"Cry Baby" is a song by English 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.
Background Clean Bandit, a band comprising Jack and Luke Patterson and Grace Chatto, became known for their signature sound of dance beats and chamber music and were signed to Atlantic Records. "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. The artists then worked on the song remotely on Zoom, as it was during the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the course of four years, they experimented on the song with the intention of trying to make it more country or sped-up, though the final version was one of the early versions of the song.
In the early 2020s, Atlantic put pressure on the band to adapt their sound, as they felt that songs needed to belong on Spotify dance music playlists. For several years, Clean Bandit's releases were darker and closer to house music, and were less successful. Eventually the band negotiated an exit from their label and joined Ministry of Sound Recordings, whose boss had been one of the first people to recommend them and who encouraged them to release the track.
Promotion and release 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. The track addresses a breakup, with Anne-Marie instructing an ex-partner to "keep on crying", and features strings during the verses.
The song marked 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". "Cry Baby" is the first collaboration between Clean Bandit and David Guetta. 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, the brilliant Symphony with Zara Larsson".
Music video The music video for the song was released on the same day as the single. In the video, Anne-Marie embarks on a train journey driven by Jack and Luke Patterson 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.
The video was shot during seven days across several months due to its participants' busy schedules, with Guetta's contribution being filmed last, and was directed, produced and edited by Clean Bandit after production companies told Chatto that producing it would cost at least £250,000. Many of the sets were built by Chatto's father, a carpenter. In an interview with The Sun, Chatto revealed that the group were burgled while recording the music video in Ibiza, with €40,000 worth of equipment and cash stolen.
Chart performance In the United Kingdom, "Cry Baby" debuted at number 78 on the UK Singles Chart Top 100, peaking three weeks later at number 49. On the UK Singles Downloads Chart, the single debuted and peaked at number 23.
"Cry Baby" appeared, in total, on the charts of nineteen countries, including Lithuania (number 2 on the country's airplay chart), Poland (number 7 on the country's airplay chart), New Zealand (number 16 on the Hot Singles Chart), and the United States, where it peaked at number 40 on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs Chart.
Personnel Clean Bandit – production Anne-Marie – vocals David Guetta – additional production, mastering engineer, mixing engineer Cameron Gower-Poole – vocal producer Luke Patterson – programmer, drums Jack Patterson – bass, guitar, synthesizer, piano Grace Chatto – cello Neil Amin-Smith – violin Beatrice Philips – violin
Charts
Weekly charts + Weekly chart performance for "Cry Baby" Chart (2024–2025) Peakposition Belarus Airplay (TopHit) 23 Denmark Airplay (Hitlisten) 15 Estonia Airplay (TopHit) 14 Kazakhstan Airplay (TopHit) 89 Latvia Airplay (TopHit) 11 Latvia Airplay (TopHit) 25 Lithuania Airplay (TopHit) 2 Malta Airplay (Radiomonitor) 20 Moldova Airplay (TopHit) 51 New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ) 16 Nigeria (TurnTable Top 100) 99 Nigeria (TurnTable Top 100) 54 North Macedonia Airplay (Radiomonitor) 1 Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100) 7 Romania Airplay (TopHit) 147 Russia Airplay (TopHit) 32 Serbia Airplay (Radiomonitor) 17 South Korea (Circle) 57 Suriname (Nationale Top 40) 14 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) 95 Ukraine Airplay (TopHit) 49
Monthly charts + Monthly chart performance for "Cry Baby" Chart (20242025) Peakposition Belarus Airplay (TopHit) 25 CIS Airplay (TopHit) 42 Czech Republic (Rádio Top 100) 4 Estonia Airplay (TopHit) 15 Latvia Airplay (TopHit) 54 Latvia Airplay (TopHit) 30 Lithuania Airplay (TopHit) 25 Russia Airplay (TopHit) 37 Slovakia (Rádio Top 100) 55 Ukraine Airplay (TopHit) 66
Year-end charts + Year-end chart performance for "Cry Baby" Chart (2024) Position Belarus Airplay (TopHit) 142 CIS Airplay (TopHit) 137 Estonia Airplay (TopHit) 104 Hungary (Rádiós Top 40) 76 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) 52 Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100) 83 Russia Airplay (TopHit) 197 + 2025 year-end chart performance for "Cry Baby" Chart (2025) Position Belarus Airplay (TopHit) 86 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) 71 Hungary (Dance Top 40) 36 Hungary (Rádiós Top 40) 31
Certifications
Release history + Release dates for "Cry Baby" Region Date Format Version Label Various 9 August 2024 Original 30 August 2024 Extended 6 September 2024 KC Lights Remix 13 September 2024 David Guetta VIP Mix 20 September 2024 Ruger Remix 4 October 2024 Acoustic 11 October 2024 Remix Extended Versions 18 October 2024 Tanner Adell Remix 25 October 2024 Clean Bandit VIP Mix 15 November 2024New Era Remix
References