Crazier (Taylor Swift song)

"Crazier"
Promotional single by Taylor Swift from the album Hannah Montana: The Movie
Released March 20, 2009
Format Digital download
Recorded 2008
Genre Country
Length 3:12
Label Walt Disney
Writer(s)
Producer(s)

"Crazier" is a song by American recording artist Taylor Swift. The song was written by Swift and Robert Ellis Orrall and produced by Nathan Chapman with Swift's aid. The song was featured in both the 2009 film Hannah Montana: The Movie and on its soundtrack. The song is a relaxed ballad with country qualities and lyrics that describe being in love. Swift performed the song as herself during a cameo in the Hannah Montana: The Movie; this scene was taken from the film and released as a music video for "Crazier". The song was premiered on Radio Disney and Disney Channel, the latter promoting the home release of the film. The song charting at number seventeen on the Billboard Hot 100,[1] sixty-four in the Australian Singles Chart,[2] sixty-seven in the Canadian Hot 100,[1] and one-hundred on the UK Singles Chart.[3]

"Crazier" was praised by critics, many of whom named it the best song on the soundtrack. Digital downloads began immediately after the soundtrack's release on March 23, 2009, and led to commercial success in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Its highest international peak was at number seventeen on the United States chart, the Billboard Hot 100.

Background

Swift co-wrote "Crazier" with Robert Ellis Orrall. The song is set in compound time with six eighth notes per bar.[4] It is played in E major at a moderately fast tempo of 144 beats per minute.[4] Swift's vocals span one octave, from E3 to B4.[4] The chorus has the following chord progression, E—B—C#m—A.[4]
Taylor Swift "Crazier" (2009)
A sample of Taylor Swift's "Crazier". The song is a country ballad with lyrics in regards to love.
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The song's appearance in Hannah Montana: The Movie came about after filmmakers approached Swift about using her music in the film. Film officials emailed her asking for a song "that was perfect to fall in love to" and "sort of a country waltz".[5] Although it was not written intentionally for the film, Swift sent in "Crazier" and the filmmakers "loved it".[5] In addition, Swift offered to perform the song in the film herself as a cameo appearance. In the film, Swift performs at an open mic fundraiser to save a small town's treasured park from developers.[5] The quick scene was filmed in a single day, but Swift's performance impressed film members. Film director Peter Chelsom said, "I've made a very big mental check to work with her again."[6]

Critical reception

The song received critical acclaim. Warren Truitt of About.com complimented Swift's "chim[ing]" in the ballad.[7] Heather Phares of Allmusic praised the track, calling it "the best song on Hannah Montana: The Movie".[8] She complimented it for being "more genuine, more effortless, than any of [Cyrus'] or Hannah's tracks".[8] James Berardinelli agreed, stating, "Arguably, the movie's biggest mistake is having Taylor Swift perform a song, since she can sing and the comparison is not flattering to the movie's star."[9] Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly described "Crazier" as "a pretty, yearning ballad".[10] Premiere magazine reviewer Olivia Putnal referred to Swift's performance one of the film's "high points".[11] Peter Hartlaub of The San Francisco Chronicle believed that Swift's cameo was enjoyable, but also calls it a mistake on the part of the filmmakers, explaining "Swift is so talented that she makes Cyrus seem bland by comparison."[12] Perry Seibert from TV Guide wrote, "when genuine teen star Taylor Swift shows up to perform [...] she demonstrates all the spontaneity and authenticity that Miley Cyrus lacks."[13]

Chart performance

"Crazier" received exclusive airplay on Radio Disney. The song made its debut on the Billboard Hot 100 at number seventy-two on the week ending April 11, 2009.[14][15] "Crazier" rose three spots to number sixty-nine in the following week,[16] but jumped to number thirty-eight on the week ending April 25, 2009 due to an 87 percent increase in digital downloads.[17] For the week of Saturday,May 2, 2009, the song reached its peak on the Hot 100 at number seventeen, selling 110,000 downloads.[18][19] It also peaked at number twenty-eight on the Pop 100 chart.[20] As of November 2014, Crazier has sold one million copies in the USA.[21]

As the song was not officially released to radio as a single, digital sales also accounted for "Crazier"'s appearance on international charts. The song debuted at number seventy-nine on the week ending April 11, 2009.[15] For the week ending May 2, 2009, it reached number thirty on Hot Canadian Digital Singles[20] and number sixty-three on the Canadian Hot 100.[15][19] "Crazier" reached number fifty-seven on the Australian Singles Chart.[22] The song debuted and peaked at number one-hundred in the UK Singles Chart for the week ending May 16, 2009.[3]

Music video

A blond woman to in the left playing an acoustic guitar.
Swift performing with an acoustic guitar in the music video for "Crazier", which is an excerpt from Hannah Montana: The Movie.

"Crazier"'s music video, directed by Peter Chelsom, featuring excerpts from Hannah Montana: The Movie, which premiered on March 28, 2009 on Disney Channel.[23]

The video begins in its principal setting with Swift and two backup musicians atop a stage in a crowded barn. Swift is dressed in a fitted pastel sundress and plays an acoustic guitar strapped over her shoulder. The backup musicians play the fiddle,the piano, the drum set, and the upright bass. The video then transitions to a clip from Hannah Montana: The Movie in which Miley Stewart (Cyrus) spots her love interest, Travis Brody (Lucas Till), riding a brown horse. The video alternates between Swift performing and more film clips. Other scenes include Stewart and Brody riding the brown horse together, Stewart staring out from a red car into the street, Brody swinging from a rope in a waterfall, and the two characters on a date. At the end of the video, the couple are slow dancing while Swift sings.

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (2009) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[24] 57
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[25] 67
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[3] 100
US Billboard Hot 100[26] 17
US Billboard Pop 100[20] 28

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
United States (RIAA)[27] Platinum 1,000,000[21]

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. 1 2 "Crazier". Billboard. Retrieved October 10, 2009.
  2. ↑ "ARIA Charts" (PDF). Pandora. Retrieved October 10, 2009.
  3. 1 2 3 "Taylor Swift: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Digital sheet music – Taylor Swift – Crazier". Musicnotes.com. Archived from the original on August 23, 2010. Retrieved November 6, 2009.
  5. 1 2 3 "Hannah Montana The Movie Production Notes" (PDF). VisualHollywood.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 18, 2009. Retrieved October 16, 2009.
  6. ↑ Malkin, Marc (March 31, 2009). "Hannah Montana Director Also Says Sequel Unlikely". E! Online. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved November 6, 2009.
  7. ↑ Truitt, Warren (March 24, 2009). "Miley Cyrus – Hannah Montana: The Movie Soundtrack". About.com. Archived from the original on April 12, 2014. Retrieved November 6, 2009.
  8. 1 2 Phares, Heather. "Hannah Montana: The Movie [Soundtrack] > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved November 6, 2009.
  9. ↑ Berardinelli, James (April 9, 2009). "Hannah Montana: The Movie". Reelviews.com. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved November 6, 2009.
  10. ↑ Greenblatt, Leah (March 18, 2009). "Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009)". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved November 6, 2009.
  11. ↑ Putnal, Olivia (April 9, 2009). "Hannah Montana: The Movie". Premiere. Archived from the original on July 9, 2009. Retrieved November 6, 2009.
  12. ↑ Hartlaub, Peter (April 10, 2009). "Movie review: Hannah Montana: The Movie". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on April 14, 2009. Retrieved November 6, 2009.
  13. ↑ Seibert, Perry. "Hannah Montana: The Movie". TV Guide. Archived from the original on March 20, 2012. Retrieved November 6, 2009.
  14. ↑ Ben-Yehuda, Ayala; Silvio Pietroluongo (April 2, 2009). "Lady GaGa Scores Hot 100 Milestone With 'Poker Face'". Billboard. Los Angeles and New York City. Archived from the original on September 25, 2013. Retrieved November 6, 2009.
  15. 1 2 3 "Taylor Swift – Crazier – Music Charts". aCharts.us. Archived from the original on March 30, 2014. Retrieved November 6, 2006.
  16. ↑ Trust, Gary; Keith Caulfield (April 16, 2009). "Chart Beat: Rascal Flatts, Miley Cyrus, Eminem, Jason Mraz". Billboard. Los Angeles and New York City. Archived from the original on February 5, 2013. Retrieved November 6, 2009.
  17. ↑ Ben-Yehuda, Ayala; Silvio Pietroluongo (April 16, 2009). "Hannah Montana' Boosts Six Songs On Hot 100". Billboard. Los Angeles and New York City. Archived from the original on May 9, 2014. Retrieved November 6, 2009.
  18. ↑ Pietroluongo, Silvio; Keith Caulfield (April 23, 2009). "Eminem, Green Day Make Big Hot 100 Debuts". Billboard. Miami and Los Angeles. Archived from the original on June 17, 2013. Retrieved November 6, 2009.
  19. 1 2 "Crazier". Billboard. Retrieved November 6, 2009.
  20. 1 2 3 "Taylor Swift > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Retrieved November 6, 2009.
  21. 1 2 Trust, Gary (November 11, 2014). "Ask Billboard: All-Taylor Swift Edition". Billboard. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
  22. ↑ "ARIA Charts" (PDF). Pandora. Retrieved November 6, 2009.
  23. ↑ "Crazier (2009)". AOL. Retrieved January 30, 2010.
  24. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Taylor Swift – Crazier". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  25. ↑ "Taylor Swift – Chart history" Canadian Hot 100 for Taylor Swift.
  26. ↑ "Taylor Swift – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Taylor Swift.
  27. ↑ "American single certifications – Taylor Swift – Crazier". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 11, 2014. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH

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