"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 Jennifer's Paige debut album Jennifer Paige (See 1998 in music).
| "Crush" | |
|---|---|
| Song |
Background
In April 1998, Jennifer finished recording "Crush". Producer Andy Goldmark sent "Crush" at the legendary radio station KIIS-FM in Los Angeles. Since KIIS-FM has been such a big and influential station and very soon "Crush" became Jennifer's hallmark. Jennifer said that they embraced the idea with enthusiasm, but when they heard this, they were excited! Program director of KIIS-FM Dan Kiley and musical director Andy Tracy Austin said : "We really want this song to be aired on our radio stations!" Of course, Andy said : "Well, do what you want to do!"
Song success
A week later, on May 4, 1998, KIIS-FM became the first radio station in the world which began to rotate "Crush" to twelve times a day. When Jennifer heard for the first time "Crush" on the radio, she began to scream. It happened quite quickly. Edel has released first 20.000 copies of "Crush" that diverged very quickly. When "Crush" went to No. 1 at KIIS-FM even Page acknowledges that the speed of the song became a hit, caught her by surprise. "This seems unrealistic", she said with a soft southern accent.
Once the "Crush" began to rotate on the other radios, listeners were excited, and critics noticed : "Page is excellent, almost impossible to be a meaningful without resorting to typical cries" - declared "Billboard". "Instead, she uses a particularly wide vocal range to convey the emotion ringing ... As a result, it has invested their soul song". When asked why "Crush" made such an impression, Page gave a straightforward answer : "This song is balanced and not too serious. And I think the world needs a few more songs like this".
The next few weeks, four other major stations nationwide launched "Crush" to its rotation. Not unexpectedly, many famous labels interested in Jennifer. In early June she signed a contract with Hollywood Records. It started airing on June 1, when 22 more stations began to rotate "Crush". The next two weeks, another 72 stations started broadcasting "Crush" and the song came to Radio and Records CHR/Pop chart to 35th place on 26 June. On 9th July, Jennifer has been for the first time live in the KIIS-FM studio with famous DJ Rick Di. Jennifer sang live for the first time "Crush".
Single release
On 24 July, "Crush" captivated WINS Top 10. "Crush" was the R&R Top 10 to November 13, becoming #2 on October 16. Not only America fell in love with "Crush". "Crush" was the international hit, after 8 weeks as No. 1 on the Canadian Top 40 airplay chart. "Crush" was also the #1 in Australia, Norway, Spain, Denmark, New Zealand, South Africa and Latvia. "Crush" led the Top 5 in the UK, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Hungary, and was #6 spot in Ireland. In August, "Crush" was certified gold in the U.S. for sales of 500,000 copies.
Chart
| Chart (1998) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 3 |
| U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary | 23 |
| UK Singles Chart | 4 |
| Australian ARIA Charts | 1 |
| New Zealand | 1 |
| United World Chart | 1 |
| Canadian Top 40 Airplay | 1 (8 weeks) |
| Latvian Airplay Chart | 1 |
Formats and track listings
- "Crush" (Album Version) 3:21
- "Crush" (Dance Mix) 3:18
- "Crush" (Instrumental) 3:20