Crazier
Encyclopedia
"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 film Hannah Montana: The Movie
and on its soundtrack
. The song is a relaxed ballad with country pop
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".
"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
.
. The song is a ballad that, according to Allmusic, embodies Hannah Montana: The Movie' s theme of merging country and pop music
. The song is set in compound time with six eighth note
s per bar
. It is played in E major
at a moderately fast tempo
of 144 beats per minute. Swift's vocals span one octave
, from E3 to B4. The chorus has the following chord progression
, E—B—C#m—A.
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
". Although it was not written intentionally for the film, Swift sent in "Crazier" and the filmmakers "loved it". 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. 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".
complimented Swift's "chim[ing]" in the ballad. Heather Phares of Allmusic praised the track, calling it "the best song on Hannah Montana: The Movie
". She complimented it for being "more genuine, more effortless, than any of [Cyrus'] or Hannah's tracks". 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." Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly
described "Crazier" as "a pretty, yearning ballad." Premiere
magazine reviewer Olivia Putnal referred to Swift's performance one of the film's "high points". 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."
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."
. The song made its debut on the Billboard Hot 100
at number seventy-two on the week ending April 11, 2009. "Crazier" rose three spots to number sixty-nine in the following week, but jumped to number thirty-eight on the week ending April 25, 2009 due to an 87 percent increase in digital downloads. For the week ending May 2, 009, the song reached its peak on the Hot 100 at number seventeen, selling 110,000 downloads. It also peaked at number twenty-eight on the Pop 100
chart.
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. For the week ending May 2, 2009, it reached number thirty on Hot Canadian Digital Singles and number sixty-three on the Canadian Hot 100
. "Crazier" reached number fifty-seven on the Australian Singles Chart
. The song debuted and peaked at number one-hundred in the UK Singles Chart
for the week ending May 16, 2009.
, directed by Peter Chelsom
, featuring excerpts from Hannah Montana: The Movie
, which premiered on March 28, 2009 on Disney Channel
.
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 violin
and the cello
. 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.
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift is an American country pop singer-songwriter, musician and actress.In 2006, she released her debut single "Tim McGraw", then her self-titled debut album, which was subsequently certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America...
. The song was written by Swift and Robert Ellis Orrall
Robert Ellis Orrall
Robert Ellis Orrall is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Signed to RCA Records in 1980, Orrall debuted that year with the album "Fixation". His first Top 40 single was "I Couldn't Say No", a duet with Carlene Carter...
and produced by Nathan Chapman
Nathan Chapman (record producer)
Nathan Chapman is an American record producer who works in the field of country music. He is known primarily for working with Taylor Swift, having produced her albums Taylor Swift, Fearless and Speak Now. The former was also the first album that he produced...
with Swift's aid. The song was featured in both the film Hannah Montana: The Movie
Hannah Montana: The Movie
Hannah Montana: The Movie is a 2009 Walt Disney Pictures musical comedy film based on the Disney Channel show Hannah Montana which was released on April 10, 2009, by Walt Disney Pictures, it was the second Disney Channel series to have a movie for Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by...
and on its soundtrack
Hannah Montana: The Movie (soundtrack)
Hannah Montana: The Movie is the soundtrack for the film of the same name. The film is an adaptation of the popular Disney Channel original series Hannah Montana, which first aired in 2006. In the television series and film, American singer–songwriter and actress Miley Cyrus portrays Miley Stewart,...
. The song is a relaxed ballad with country pop
Country pop
Country pop, with roots in both the countrypolitan sound and in soft rock, is a subgenre of country music that first emerged in the 1970s. Although the term first referred to country music songs and artists that crossed over to Top 40 radio, country pop acts are now more likely to cross over to...
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".
"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
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
.
Background
Swift co-wrote "Crazier" with Robert Ellis OrrallRobert Ellis Orrall
Robert Ellis Orrall is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Signed to RCA Records in 1980, Orrall debuted that year with the album "Fixation". His first Top 40 single was "I Couldn't Say No", a duet with Carlene Carter...
. The song is a ballad that, according to Allmusic, embodies Hannah Montana: The Movie
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
. The song is set in compound time with six eighth note
Eighth note
thumb|180px|right|Figure 1. An eighth note with stem facing up, an eighth note with stem facing down, and an eighth rest.thumb|right|180px|Figure 2. Four eighth notes beamed together....
s per bar
Bar (music)
In musical notation, a bar is a segment of time defined by a given number of beats of a given duration. Typically, a piece consists of several bars of the same length, and in modern musical notation the number of beats in each bar is specified at the beginning of the score by the top number of a...
. It is played in E major
E major
E major is a major scale based on E, with the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps .Its relative minor is C-sharp minor, and its parallel minor is E minor....
at a moderately fast tempo
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
of 144 beats per minute. Swift's vocals span one octave
Octave
In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...
, from E3 to B4. The chorus has the following chord progression
Chord progression
A chord progression is a series of musical chords, or chord changes that "aims for a definite goal" of establishing a tonality founded on a key, root or tonic chord. In other words, the succession of root relationships...
, E—B—C#m—A.
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
Waltz
The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...
". Although it was not written intentionally for the film, Swift sent in "Crazier" and the filmmakers "loved it". In addition, Swift offered to perform the song in the film herself as a cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
. In the film, Swift performs at an open mic fundraiser to save a small town's treasured park from developers. The quick scene was filmed in a single day, but Swift's performance impressed film members. Film director Peter Chelsom
Peter Chelsom
Peter Chelsom is a British actor and film director. He has directed among others such films as Shall We Dance? and Hannah Montana: The Movie...
said, "I've made a very big mental check to work with her again".
Critical reception
The song received positive reviews from critics. Warren Truitt of About.comAbout.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
complimented Swift's "chim[ing]" in the ballad. Heather Phares of Allmusic praised the track, calling it "the best song on Hannah Montana: The Movie
Hannah Montana: The Movie (soundtrack)
Hannah Montana: The Movie is the soundtrack for the film of the same name. The film is an adaptation of the popular Disney Channel original series Hannah Montana, which first aired in 2006. In the television series and film, American singer–songwriter and actress Miley Cyrus portrays Miley Stewart,...
". She complimented it for being "more genuine, more effortless, than any of [Cyrus'] or Hannah's tracks". James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli is an American online film critic.-Personal life:Berardinelli was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey and spent his early childhood in Morristown, New Jersey. At the age of nine years, he relocated to the township of Cherry Hill, New Jersey...
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." Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
described "Crazier" as "a pretty, yearning ballad." Premiere
Premiere (magazine)
Premiere was an American and New York City-based film magazine published by Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., published between the years 1987 and 2007. The original version of the magazine, Première , was started in France in 1976 and is still being published there.-History:The magazine originally...
magazine reviewer Olivia Putnal referred to Swift's performance one of the film's "high points". 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."
Perry Seibert from TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
wrote, "when genuine teen star Taylor Swift shows up to perform [...] she demonstrates all the spontaneity and authenticity that Miley Cyrus lacks."
Chart performance
"Crazier" received exclusive airplay on Radio DisneyRadio Disney
Radio Disney is a radio network based in Burbank, California and headquartered out of the Disney Channel headquarters on West Alameda Ave., from where it has been based since November 2008. Prior to that, the network was based in Dallas, Texas...
. The song made its debut on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
at number seventy-two on the week ending April 11, 2009. "Crazier" rose three spots to number sixty-nine in the following week, but jumped to number thirty-eight on the week ending April 25, 2009 due to an 87 percent increase in digital downloads. For the week ending May 2, 009, the song reached its peak on the Hot 100 at number seventeen, selling 110,000 downloads. It also peaked at number twenty-eight on the Pop 100
Pop 100
The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009...
chart.
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. For the week ending May 2, 2009, it reached number thirty on Hot Canadian Digital Singles and number sixty-three on the Canadian Hot 100
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...
. "Crazier" reached number fifty-seven on the Australian Singles Chart
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
. The song debuted and peaked at number one-hundred in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
for the week ending May 16, 2009.
Music video
"Crazier"'s music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
, directed by Peter Chelsom
Peter Chelsom
Peter Chelsom is a British actor and film director. He has directed among others such films as Shall We Dance? and Hannah Montana: The Movie...
, featuring excerpts from Hannah Montana: The Movie
Hannah Montana: The Movie
Hannah Montana: The Movie is a 2009 Walt Disney Pictures musical comedy film based on the Disney Channel show Hannah Montana which was released on April 10, 2009, by Walt Disney Pictures, it was the second Disney Channel series to have a movie for Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by...
, which premiered on March 28, 2009 on Disney Channel
Disney Channel
Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...
.
The video begins in its principal setting with Swift and two backup musicians atop a stage in a crowded barn
Barn
A barn is an agricultural building used for storage and as a covered workplace. It may sometimes be used to house livestock or to store farming vehicles and equipment...
. Swift is dressed in a fitted pastel
Pastel
Pastel is an art medium in the form of a stick, consisting of pure powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are the same as those used to produce all colored art media, including oil paints; the binder is of a neutral hue and low saturation....
sundress
Sundress
A sundress is a dress intended to be worn by women in warm weather. Typically, it is an informal or casual dress in a lightweight fabric, most commonly cotton, and usually loose fitting. The dress is intended to be worn without a layering top, and the design must therefore cut a balance between...
and plays an acoustic guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
strapped over her shoulder. The backup musicians play the violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
and the cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
. 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
Lucas Till
Lucas Daniel Till is an American actor. He began acting in the early 2000s, and has since appeared in a number of films and television parts, including his roles on House, Hannah Montana: The Movie and X-Men: First Class...
), 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
Dating (activity)
Dating is a form of courtship consisting of social activities done by two persons with the aim of each assessing the other's suitability as a partner in an intimate relationship or as a spouse...
. At the end of the video, the couple are slow dancing while Swift sings.
Charts
| Chart (2009) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
57 |
| Canadian Hot 100 Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... |
67 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
100 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
17 |
| U.S. Billboard Pop 100 Pop 100 The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009... |
28 |