"Animals"
Single by Maroon 5
from the album V
ReleasedAugust 25, 2014 (2014-08-25)
Studio
Length3:51
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Shellback
Maroon 5 singles chronology
"Maps"
(2014) 		"Animals"
(2014) 		"Sugar"
(2015)
Music videos

"Animals" is a song by the American pop rock band Maroon 5. It was released on August 25, 2014, as the second single from the band's fifth studio album V (2014). The song was written by Adam Levine, Benny Blanco and its producer Shellback.

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

Promotion

To promote the song, Kia Motors debuted an advertisement of 2015 Kia Soul EV model on August 21, 2014.[1] For a limited time after the commercial premiered, "Animals" was available for free download on the Kia website only.[2] Later, Maroon 5 released the song's lyric video on August 22, 2014, from their YouTube channel.[3] The commercial also appeared at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards on August 24,[4] and the song was released the next day.

Remixes

The remix versions of "Animals" featuring with American rappers, J. Cole released on September 30, 2014,[5] and Big Boi premiered execlusively on Pigeons & Planes website on December 18,[6] both written and produced by Freaky Ta, DCBC and Aftermath artist Me3mo (Sameem Nadeem).

Critical reception

Rolling Stone ranked "Animals" at number 32 on its year-end list of the 50 best songs of 2014.[7]

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. The other musicians of Maroon 5 (including their touring member Sam Farrar, the first time he appeared in a music video with the band) also make an appearance -- they are seen playing at a nightclub in some scenes of the video. The story of the video is inspired by the film American Psycho (2000).[8]

Synopsis

A scene from the video, presenting a fantasy that features Levine and Prinsloo as obsessed lovers.

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 sleep and takes numerous photos of her, 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 (an apparent reference 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 her. After an erotic dream, Levine wakes up in 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 having sex while covered in blood (an apparent reference to Carrie).[9]

Reception and controversy

The music video was heavily panned by critics and has been condemned for dehumanizing women and glamorizing violence.[10][11][12] 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."[10] RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) released a statement condemning the video, which said 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."[11]

In a 2018 interview with The Independent, Levine dismissed the criticism, calling it "fucking ridiculous", and saying about the video, "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."[13]

Chart performance

Commercially in the United States, "Animals" debuted at number 86 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. On October 8, 2014, the song rose from the number 33 to 8,[14] 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.[15] 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, "Animals" made the top-ten progress as well, peaking at number two on the Canadian Hot 100 in Canada. It was also a moderate success in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number 27 on the UK Singles Chart.

Live performances

On October 20, 2014, Maroon 5 performed "Animals" for the 2014 NRJ Music Tour at Maison de la Mutualité in Paris, France.[16] The same month, Maroon 5 performed the song on Saturday Night Live (along with "Maps"),[17] as well as The X Factor,[18] and the television talk shows C à vous (C to You) in France and The Graham Norton Show in the UK, respectively.[19][20] On November 10, 2014, Maroon 5 performed the song on the seventh season of The Voice.[21] In December 2014, the band performed "Animals" in a mash-up with "This Love" for A Very Grammy Christmas concert (December 5) at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California,[22] and performed the song at the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour 2014 (December 12) in Madison Square Garden, New York City.[23]

The band played the track in Puerto Rico for the first edition of Victoria's Secret Swim Special, which aired on February 26, 2015.[24] Maroon 5 played the song at the Capital One JamFest between 2016 and 2018.[25][26] It is part of a setlist for the worldwide concert tour, the Maroon V Tour (2015–2018).

Track listing

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of V.[27]

Locations

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

‹See Tfd›
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[94] 3× Platinum 210,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[95] 2× Platinum 160,000*
Germany (BVMI)[96] Platinum 400,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[97] Platinum 30,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[98] Platinum 40,000‡
Sweden (GLF)[99] 2× Platinum 80,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[100] Platinum 600,000‡
United States (RIAA)[101] Platinum 1,000,000[15]
Streaming
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[102] Platinum 2,600,000†
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[103] Gold 4,000,000†

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
† Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Format Version Label(s) Ref.
Various August 25, 2014 Digital download Original
[104]
United States September 23, 2014 Contemporary hit radio [105]
Various September 30, 2014 Digital download Remix featuring J. Cole [106]
United States October 21, 2014 Rhythmic contemporary radio [107]
Italy November 7, 2014 Contemporary hit radio Original Universal [108]
Germany November 14, 2014 CD
  • Original
  • Remix featuring J. Cole
 [109]
Various November 17, 2014
Gryffin Remix
  • 222
  • Interscope
 [110]
Sammy Bananas Remix [111]
United States December 18, 2014 Digital download Remix featuring Big Boi [6]

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