FUN FACT TIME! 
Fiona Apple – “Criminal” (1996)

When Fiona Apple released “Criminal” in 1996, she wasn’t just debuting a hit — she was throwing open the doors to her soul and letting the world watch. At just 19 years old, she delivered a track that oozed vulnerability, guilt, sensuality, and emotional intelligence far beyond her years.

Featured on her debut album Tidal, “Criminal” became her breakthrough single — and won a Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance in 1998. But what’s wild is how it was written…

Fiona wrote “Criminal” in just 45 minutes, basically as a dare to come up with something “more upbeat.”
Instead, she gave us a smoky, spine-tingling confession wrapped in jazzy chords, slinky piano lines, and one of the most unforgettable vocal performances of the ‘90s.

 “I’ve been a bad, bad girl…”
That opening line? Instantly iconic.

And the music video?
A moody, provocative fever dream — full of voyeuristic camera angles, dimly lit bedrooms, and raw teenage angst — it catapulted Fiona into the spotlight as the face of alt-glam defiance. She wasn’t playing the pop game. She was the antidote to it.

“Criminal” endures because it doesn’t flinch.
It’s seductive and self-aware, aching and empowered — a track that dared to say, yes, I’m flawed, and I’m still standing here singing.

Almost 30 years later, it still hits like a whispered secret you’re not supposed to hear — and we love her even more for saying it out loud.