Animals

**"Animals"** is a song by American pop rock band Maroon 5. It was released on August 25, 2014 as the second official single from the band's fifth studio album, *V*. It was written by Adam Levine, Benny Blanco and Shellback; the latter is also the producer.

The lyric video for the song was released on the same day on Vevo. A snippet of "Animals" was featured in a Kia Soul commercial, published on August 21, 2014. For a limited time after the commercial premiered, the song was available for free download on the official Kia website. The song peaked at number three on the US *Billboard* Hot 100 giving Maroon 5 their tenth top 10 single in the U.S.

a song used in Percy the Green Engine and the Tomato Cucumber-Pariah.

## Music video

The music video, directed by Samuel Bayer was released on September 29, 2014. It mainly features Adam Levine and his wife, Behati Prinsloo. The other musicians of Maroon 5 (including their touring member, Sam Farrar, who appeared in a music video of the band for the very first time) also make an appearance; they are seen playing at a nightclub in some scenes of the video. The story of the video is inspired by the film *American Psycho* (2000).

### Synopsis

The video starts with a woman (played by Prinsloo) entering a slaughterhouse, where Levine's character works. After she leaves, an infatuated Levine begins to stalk the woman by following her in the streets and standing outside in the pouring rain to watch her. He also watches the woman in her sleep and takes numerous photos of Prinsloo (most of them were probably taken without her knowledge) which he later trims and places on wires around a dark room. Intercut with this are scenes of a shirtless Levine (wearing horn-rimmed glasses) singing the song inside a meat locker and using animal carcasses for punching bags (referenced to the film *Rocky* (1976)). One evening, Levine follows the woman into a nightclub, where he tries to talk to her. Though Prinsloo is amused by Levine and his interest in her, she spends the evening talking to her girlfriends instead. Eventually, Levine is left with no luck, so he goes back to fantasizing about the girl. The final scenes feature Levine and Prinsloo as obsessed lovers kissing -- while disrobed and covered in real blood (referenced to *Carrie* (1976)).

### Controversy

The video has received strong negative criticism and has been condemned for dehumanizing women and glamorizing violence. Jessica Valenti of *The Guardian* criticized the video for attempting to make violence against women seem "edgy" stating that "there is nothing 'alternative' about showing women being stalked, hunted, raped or killed because it’s something that happens every damn day." RAINN (Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network) released a statement condemning the video, which wrote that "No one should ever confuse the criminal act of stalking with romance. The trivialisation of these serious crimes, like stalking, should have no place in the entertainment industry."

## Chart performance

In the United States, the song debuted at number 86 on the US *Billboard* Hot 100 chart. On October 8, 2014, the song rose from the number 33 to 8, giving the band their tenth top-ten hit overall and their seventh consecutive Hot 100 top-ten hit since the 2011 chart-topping single "Moves Like Jagger". The song reached its million sales mark in the US in November 2014. The song peaked at number three on the *Billboard* Hot 100 issue dating November 22, 2014 and spent fourteen weeks in the top 10.

In other countries, the song has made the top-ten progress as well, reaching number 2 in Canada. It is also a moderate success in the United Kingdom, where it charted at number 27.

## Track listing

### Digital download (Remix)

1. "Animals" (Remix) (featuring J. Cole) — 3:58

### CD single

1. "Animals" (Album Version) — 3:49
2. "Animals" (Remix) (featuring J. Cole) — 3:58

## Credits and personnel

### Locations

* Recorded at Conway Studios, Los Angeles; MXM Studios, Stockholm
* Mixed at MixStar Studios, Virginia Beach

### Personnel

* Songwriting – Adam Levine, Shellback, Benjamin Levin
* Production – Shellback
* Vocals – Adam Levine
* Instrumentation, background vocals, programming – Shellback
* Mixing – Serban Ghenea
* Vocals recording – Shellback, Max Martin
* Engineering – Noah Passovoy
* Assistant engineers – Eric Eylands, Tim Roberts
* Mix engineer – John Haynes
* Guitar – James Valentine
* Bass – Mickey Madden
* Drums and percussion – Matt Flynn
* Core Percussion – Cirkut
* Keyboards – Jesse Carmichael, PJ Morton