"Cruel"
Single by Snakehips featuring Zayn
Released15 July 2016 (2016-07-15)
GenrePop
Length3:48
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Snakehips
  • Cass Lowe
Snakehips singles chronology
"Money on Me"
(2016) 		"Cruel"
(2016) 		"Burn Break Crash"
(2016)
Zayn singles chronology
"Wrong"
(2016) 		"Cruel"
(2016) 		"Freedun"
(2016)
Music video
"Cruel" on YouTube

"Cruel" is a song by British production duo Snakehips featuring English singer and songwriter Zayn. It was released as a single on 15 July 2016 by Sony Music UK and Columbia Records. The song was written and composed by Oliver Lee and James Carter of Snakehips, along with Cass Lowe, Erik Hassle and Zayn. "Cruel" received critical acclaim, with NME ranking the song at number 50 on their "50 Best Tracks of 2016" list,[1] and MuuMuse ranking it at number 88 on their "Top 100 Singles of 2016" list.[2]

Music video

An accompanying music video for "Cruel" premiered on YouTube on 9 August 2016 and stars Zayn as he sings the song inside a building in an Asian town.[3] The video was directed by Alex Southam.

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2016) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[4] 34
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[5] 24
France (SNEP)[6] 147
Ireland (IRMA)[7] 55
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[8] 31
Portugal (AFP)[9] 89
Scotland (OCC)[10] 31
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[11] 79
UK Singles (OCC)[12] 33
UK Asian (Official Charts Company)[13] 1
US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (Billboard)[14] 17

Year-end charts

Chart (2016) Position
US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (Billboard)[15] 62

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[16] Gold 35,000‡
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[17] Gold 30,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[18] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Format Version Label Ref.
Worldwide 15 July 2016 Digital download Original
23 September 2016 Remixes [19]

References

  1. ^ "NME's Tracks Of The Year 2016 - NME". Playlists.applemusic.com. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  2. ^ "The Top 100 Singles of 2016". MuuMuse. 2016-12-17. Retrieved 2017-09-09.
  3. ^ "Snakehips - Cruel (Official Video) ft. ZAYN". YouTube. 9 August 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  4. ^ "Snakehips feat. Zayn – Cruel". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  5. ^ "Snakehips feat. Zayn – Cruel" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  6. ^ "Snakehips feat. Zayn – Cruel" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  7. ^ "Chart Track: Week 30, 2016". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  8. ^ "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 5 September 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  9. ^ "Snakehips feat. ZAYN – Cruel". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
  10. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  11. ^ "Snakehips feat. Zayn – Cruel". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  12. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  13. ^ "Official Asian Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. 5 August 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  14. ^ "Snakehips Chart History (Hot Dance/Electronic Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  15. ^ "Hot Dance/Electronic Songs – Year-End 2016". Billboard. 13 December 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  16. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2016 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. 19 September 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  17. ^ "Brazilian single certifications – Snakehips – Cruel" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  18. ^ "British single certifications – Snakehips feat. Zayn – Cruel". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  19. ^ "Cruel (Remixes) [feat. ZAYN] - Single by Snakehips". iTunes. 23 September 2016.



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