Butterfly (Crazy Town song)

"Butterfly" is a song by American rap rock band Crazy Town. It is based on a sample of "Pretty Little Ditty" from the Red Hot Chili Peppers' 1989 album Mother's Milk, so band members Anthony Kiedis, Flea, Chad Smith, and John Frusciante are credited as writers. The song was released in October 2000 as the third single from their debut album, The Gift of Game. It gained mainstream popularity after being released physically on February 20, 2001.

"Butterfly"
Artwork for commercial US and continental European releases
Single by Crazy Town
from the album The Gift of Game
B-side"Revolving Door"
ReleasedOctober 24, 2000 (2000-10-24)
Genre
Length3:36
LabelColumbia
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)
  • Seth Binzer
  • Bret Mazur
Producer(s)
Crazy Town singles chronology
"Darkside"
(2000)		 "Butterfly"
(2000)		 "Revolving Door"
(2001)

"Butterfly" peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 for two nonconsecutive weeks. Outside of the United States, the song topped the charts in seven countries, including Austria, Denmark, and Norway, and it peaked within the top ten on the charts of several others, including Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Background and composition

Crazy Town did not choose to release "Butterfly" as the first single from The Gift of Game. Guitarist Kraig "Squirrel" Tyler explained: "We knew all along we didn't want to release 'Butterfly' first because we didn't want to be known as the band that does 'Butterfly'. We are looking at this like we want to have a career. That isn't who we are".[2] In describing the song, frontman Shifty Shellshock said: "Well, a song like 'Butterfly' is a no-brainer, everyone seems to love that no matter how hard they are, it's very radio friendly, the female audience loves it and at the same time I think we kept our integrity with it, it's not a sell-out song, it's very real and cool and I like it".[3]

"Butterfly" was described by George Lang of the Oklahoman as a "a deft blend of hip-hop and rock".[4] Alan di Perna of Guitar World magazine noted Crazy Town were predominantly a rap-metal group, with their music containing the "streetwise guitar rage" of the genre combined with "a dash of Eighties alternative melodicism" and declared the song as a "hip-hop flavored ballad".[5] This was echoed by Tim Kenneally of Spin who noted that the band avoided "descending into rap-metal's typical bitch-done-me-wrong jeremiads"; he declared it a sappy hip-hop love song.[6] Michael Steele, a music director of the pop radio station KIIS-FM, noted the song's crossover appeal in an interview in the Los Angeles Times, declaring that among rap-rock songs, "Butterfly" was "the one that completely crossed over from the rap-rock genre."[7] Spin labelled "Butterfly" as a "nu metal power ballad" and possibly the biggest love song of the entire genre.[8]

Critical reception

It was named the 34th "Most Awesomely Bad Song Ever" by VH1.[9] It was also rated number 3 on Billboard's chart for one-hit wonders of the 2000s, compiled in 2009.[10] Spin named "Butterfly" as the 13th best nu metal song.[8] "Butterfly" was featured in Metal Hammer's "The Top 40 Best Nu Metal Songs Ever Made" list and ranked at #18.[11]

Music video

The song's music video, directed by Honey, shows the band in a fantastical forest full of butterflies. Shifty Shellshock and Epic Mazur sing praises to two women with butterfly wings. At one point in the video, Shifty's star-shaped tattoos fly off into the air.

Track listings

Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the US CD single and The Gift of Game album booklet.[1][19]

Studios

  • Tracked at Westlake Audio (Los Angeles)
  • Mixed at Scream Studios (Burbank, California) and The Mix Room (Los Angeles)
  • Mastered at Precision Mastering (Hollywood, California)

Personnel

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[68] 2× Platinum 140,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[69] Gold 20,000*
Belgium (BEA)[70] Gold 25,000*
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[71] Platinum 8,000^
Germany (BVMI)[72] Platinum 500,000^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[73] Platinum 60,000‡
Sweden (GLF)[74] Platinum 30,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[75] Gold 20,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[76] Platinum 600,000‡

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref(s).
United States October 24, 2000 Alternative radio Columbia [77]
December 19, 2000 Contemporary hit radio [78]
January 23, 2001 Rhythmic contemporary radio [79]
Europe February 19, 2001
  • CD
  • maxi-CD
  • 12-inch vinyl
 [80]
United States February 20, 2001
  • CD
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • 12-inch vinyl
 [81]
Australia March 19, 2001 CD [82]
United Kingdom March 26, 2001
  • CD
  • cassette
 [80][83]

See also

References
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  2. "Crazy Town – Interview – Hip Online – music biographies, reviews & interviews". Hip Online. February 19, 2001. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  3. "Interview with Crazy Town at London Astoria 2, at their first UK gig Present were Shifty and Epic 07/12/1999" (PDF). Wolfshead. December 7, 1999. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  4. Lang, George (April 20, 2001). "Staying Crazy Band careful about 'Butterfly' image". The Oklahoman. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  5. Perna, Alan di (2002). "Game Boys". In Kitts, Jeff; Tolinski, Brad (eds.). Guitar World Presents Nu-metal. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 139. ISBN 978-0-634-03287-5.
  6. Kenneally, Tim (May 2001). "Crazy Like a Glock". Spin. Vol. 17, no. 5. SPIN Media LLC. p. 123. ISSN 0886-3032.
  7. Lecaro, Line (April 1, 2001). "A Sweet Debut for Bad Boys". Los Angeles Times.
  8. Zaleski, Annie (May 17, 2017). "The 30 Best Nu-Metal Songs". Spin. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
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  12. Butterfly (US 7-inch single vinyl disc). Crazy Town. Columbia Records. 2000. 38-79570.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  13. Butterfly (US 12-inch single vinyl disc). Crazy Town. Columbia Records. 2000. 44 79549.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  14. Butterfly (UK CD single liner notes). Crazy Town. Columbia Records. 2001. 671001 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  15. Butterfly (UK cassette single sleeve). Crazy Town. Columbia Records. 2001. 671001 4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. Butterfly (European CD single liner notes). Crazy Town. Columbia Records. 2001. COL 669257 1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  17. Butterfly (European maxi-CD single liner notes). Crazy Town. Columbia Records. 2001. COL 669257 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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