Crush (Jennifer Paige song)
Encyclopedia
"Crush" is a pop
song recorded by American
singer Jennifer Paige
. The song was written by Andy Goldmark, Mark Muller, Berny Cosgrove and Kevin Clark. It was released as the first single from her debut album, Jennifer Paige
(see 1998 in music
). "Crush" reached #3 on the Billboard
Hot 100 chart and remains Paige's biggest hit to date, topping the charts in six countries in 1998. The music video
for "Crush" was produced by Kati Haberstok and directed by David Hogan.
radio station KIIS-FM
. During the first week of May, KIIS-FM became the first radio station to begin playing "Crush". "We had no pictures, photography, gotten it mastered, mass-produced it, nothing...", Jennifer said. Edel made an initial press run of 20,000 copies of "Crush" which sold very quickly, and "Crush" became KIIS-FM's most requested song.
, and many more stations began to play "Crush." Once "Crush" began its rotation on other radio stations, critics gave a positive review: "Paige is excellent, almost impossible to be meaningful without resorting to typical cries" - declared Billboard
.
On July 9, Paige made her first on-air appearance at KIIS-FM with Rick Dees
. She also performed "Crush" for the first time live that day, and on July 24, "Crush" cracked the Top 10.
Blender
put "Crush" at 189th place on their list of 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born. They described the song as "...an unusually supple and sophisticated teen-pop hit informed by the level-headed sass of great R&B... swept along by a breathy chorus, pulsing groove and Paige's exquisite multilayered vocals."
"Crush" was featured in the "Mrs. Kraft" episode of the third season of Sabrina the Teenage Witch
in 1999, then in the made-for-TV movie, Sabrina Goes to Rome
.
.
Emperor Entertainment Group
of Hong Kong
bought a license of the melody, and made a Cantonese
version sung by Cantopop
diva Joey Yung
called "Unknown", which is included on her debut album, EP/JOEY
, and compilation album, Love Joey 2
. It won "Best Performance of Cover Song award". This becomes Joey's first big hit in the Hong Kong music industry, achieving charting success with 3 number-ones (out of 4 charts in Hong Kong). "Unknown" is still a remarkable and popular hit of Joey now.
Lea Michele
recorded the song for the November 18, 2009 episode
of Glee
. It is also featured on the second soundtrack album
.
Billboard
Hot 100 and was certified
Gold by the RIAA
. It went to number one in Spain
, Denmark
, New Zealand
, South Africa
, Russia
, Australia
, where it was certified 2x Platinum, and Canada
, where it spent five weeks at number one on the Canadian RPM
singles chart. "Crush" also reached the Top 5 in the United Kingdom
, France
, Italy
, Hungary
, and #6 in Ireland
, The Netherlands and Norway
.
CD maxi
(Released in UK on July 7, 1998)
CD maxi - Remixes
(Released on October 19, 1998)
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...
song recorded by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer Jennifer Paige
Jennifer Paige
Jennifer Paige is an American singer-songwriter who achieved success with the 1998 pop hit "Crush". She is considered to be one of the 1990s' biggest one-hit wonders.-Biography:...
. The song was written by Andy Goldmark, Mark Muller, Berny Cosgrove and Kevin Clark. It was released as the first single from her debut album, Jennifer Paige
Jennifer Paige (album)
Jennifer Paige is the debut album by Jennifer Paige, released in 1998. It launched her only international chart topping single "Crush". The song "Somewhere, Someday" was covered by 'N Sync for 1998's Pokémon: The First Movie soundtrack.-Track listing:...
(see 1998 in music
1998 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1998.-Events:*January 28 – "Weird Al" Yankovic gets LASIK surgery to cure his myopia...
). "Crush" reached #3 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot 100 chart and remains Paige's biggest hit to date, topping the charts in six countries in 1998. The music video
Music 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...
for "Crush" was produced by Kati Haberstok and directed by David Hogan.
Background
After Paige recorded "Crush" in April 1998, producer Andy Goldmark immediately took a copy of "Crush" to legendary Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
radio station KIIS-FM
KIIS-FM
KIIS-FM is a Los Angeles, California, USA-based radio station with a partial Top 40 musical format. It is owned by Clear Channel Communications. KIIS is also simulcasted on KVVS in Rosamond, at 105.5 MHz...
. During the first week of May, KIIS-FM became the first radio station to begin playing "Crush". "We had no pictures, photography, gotten it mastered, mass-produced it, nothing...", Jennifer said. Edel made an initial press run of 20,000 copies of "Crush" which sold very quickly, and "Crush" became KIIS-FM's most requested song.
Critical reception
In the next few weeks, other major radio stations nationwide added "Crush" to their daily rotation. By this time, many music labels had expressed interest in signing Paige. In early June 1998, she signed a contract with Hollywood RecordsHollywood Records
Hollywood Records is an American record label owned by Disney Music Group, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company.-History:Hollywood Records was founded in 1989 by then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner with the idea of expanding the music operations of the company and to develop and promote...
, and many more stations began to play "Crush." Once "Crush" began its rotation on other radio stations, critics gave a positive review: "Paige is excellent, almost impossible to be meaningful without resorting to typical cries" - declared Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
.
On July 9, Paige made her first on-air appearance at KIIS-FM with Rick Dees
Rick Dees
Rigdon Osmond "Rick" Dees III is an American comedic performer, entertainer, and radio personality, best known for his internationally syndicated radio show The Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 Countdown and for the novelty song "Disco Duck." He is a People's Choice Award recipient, a Grammy-nominated...
. She also performed "Crush" for the first time live that day, and on July 24, "Crush" cracked the Top 10.
Blender
Blender (magazine)
Blender was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities....
put "Crush" at 189th place on their list of 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born. They described the song as "...an unusually supple and sophisticated teen-pop hit informed by the level-headed sass of great R&B... swept along by a breathy chorus, pulsing groove and Paige's exquisite multilayered vocals."
"Crush" was featured in the "Mrs. Kraft" episode of the third season of Sabrina the Teenage Witch
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (TV series)
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch is an American sitcom based on the Archie comic book series of the same name.The show stars Melissa Joan Hart as Sabrina Spellman, a teenager with magical powers, who lives with her aunts Hilda and Zelda , and their magical talking cat Salem...
in 1999, then in the made-for-TV movie, Sabrina Goes to Rome
Sabrina Goes to Rome
Sabrina Goes to Rome is a 1998 television movie produced for ABC. The movie is part of the Sabrina, the Teenage Witch TV series and is the first TV movie made for the series. The movie features only two main characters from the series, the protagonist Sabrina Spellman , and other main character...
.
Live performances and cover versions
On May 5, 1999, Paige performed "Crush" at the 1999 World Music AwardsWorld Music Awards
The World Music Awards is an international awards show founded in 1989 that annually honors recording artists based on worldwide sales figures provided by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry . John Martinotti is an executive producer and co-founder of the show...
.
Emperor Entertainment Group
Emperor Entertainment Group
Emperor Entertainment Group is one of the largest entertainment groups in Hong Kong founded by Albert Yeung Sau-Shing in and established in Wan Chai in 1986, along with Music Icon Entertainment Limited and Emperor Motion Picture Group, EEG operates under the major conglomerate Emperor Multimedia...
of Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
bought a license of the melody, and made a Cantonese
Standard Cantonese
Cantonese, or Standard Cantonese, is a language that originated in the vicinity of Canton in southern China, and is often regarded as the prestige dialect of Yue Chinese....
version sung by Cantopop
Cantopop
Cantopop is a colloquialism for "Cantonese popular music". It is sometimes referred to as HK-pop, short for "Hong Kong popular music". It is categorized as a subgenre of Chinese popular music within C-pop...
diva Joey Yung
Joey Yung
Joey Yung is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer and actress from Emperor Entertainment Group. She won the prestigious JSG "Most Popular Female Singer" and "Ultimate Best Female Singer - Gold" awards a record breaking six times, thus emerging as one of the premier Cantonese singers in Hong Kong...
called "Unknown", which is included on her debut album, EP/JOEY
EP 1 Joey
EP 1 Joey is Joey Yung's debut CD and first EP. Being Roman Tam's student, people had high expectations for this newcomer's songs and vocal performance on the album. When the CD was released, it was very well accepted, selling around 130,000 copies in Hong Kong...
, and compilation album, Love Joey 2
Love Joey 2
Love Joey 2 is Joey Yung's second compilation/greatest hits album, named after her very successful first compilation album, Like Joey. This album includes 14 past hits and 3 new songs. Her 14 past hits includes not only her famous ballads/"k-songs" like 痛愛, 誰來愛我, and 啜泣, but also includes popular...
. It won "Best Performance of Cover Song award". This becomes Joey's first big hit in the Hong Kong music industry, achieving charting success with 3 number-ones (out of 4 charts in Hong Kong). "Unknown" is still a remarkable and popular hit of Joey now.
Lea Michele
Lea Michele
Lea Michele Sarfati , known professionally as Lea Michele, is an American actress and singer. Michele began working professionally as a child actress on Broadway in productions such as Ragtime and Les Misérables. She originated the role of Wendla in the musical Spring Awakening and currently plays...
recorded the song for the November 18, 2009 episode
Ballad (Glee)
"Ballad" is the tenth episode of the American television series Glee. The episode premiered on the Fox network on November 18, 2009, and was written and directed by series creator Brad Falchuk. "Ballad" sees the glee club split into pairs to sing ballads to one another. Rachel is paired with club...
of Glee
Glee (TV series)
Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
. It is also featured on the second soundtrack album
Glee: The Music, Volume 2
Glee: The Music, Volume 2 is the second soundtrack album by the cast of the American musical television series Glee, featuring songs from episodes nine to thirteen of the show's first season. It was first released on December 4, 2009 in Australia by Columbia Records...
.
Chart performances
"Crush" became an international hit. It peaked at #3 on the U.S.United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot 100 and was certified
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
Gold by the RIAA
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
. It went to number one in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, where it was certified 2x Platinum, and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, where it spent five weeks at number one on the Canadian RPM
RPM (magazine)
RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...
singles chart. "Crush" also reached the Top 5 in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, and #6 in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, The Netherlands and Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
.
Formats and track listings
CD single- "Crush" — 3:19
- "Crush" (dance mix) — 3:16
CD maxi
(Released in UK on July 7, 1998)
- "Crush" — 3:19
- "Crush" (Dance Mix) — 3:16
- "Crush" (Instrumental) — 3:19
CD maxi - Remixes
(Released on October 19, 1998)
- "Crush" (David Morales Radio Alt Intro) — 3:40
- "Crush" (Tiefschwarz Radio Edit) — 3:49
- "Crush" (David Morales Club Mix) — 7:10
- "Crush" (Tiefschwarz Hollywood Extended) — 8:03
- "Crush" (David Morales Alt Club Body) — 7:10
- "Crush" (David Morales La Crush Dub) — 7:10
Peak positions
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada (RPM RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... ) |
1 |
| Ireland (Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... ) |
6 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (1998) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 7 |
| Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart | 52 |
| Dutch Top 40 | 43 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 21 |
Certifications
| Country | Certification | Date | Sales certified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 2x Platinum | 1998 | 140,000 |
| France | Silver | June 30, 1999 | 125,000 |
| UK | Silver | September 4, 1998 | 200,000 |
| U.S. | Gold | August 28, 1998 | 500,000 |