Robbed hit of the week 12/16/19 - the Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Warped"...
from the album One Hot Minute (1995)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: ineligible to chart
Billboard Hot 100 Airplay peak: #41
This week's "robbed hit" comes from the alternative rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, who had followed up their breakthrough success in the summer of 1992 with the top ten hit "Under The Bridge" with the soundtrack cut "Soul To Squeeze", which topped the alternative rock radio chart and made the American pop top-40 in the fall of 1993. But this success had its toll, which guitarist John Frusciante leaving the band. After a series of temp hacks on axe, former Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro was hired on in time for their stint at Woodstock '94 and the recording of their next studio album One Hot Minute. However, between his and lead singer Anthony Kiedis' respective drug addictions, the recording of the album was a tough go. In fact, that background fueled the first song released to radio from the record, "Warped". Credited to the band of Chad Smith, Flea, and Navarro, the song was mostly written by Kiedes about his return to drug after five years sober. Not a fun subject, but a straightforward honest one that goes through many changed within the song itself. In fact, a same-sex kiss between Kiedis and Navarro at the end caused some of their fans to balk...
Since "Warped" was not released in the U.S. commercially as a "single", it was unable to place on Billboard magazine's official Hot 100 pop chart; however the song garnered enough mainstream radio airplay (most likely due to their name than the song) to peak at #41 on the airplay component of the big chart. The song also climbed to #7 on Billboard's Alternative Rock radio chart, and stopped at #13 on their Mainstream Rock format list. Internationally, the song peaked at #3 in Finland and #4 in New Zealand, and reached the top-40 in Australia (#12), Norway (#12), Sweden (#24), the UK (#31), and Switzerland (#33).
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The band previewed "Warped" at Woodstock '94, albeit in a different form than what eventually appeared on the album......
Next up is the band performing the song at the MTV Video Awards...
...and again on tour at the Reading Festival in England ...
and finally, live at the Madison Square Garden in NYC...
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