"Animals" is a big room house instrumental by Dutch DJ and record producer Martin Garrix, released as a digital download on 17 June 2013 on iTunes. The song quickly became popular within the EDM culture, leading to Garrix becoming the youngest producer to ever have a song reach number one on the electronic music store Beatport.[3] The track was a commercial success, reaching the top ten or topping on a number of electronic music charts and even some mainstream ones. It became number 1 on singles charts in the United Kingdom, French-speaking Switzerland and Belgium. In the United States it reached number 21 on the BillboardHot 100 and number 1 on the Dance chart.
Composition and release
Prior to release, the track gained buzz after being played anonymously with speculation increasing about the author after Dutch record label Spinnin' Records released a clip of the track online only titled "Animals (Teaser)".[4] It started to reach even more speculation after a Vine video featuring Agnes from Despicable Me was posted.[5][6] The track was, at various times, attributed to other acts like Hardwell, GTA, Sidney Samson[7] and Bassjackers[8] before the actual identity of the producer was revealed.
According to Garrix, the melody was based on a previous, never-released track that he composed two years prior, and the "ruthlessly minimalist"[9] rhythmic sound (the drop) is an interpretation of Busta Rhymes' "What It Is".[10] and the first part is inspiring to a song by Aura Qualic called D.A.T.A. The song is mostly instrumental; the only sung verse is We're the fucking animals, which is spoken by a friend of Garrix,[11] has a low pitch, and appears two times.
Critical reception
In 2016, Billboard named "Animals" Garrix's second-best song, behind "In the Name of Love". The review noted how Garrix "ushered in a new dance era and crowned the then-17-year-old, leader of the new school", further describing the song as "big, brash and infectious, everything a festival anthem should be. It still sounds dope so many years later".[12]
In the United States, "Animals" was the first instrumental track to reach the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 since Kenny G's "Millennium Mix" of "Auld Lang Syne" in 1999.[15]
As of August 2024, the song's music video has over 1.7 billion views on YouTube.[16]
Usage in media
"Animals" was used in a commercial for video game Madden NFL 25.[17] It was added in the March 2014 update of another game, Asphalt 8: Airborne.[18] "Animals" was also featured on Just Dance 2016 along with an extreme routine.[19] The instrumental version of the song was also featured in FIFA Online 3, an online free-to-play version of the FIFA series video game.
In April 2014, the track was also used in the Dior advertisement for their "Addict Fluid Stick" lipstick and lipgloss range.
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. † Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.
In December 2013, a SoundCloud user named McMaNGOS posted an edited version of "Animals" titled "Funnymals", which remixes the song's drop to the tune of "Old McDonald Had a Farm". The "Funnymals" edit gained prominence at the 2014 Ultra Music Festival, when Deadmau5 (who had made comments attacking Garrix on Twitter earlier in the day, and has been a prominent critic of "mainstream" electronic music) played the edit as part of his live set.[114][115]
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 19. týden 2014 in the date selector.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 19. týden 2014 in the date selector. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
^"Media Forest – Weekly Charts. Media Forest. Retrieved November 18, 2014. Note: Romanian and international positions are rendered together by the number of plays before resulting an overall chart.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201413 into search.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 201428 into search. Retrieved 15 July 2014.