| "Crash" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byGwen Stefani | ||||
| from the albumLove. Angel. Music. Baby. | ||||
| Released | January 24, 2006 (2006-01-24) | |||
| Studio | Kingsbury (Los Feliz,California) | |||
| Genre | Electroclash[1] | |||
| Length | 4:06 | |||
| Label | Interscope | |||
| Songwriters |
| |||
| Producer | Tony Kanal | |||
| Gwen Stefani singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Crash" is a song by American singer and songwriterGwen Stefani from her debut solo studio album,Love. Angel. Music. Baby. (2004). Written by Stefani andNo Doubt bandmateTony Kanal, the song usesautomobile metaphors to describe a relationship,[2] and it received mixed to positive reviews fromcritics. Not originally planned as a single, the song was released as the album's sixth and final single on January 24, 2006, during Stefani's pregnancy.
Stefani had been working on her solo project withLinda Perry. The two penned several songs, including lead single "What You Waiting For?", but Stefani found the process difficult, commenting, "It's humiliating and intimidating even if they're sweet and excited, because you're drowning in their creativity."[3][4] When the two began working on a song about a deceased friend of Stefani's, Perry began writing the lyrics and Stefani, feeling that Perry was encroaching on her territory, broke down and left.[4]
Stefani'sNo Doubt bandmateTony Kanal invited her to his house so that the two could go out with friends.[5] When she arrived, however, Kanal surprised her by playing some tracks on which he had been working and revealed that he had prepared some for Stefani.[5] Although Stefani had wanted to work with Kanal, she was concerned that his work would not fit with herdance-oriented album; however, she called it her "favorite track that [she had] written so far", and the two worked on the track, modeling it afterhip hop trioSalt-n-Pepa.[4][5]
"Crash" received mixed reviews from critics. In a review forThe New York Times,Kelefa Sanneh noted that the track "successfully conjure[s] up the infectious spirit of earlyMadonna."[6]David Browne ofEntertainment Weekly called the song "a pricey retro fashion blurb" on which Stefani appears as "an old-school, gold-chained rapper".[7] Krissi Murison ofNME disagreed, calling it one of "the best bits of the decade of decadence" and referring to it as "Salt-N-Pepa'scartoon rap".[8] Jason Shawhan ofAbout.com stated that the song's "greatNarada Michael Walden bleepy synth noises [...] pop out of the mix like thecar stereo just decided to sing along",[9] and Jennifer Nine ofYahoo! Music commented that the track had "icy-cool schoolyard sass".[10]
Eric Greenwood of Drawer B opined that the track "carelessly revisits Stefani's blatant fondness for 80's pop, but not even [...] Tony Kanal can save her from lifeless retreads like these."[11]The Washington Post reviewer Sean Daly compared it to Salt-n-Pepa's 1987 single "Push It" and added that Stefani "pushes it real good".[12]PopMatters's Jason Damas gave it a very strong review, writing that "Stefani nails all the vocal mannerisms" and that Kanal "reveals a major mainstream pop jones here, especially in the way he layers the cut [...] with dozens of orchestra hits [...] which have been absent from almost all pop albums for a decade or more now."[13] Sal Cinquemani ofSlant Magazine gave the song a mixed review, stating that it "features some near-fatal car metaphors" but that Stefani "maintains her signature sass throughout".[2]
"Crash" had originally not been planned as a major single release fromLove. Angel. Music. Baby.[15] In late 2005 Stefani announced that she was pregnant (while performing the song on tour inFort Lauderdale, Florida) and would be delaying her second solo album,[16] and the song was announced as the sixth single in January 2006.[17] The song impacted UScontemporary hit radio andrhythmic contemporary radio stations in the US on January 24, 2006.[18]
The single debuted at number 95 on theBillboard Hot 100 on February 11, 2006.[19] It reached number 49 for two weeks and remained on the chart for a total of eight weeks.[20] "Crash" was somewhat more successful on the pop charts, reaching number 20 on theTop 40 Mainstream and number 28 on thePop 100, and had some crossover success, reaching number 38 on theRhythmic Top 40.[21][22][23]
"Crash" was the only single fromLove. Angel. Music. Baby. that did not receive aCD single release in Canada; in addition, the track experienced minimal radio success, peaking at number 87 on theBDS Airplay Chart in March 2006.[24]
Due to Stefani's pregnancy, a live music video was released instead of anarrative video. The video was directed bySophie Muller at a performance inAnaheim, California, during Stefani'sHarajuku Lovers Tour.[25]
Personnel are adapted from the liner notes ofLove. Angel. Music. Baby.[26]
| Chart (2006) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada CHR/Pop Top 30 (Radio & Records)[27] | 20 |
| Global Dance Tracks (Billboard)[28] | 39 |
| USBillboard Hot 100[20] | 49 |
| USPop 100 (Billboard)[22] | 28 |
| USPop Airplay (Billboard)[21] | 20 |
| USRhythmic Airplay (Billboard)[23] | 38 |
| Region | Date | Format | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | January 24, 2006 | Contemporary hit radio | Interscope | [18] |
| Rhythmic contemporary radio |
| Studio albums | |
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| Video albums | |
| Singles |
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| Featured singles | |
| Promotional singles | |
| Other songs | |
| Concerts and tours | |
| Television | |
| Related articles | |
