"Dancing Crazy" is a song by American singer
Miranda Cosgrove
Miranda Taylor Cosgrove (born May 14, 1993) is an American actress and singer. She was the highest-paid child actor in 2012 and was included on ''Forbes'' magazine's " 30 Under 30" list in 2022. She is known for her career on television, parti ...
from her second extended play ''
High Maintenance
''High Maintenance'' is an American Anthology series, anthology comedy-drama television show, television and web series, web series created by ex-husband and wife team Ben Sinclair (actor), Ben Sinclair and Katja Blichfeld. The show follows The ...
'' (2011). It was released as the lead single from the extended play on December 21, 2010, by
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
. The song was written by
Shellback,
, and
Avril Lavigne
Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. At age 16, she signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records. Her debut studio album, ''Let Go (Avril Lavigne album), Let Go'' (2002), is the ...
, whilst production was helmed by Martin and Shellback. According to Cosgrove, the song is about friendship and having fun.
The song was met with mixed reviews from critics. In the United States, the single peaked on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 100.
It was moderately successful in some countries, such as
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
, where it peaked at number seventeen.
The song's music video debuted on February 13 and features Cosgrove and her friends sneaking out and going to a party that is taking place on a high school football field.
Background
In October 2010, Cosgrove announced new tour dates for the Sparks Fly Tour which was later renamed to the
Dancing Crazy Tour
The Dancing Crazy Tour was the debut solo tour by American entertainer Miranda Cosgrove. Visiting North America, it supported her debut studio album, '' Sparks Fly''. The tour began in Missouri and traveled throughout the United States and ended ...
. "Dancing Crazy" was released for digital download on December 21, 2010.
"Dancing Crazy" was written by
Avril Lavigne
Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. At age 16, she signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records. Her debut studio album, ''Let Go (Avril Lavigne album), Let Go'' (2002), is the ...
,
, and
Shellback, and produced by the latter two.
Composition
The single is written in a common
verse-chorus style. The song closes with the ending word "Smack". During a ''Behind the Scenes'' look at the recording of the song, Cosgrove stated,
"Dancing Crazy is so fun. I just think about going out with my friends and going to parties and having a good time. ne of myfavorite parts of the song is when is when I say 'I know whatever happens, you will be right by my side'. It's just like, you know you'll always have your friends there."
Commonsensemedia wrote, "Dancing Crazy, ... has one thing on its mind: cutting loose on the dance floor until the wee hours of the morning. Written by Avril Lavigne, the song describes staying out all night, spending most of it dancing (with a little kissing thrown in) – "You, me in the spotlight / Running around till the end of the night / Hot, hot keep it comin' / We can rock out till the early morning." Though the actions in this tune aren't necessarily irresponsible, they may be a little iffy for the youngest tweens."
Reception
Critical reception
The song was met with mixed reviews from music critics. ''
Idolator
An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry.
Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books
*''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music
* Idolator (website), an American music blog
* ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...
'' said of the song "Poppy! Fun! Kinda 80s Bananarama-ish! The "You! Me! In the spotlight!" bit in particular sounds like "Girlfriend"-esque Avril, not to mention the low-key guitar on the bridge. We're guessing this tune didn't make the cut of Lavigne's upcoming album Goodbye Lullaby and Miranda snatched up her scraps. Still, even as leftovers, it's a pretty tasty track and much like she did with
Kesha
Kesha Rose Sebert (; born March 1, 1987), formerly stylized as Ke$ha, is an American singer and songwriter. In 2005, at age 18, Kesha was signed to Kemosabe Records. Her first major success came in early 2009 after she was featured on America ...
's 'Disgusting', Miranda can pull it off."
Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children. gave the song 3 out of 5 stars, saying, "Ultimately, it's hard to tell this song apart from the sea of similar-sounding tunes out there, making it a fairly forgettable track overall."
Commercial performance
In the US, the song peaked on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 100. It peaked at number thirty-six on the
Pop Songs
Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/ CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations in the Un ...
chart and on the ''Billboard''
Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...
chart at number twenty-one.
In
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
, it debuted and peaked at number seventeen on the official Hot 100 singles chart.
Live performances
The song was first performed live on the
Dancing Crazy Tour
The Dancing Crazy Tour was the debut solo tour by American entertainer Miranda Cosgrove. Visiting North America, it supported her debut studio album, '' Sparks Fly''. The tour began in Missouri and traveled throughout the United States and ended ...
, which kicked off in January 2011. The song is the fourteenth and final track to be performed on the tour. The song was performed live on the March 9th, 2011 episode of ''
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was prod ...
''. As Cosgrove started to sing the final chorus of the song,
Greyson Chance
Greyson Michael Chance (born August 16, 1997) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He rose to national attention in 2010 with his performance of Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi" at a grade school music festival which went viral on YouTube, gai ...
, who had opened up for her on her
Dancing Crazy Tour
The Dancing Crazy Tour was the debut solo tour by American entertainer Miranda Cosgrove. Visiting North America, it supported her debut studio album, '' Sparks Fly''. The tour began in Missouri and traveled throughout the United States and ended ...
, came out onto the stage to sing with her. On March 15, the day of the EP's release, Cosgrove performed at the
Hard Rock Cafe
Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a British-based multinational chain of theme restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and rol ...
in
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. During the ''Dancing Crazy Summer Tour,'' Cosgrove performed the song with Chance.
Music video
The
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
for "Dancing Crazy" was first announced during Cosgrove's interview on ''
Today
Today (archaically to-day) may refer to:
* Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now''
* Current era, present
* The current calendar date
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...
''. While there, she also showed a snippet of the music video. During a Behind the Scenes look, Cosgrove stated:
"Basically, in the video, I'm sneaking out of the house with my friends in this cool vintage red car. As we're driving, other cars show up behind us and other people that are our friends follow. And we all wind up at this high school. We sneak into the Football Field and just have this big party. Dancing Crazy is just about going out and having a good time. One of my best friends in the world is in the video, and it's gonna be fun, just dancing with her and having fun."
The video opens up to several girls waiting for Cosgrove outside of her house. It is 11:00 pm; Cosgrove gets out of bed and sneaks outside. As the group leaves, Cosgrove sees her teenage neighbor and the two briefly smile at one another. Cosgrove and her friends drive down a road and several other cars filled with teenagers are following them. They arrive at a high school football field, where a car and large speakers have been set up. The teens begin to dance with one another. Cosgrove sits on the car and the neighbor that Cosgrove saw previously arrives. Cosgrove and her neighbor walk to bleachers and hold hands; they later kiss and dance. Sprinklers turn on and the teens run back home. Cosgrove drives back home with her friends as the sun begins to rise. Cosgrove arrives home and lays down; her alarm clock goes off. The video closes with her pressing the snooze button.
Track listing
; Digital download
# "Dancing Crazy" – 3:43
Credits and personnel
Credits and personnel are adapted from the ''High Maintenance'' extended play liner notes.
*
Shellback – writer, producer, recording, drums, guitars, bass
*
– writer, producer, recording, keyboards
*
Avril Lavigne
Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. At age 16, she signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records. Her debut studio album, ''Let Go (Avril Lavigne album), Let Go'' (2002), is the ...
– writer
*
Serban Ghenea
Șerban Ghenea (born October 13, 1969) is a Grammy award-winning Romanian-Canadian audio engineer and mixer.
Early life and education
Ghenea was born in Bucharest, Romania in 1969. In 1976 he moved to Montreal with his family. He later attended ...
– mixing
* Michael Ilbert – engineering
*
Miranda Cosgrove
Miranda Taylor Cosgrove (born May 14, 1993) is an American actress and singer. She was the highest-paid child actor in 2012 and was included on ''Forbes'' magazine's " 30 Under 30" list in 2022. She is known for her career on television, parti ...
– vocals
* John Hanes – mixing engineer
* Tim Roberts – assistant mixing engineer
Charts
Release history
References
{{authority control
2010 singles
Epic Records singles
Miranda Cosgrove songs
Songs written by Max Martin
Songs written by Shellback (record producer)
Songs written by Avril Lavigne
Song recordings produced by Max Martin
Song recordings produced by Shellback (record producer)
Songs about dancing
2010 songs