23 June. The remix was commissioned as part of an advertising campaign by

Beats Electronics Beats Electronics LLC (also known as Beats by Dr. Dre, or simply Beats by Dre) is an American consumer audio products manufacturer headquartered in Culver City, California. The company was founded by music producer Dr. Dre and record company exe ...

for the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

. In a VH1 interview, X Ambassadors singer Sam Harris commented on the background of the remix version: "Our producer calls me up out of the blue. He's like, 'Hey, guess what? I got Jay-Z to do a remix of "Jungle"!' Came out of nowhere." One of the interludes on X Ambassadors' album '' VHS'', titled "Good News on the Remix", features a recording of the conversation between Sam Harris and the producer discussing Jay-Z's remix. The lyrics of the additional verse contain references to Brazilian

favela Favela () is an umbrella name for several types of working-class neighborhoods in Brazil. The term was first used in the Providência neighborhood in the center of Rio de Janeiro in the late 19th century, which was built by soldiers who had ...

religious persecution Religious persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or a group of individuals as a response to their religion, religious beliefs or affiliations or their irreligion, lack thereof. The tendency of societies or groups within soc ...

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...

as well as several films, including ''

A Bronx Tale ''A Bronx Tale'' is a 1993 American coming-of-age crime film directed by and starring Robert De Niro in his directorial debut and produced by Jane Rosenthal, adapted from Chazz Palminteri's 1989 play of the same name. It tells the coming of ...

'' (1993), ''

Training Day ''Training Day'' is a 2001 American crime thriller film directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by David Ayer. It stars Denzel Washington as Alonzo Harris and Ethan Hawke as Jake Hoyt, two LAPD narcotics officers over a 24-hour period in the gang- ...

'' (2001) and '' City of God'' (2002). Colin Stutz of ''

'' stated that while the remix "isn't much different from the original", Jay-Z "gets his point across, going nonstop for more than a minute straight", with "a heavy hitting verse". According to Colin Joyce of ''

'', the rapper "manages to transform the bombastic single into stadium-sized banger".

Usage in media

The song was used as the official theme for

WWE Battleground WWE Battleground is a professional wrestling event produced by WWE, a Connecticut-based promotion. It was broadcast live and available only through pay-per-view (PPV) and the WWE Network. The event was established in 2013, debuting in October o ...

in 2014. "Jungle" was used in a five-minute promotional video titled "The Game Before the Game" by

, released in June 2014 for the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

and intended to promote Beats by Dre's redesigned Solo2 headphones. Directed by Nabil Elderkin, the advertisement features, among others,

Neymar Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior (born 5 February 1992), known as Neymar, is a Brazilian professional association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain F.C., Paris Sain ...

Cesc Fàbregas Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas Soler (; ; born 4 May 1987) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Italian Serie B club Como. Fàbregas came through ''La Masia'', Barcelona's youth academy, leaving at 16 when h ...

Luis Suárez Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz (; born 24 January 1987) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Uruguayan Primera División club Nacional and the Uruguay national team. Nicknamed ''El Pistolero'' ('The Gunman'), he is ...

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accent ...

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman (rapper), ...

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest pl ...

and

Serena Williams Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American inactive professional tennis player. Considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for ...

. Speaking about the selection of "Jungle" for the campaign, Beats by Dre's chief marketing officer Omar Johnson told ''

'' magazine, "We had a really huge track from a really huge artist. The moment we heard this song, we literally said 'nope, that's the right song. ''Billboard'' placed the track at number three in its list of the Top 10 Songs From World Cup Spots. The song was featured in a trailer for the second season of

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

web television series ''

Orange Is the New Black ''Orange Is the New Black'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''OITNB'') is an American comedy-drama streaming television series created by Jenji Kohan for Netflix. The series is based on Piper Kerman's memoir '' Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Wo ...

''. It was also used in trailers for the films ''

Horrible Bosses 2 ''Horrible Bosses 2'' is a 2014 American crime comedy directed by Sean Anders and written by Anders and John Morris. A sequel to 2011's ''Horrible Bosses'', the film stars Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Jamie Foxx ...

'' (2014) and ''

Project Almanac ''Project Almanac'' is a 2015 American found footage science fiction film directed by Dean Israelite in his directorial debut, and written by Jason Harry Pagan and Andrew Deutschman. The film stars Jonny Weston, Sofia Black-D'Elia, Sam Lerner, ...

'' (2015) and the video game ''

Battlefield Hardline ''Battlefield Hardline'' is a first-person shooter video game developed by Visceral Games and published by Electronic Arts. It was released in March 2015 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. Unlike the prev ...

'' (2015). It appeared in the crime thriller television series ''

The Blacklist ''The Blacklist'' is an American crime thriller television series that premiered on NBC on September 23, 2013. The show follows Raymond "Red" Reddington (James Spader), a former U.S. Navy officer turned high-profile criminal who voluntarily sur ...

''. In April 2015, a promotional video featuring the cast of ''

Pitch Perfect 2 ''Pitch Perfect 2'' is a 2015 American musical comedy film directed and produced by Elizabeth Banks (in her feature directorial debut) and written by Kay Cannon. It is a sequel to the 2012 film ''Pitch Perfect'' and the second installment in the ...

'' and basketball player

Kyle Lowry Kyle Terrell Lowry (born March 25, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been a six-time NBA All-Star and was named to the All-NBA Third Team in 2016. Lowry ...

was released for the

2015 NBA Playoffs The 2015 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2014–15 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors defeating the Eastern Conference champion Clevel ...

. The video featured an

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

cover version of the track, with

Anna Kendrick Anna Cooke Kendrick (born August 9, 1985) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including a Satellite Award, five Teen Choice Awards, three MTV Movie Awards, and nominations for an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award a ...

performing as lead vocalist. "Jungle" also appeared in a television commercial for the video game '' Deus Ex: Mankind Divided'' (2016). A remix version of the song by

Steve Aoki Steven Hiroyuki Aoki (, ; born November 30, 1977), best known as Steve Aoki, is an American DJ, record producer, music programmer, and record executive.

was used in a launch trailer for the video game ''

Injustice 2 ''Injustice 2'' is a 2017 fighting game, fighting video game it is the sequel to 2013's ''Injustice: Gods Among Us'' and is the second installment in the ''Injustice (franchise), Injustice'' franchise based upon the DC Universe. It is developed ...

'' (2017). The song was included on the soundtrack of the basketball simulation video game ''

NBA 2K18 ''NBA 2K18'' is a 2017 basketball simulation video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K Sports. It is the 19th installment in the ''NBA 2K'' franchise, the successor to ''NBA 2K17'', and the predecessor to ''NBA 2K19''. It was r ...

'' (2017). The song was used in the latest spot of Ahora Noticias, a chilean news network on Channel Mega. A cover of the song by

BTS BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010 and debuting in 2013 under Big Hit Entertainment. The septet—consisting of members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook—co-writes and co-produ ...

was used in a January 2021 advertisement of

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

in Indonesia.

Controversy

On 25 November 2016, a copyright lawsuit was filed by Songs Music Publishing, LLC in the

United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee The United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee (in case citations, M.D. Tenn.) is the federal trial court for most of Middle Tennessee. Based at the Estes Kefauver Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Nashville ...

against German automobile manufacturer

Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see #Pronunciation, below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ...

and the Cramer-Krasselt advertising agency which alleged that one of the company's advertisements for the sports car

Porsche 718 Cayman The Porsche 982 is the internal designation of the fourth generation Boxster/Cayman (third generation Cayman) made by German automobile manufacturer Porsche. With the switch to a new turbocharged flat-four engine the marketing name for the model ...

"copies several quantitatively and qualitatively important portions of 'Jungle. According to the complaint, the defendants copied the original drum rhythms, organ stabs and background vocals from the song, which together "negates any suggestion of independent creation".

Track listing

*;Digital download # "Jungle" – 3:09 *;Digital download – remix # "Jungle" (Remix) (feat.

) – 3:27 *;Digital download – ''Remixes'' # "Jungle" (Great Good Fine OK Remix) – 3:06 # "Jungle" (KDrew Remix Edited) – 3:12 # "Jungle" (KDrew Remix Extended) – 3:43 *;Digital download – ''The MADE Edit'' # "Jungle" (The MADE Edit) – 4:34

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Certifications and sales

References

{{authority control 2013 songs 2013 singles Jay-Z songs X Ambassadors songs Jamie N Commons songs Song recordings produced by Alex da Kid Songs written by Alex da Kid Kidinakorner singles Interscope Records singles Songs written by Jamie N Commons