Crucified (Army of Lovers song)
"Crucified" is a 1991 song by Swedish band Army of Lovers. It is the first single from their second album, "Massive Luxury Overdose" and the seventh single to be released by the band. It was released on May 1991 (in Sweden), February–April 1992 (in the UK and US), and July 2013 (Crucified 2013). It was written by Alexander Bard, Anders Wollbeck and Jean-Pierre Barda and features Barda (vocals, drums), Bard (vocals, computer) and La Camilla (vocals, bass). The song was successful in several European countries, including Belgium, where it reached the number-one , and Germany, Sweden, Austria and Switzerland, where it reached the Top 10. In the United States, "Crucified" became a huge club hit and radio favorite, debuting at number six on the "Billboard" Dance singles chart and spending a total of 14 weeks in the Top 20. The two remixes available on the CD maxi and vinyl 12" maxi are made by Nuzak. The track samples the drum break from James Brown's Funky Drummer. In 2013, Army of Lovers made a new version of the song, simply called 'Crucified 2013'. It contains new vocals from Dominika Peczynski. Bard's music  project, Gravitonas uses a sample of this song on the track "Sacrifice" from their 2012 "Black Ceremony EP". In 2021, Azerbaijani singer Efendi sampled the first few seconds of Crucified for her track "Mata Hari", which would represent Azerbaijan in Eurovision 2021. Kurt Cobain of the hugely successful alternative rock group Nirvana praised the band in his posthumously published journals, specifically the song "Crucified." Critical reception. AllMusic editor Ned Raggett described the song as a "totally over-the-top disco anthem on all fronts that takes ABBA's winning combination of memorable hooks and harmonies as inspiration and slathers a  load of glitter and make-up over the whole thing." He noted further that "having ultracampy lyrical asides like "I cry, I pray, mon dieu" doesn't hurt the sheer giddiness at work, and neither do the "I'm crucified like my saviour" chorus, church organ and twangy Duane Eddy guitar." Larry Flick from "Billboard" said it is a "super-hot slammin' houser". Bevan Hannah from "The Canberra Times" wrote, "Judging by the video for their first single release Crucified, their image was carefully plotted, combining cabaret style costumes and graphics with groovy European dance rhythms." A reviever from "Music  Week" viewed the song as "a bizarre pop/dance confection, both commercial and camp." James Hamilton from the magazine's "RM" Dance Update commented that it is "camp and corny party fun from Sweden, this Abba-ishly chorused, phonetic guy rapped, strings swirled and — just to cap it all! — Duane Eddy-ish guitar twanged 0-122bpm jiggly jumper sounds like a pop hit with wide gimmick appeal". "Newcastle Evening Chronicle" called it a "clever almost choral rock approach on a lively danceable number." They noted "the ebullient bounce" of the track. A reviewer from "People Magazine" said that "disco goes  to church in this hip-hop hallelujah". Sophie Lawrence reviewed the song for "Smash Hits", writing, "It's one of those records where you can imagine everyone at a disco dancing around with their hands in the air, isn't it? I like it. It's got a gospel feel and really good harmonies on it." Chart performance. "Crucified" went on becoming very successful on the charts in Europe, peaking at number-one in Belgium. It remains to date one of the bands biggest hits, reaching the Top 10 also in Austria, Germany, Greece (number two), the Netherlands (number two ), Spain, Sweden and Switzerland in 1991. In the United Kingdom, the single peaked at number 31 on the UK Singles Chart on February 23, 1992. On the Eurochart Hot 100, it climbed to number 14. Outside Europe, "Crucified" was successful also in the US, where it peaked at number six on both the "Billboard" Dance Club Songs chart and the "Billboard" Dance/Electronic Singles Sales chart. Music video. A music video was made to accompany the song. It was directed by Swedish directors Fredrik Boklund and Martin Persson. The video was later published on YouTube by Vevo in May 2016 . It has amassed more than 10,7 million views as of November 2021. Usage in media. The music video of "Crucified" was used in an episode of American adult animated sitcom "Beavis and Butt-Head". The song was played in Gabriel Aghion's 1996 film, "Pédale douce", and was thus included in the track listing of the soundtrack. It was also played in the film "Marock" (2005), and was in the video game "Just Dance 4" on the Wii. Covers by other artists. The song has been covered by the Swedish band Ghost in their extended play titled "If You have  Ghost".