| Cry Baby | |
| Cover: | Cover of Cry Baby by Clean Bandit, Anne-Marie and David Guetta 2024.jpeg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Clean Bandit, Anne-Marie and David Guetta |
| Released: | 9 August 2024 |
| Recorded: | 2020 |
| Length: | 2:37 |
| Label: |
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| Producer: | Clean Bandit |
| Chronology: | Clean Bandit |
| Prev Title: | Mar Azul |
| Prev Year: | 2024 |
"Cry Baby" is a song by British electronic group Clean Bandit, English singer Anne-Marie and French DJ David Guetta. It was released on 9 August 2024 by B1 Recordings and Ministry of Sound Recordings, as the lead single from Clean Bandit's upcoming third studio album. The song was written by Anne-Marie, Jack Patterson, Camille Purcell, and Steve Mac, with the production being handled by Clean Bandit.
"Cry Baby" was written and recorded in 2020, four years before its release date. Anne-Marie sent the song to David Guetta, introducing him to Clean Bandit.[1] The artists then worked on the song remotely, on Zoom, as it was during the COVID-19 pandemic. Grace Chatto and Jack Patterson said that over the course of four years they experimented on the song, trying to make it more country or sped-up, but eventually released one of the early versions of the song.[2]
Anne-Marie previewed Cry Baby at her Scarborough concert that was part of the Unhealthy Club Tour on 20 June 2024, and continued to perform it at further dates, including at Glastonbury Festival. The track was released on 9 August 2024 by B1 Recordings and Ministry of Sound Recordings as the lead single from Clean Bandit's upcoming third studio album, and was written by Anne-Marie, Jack Patterson, Camille Purcell, and Steve Mac, with the production being handled by Clean Bandit.[3] The track addresses a breakup, with Anne-Marie instructing an ex-partner to "keep on crying", and features strings during the verses.[4]
The song marks the third collaboration between Clean Bandit and Anne-Marie, following their 2016 number-one single "Rockabye" and Clean Bandit's album track "Should've Known Better", and the third one between Anne-Marie and David Guetta, who previously teamed up on "Don't Leave Me Alone" and "Baby Don't Hurt Me".[5] "Cry Baby" is the first collaboration between Clean Bandit and David Guetta.
The music video for the song, directed, produced and edited by Clean Bandit, was released on the same day as the single.[6] In the video, Anne-Marie embarks on a train journey driven by Jack and Luke Petterson after splitting from her disloyal partner, while Grace Chatto serves tea and plays the cello. The Cry Baby Express train was built by Chatto's father. The video features appearances from Nigerian singer Ruger and train expert Francis Bourgeois.[7] [5] The video was shot during seven days across several months due to its participants' busy schedules, with Guetta's contribution being filmed last. In an interview with The Sun, Chatto revealed that the group were robbed of €40,000 worth of equipment and cash while recording the music video in Ibiza.[8]
The Official Charts Company, who listened to the track before it was released, wrote that there was "more than a little of a sea shanty" about the track, and described the song as "the purest melding of their trademark brand of orchestral dance-pop since their last UK Number 1 single".
| Peak position | |
| New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[9] | 16 |
|---|---|
| South Korea (Circle)[10] | 57 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[11] | 95 |
| Various | 9 August 2024 | [12] [13] |
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