American Beauty/American Psycho (song)

"American Beauty/American Psycho" is a song by American rock band Fall Out Boy. It was released on December 15, 2014 as the second UK radio single from their sixth studio album of the same name, released in 2015. An accompanying music video was released. The song debuted at No. 15 on the US Hot Rock Songs chart. A remix of the song features vocals by ASAP Ferg which was included in the remixed album, Make America Psycho Again (2015).

"American Beauty/American Psycho"
Single by Fall Out Boy
from the album American Beauty/American Psycho
ReleasedDecember 15, 2014 (2014-12-15)
Recorded2014
GenrePop punk[1][2]
Length3:13
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)SebastiAn
Fall Out Boy singles chronology
"Immortals"
(2014)		 "American Beauty/American Psycho"
(2014)		 "Uma Thurman"
(2015)
Music video
"American Beauty/American Psycho" on YouTube

Recording

"American Beauty/American Psycho" was written by Fall Out Boy and produced by SebastiAn. Bassist Pete Wentz commented, "It's a little bit wrong but it's the right thing for us to do. Once we got that song and a few others, it really felt like [the album] came together as a body of work."[3] It samples Mötley Crüe's song "Too Fast for Love".[4] The song is vocalist and guitarist Patrick Stump's favorite track from American Beauty/American Psycho; he stated, "It's the right level of artistically interesting, but also just fun."[5]

Release

While receiving a radio premiere in the UK a month earlier, the track was officially released worldwide on the same day as the promotional single "The Kids Aren't Alright", to coincide with the release of the album pre-order, track listing and album cover. Only in the UK, it was commissioned to radio as the album's second single.[6]

Music video

The song's accompanying music video was released on the same day, featuring a ballerina and a peculiar child named Jake Karlen (who is on the cover for the album with the same title). The boy has the American flag painted on his face in black. Filmed with a gritty, shaky cinematography, the ballerina represents the "American Beauty" but is really the "American Psycho" and the boy represents the "Psycho" but is really the "Beauty". In the beginning, the boy tries to destroy a music box with a ballerina in it with a sledgehammer, but he is unable to do it. The ballerina dances for a while before a group of men appear (the men possibly representing the boy's troubles (e.g. depression, anxiety, etc.) and issues). The ballerina gracefully takes down each of the men, which hurts the boy, as the men are representing his feelings, and he eventually starts spitting up blood. In the end, the members of the band come in to remove the bodies. Before the screen fades, another boy can be seen coming to the same music box, representing a repeated cycle.[7][8]

Commercial performance

The song debuted at No. 147 on the UK Singles Chart,[9] reached No. 89 in its third chart week (week ending January 24, 2015)[10] and peaked at No. 61 the week after. It also debuted at No. 15 on the US Hot Rock Songs chart on the strength of digital downloads.

Charts
Chart (2014) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[11] 83
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[12] 61
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[13] 15

References
  1. Fall Out Boy Announce New Album ‘American Beauty/American Psycho’, Premiere Title Track Music Feeds. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  2. Beats: “American Beauty/American Psycho”. ntdaily.com. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
  3. Fall Out Boy's New Album Zeroes In On Rock's Cultural Relevance Fuse. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
  4. Fall Out Boy Talk New Album, Motley Crue & Grateful Dead Billboard. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  5. Fall Out Boy. "American Beauty/American Psycho Q&A Video". twitter.com/FallOutBoy. Fall Out Boy. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  6. Fall Out Boy Announces ‘American Beauty/American Psycho’ Album, Shares Title Track. Billboard. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  7. Watch Fall Out Boy's Ass-Kicking "American Beauty/American Psycho" Fuse. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  8. Fall Out Boy's "American Beauty/American Psycho" Music Video is Creepy, Nonsensical and Cinematic Music Times. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  9. "Chart Log UK: New Entries Update – 27.12.2014". zobbel.de. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
  10. "Official Singles Chart UK Top 100 - 24th January 2015". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on January 23, 2015. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
  11. "Ultratop: FALL OUT BOY - AMERICAN BEAUTY / AMERICAN PSYCHO". Ultratip. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
  12. "Official Singles Chart UK Top 100 - 31 January 2015". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on January 26, 2015. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
  13. "Fall Out Boy Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
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