“Dani California” is a single from the Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ ninth studio album, Stadium Arcadium. The single was first made available at the iTunes Music Store and then was officially released on May 2, 2006. The international radio premiere was April 3, 2006, when Don Jantzen, from the Houston radio station KTBZ-FM, played “Dani California” continuously for his entire three-hour program.[2]
The single peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the band’s third and last single (after “Under the Bridge” and “Scar Tissue“) to enter the top ten. In addition, “Dani California” became the second song in history (after R.E.M.‘s 1994 track “What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?“) to debut at number one on the Billboard Modern Rock chart, and stayed there for 14 consecutive weeks. It also charted at number one on the Mainstream Rock charts, where it spent twelve straight weeks on top.[3] The song won two Grammy Awards, one for Best Rock Song and the other for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.[4] It also marked the band’s joint-biggest UK hit to date along with “By the Way“, peaking at number two on the UK Singles Chart, being kept off number one by Gnarls Barkley‘s “Crazy“.