"Animals" , to save you the trouble of reading all this, is the perfect 10 and 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.[4] 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)".[5] It started to reach even more speculation after a
Vine video featuring Agnes from Despicable Me was posted.[6][7] The track was, at various times, attributed to other acts like
Hardwell, GTA,
Sidney Samson[8] and Bassjackers[9] 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"[10] rhythmic sound (the
drop) is an
interpretation of
Busta Rhymes' "
What It Is".[11] 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 to appear here is We're the fucking animals, which is spoken by a friend of Garrix,[12] has a low pitch and appears two events.
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".[13]
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.[16]
As of June 2020, the song's music video has over 1.5 billion views on
YouTube.[17]
Usage in media
"Animals" was used in a commercial for video game Madden NFL 25.[18] It was added in the March 2014 update of another game, Asphalt 8: Airborne.[19] "Animals" was also featured on Just Dance 2016 along with an extreme routine.[20] 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.[113][114]
^"
ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 201419 into search.
^"
ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – SINGLES DIGITAL – TOP 100 and insert 201419 into search. 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.