''High Maintenance'' is the second

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

by American actress and 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 ...

. It was released on March 15, 2011 by Columbia and Epic Records. The EP was preceded by the release of its lead single, "

Dancing Crazy "Dancing Crazy" is a song by American singer Miranda Cosgrove from her second extended play ''High Maintenance'' (2011). It was released as the lead single from the extended play on December 21, 2010, by Columbia Records. The song was written by ...

", which was co-written by Avril Lavigne and produced by

Max Martin Karl Martin Sandberg (; born 26 February 1971),Max Martin
allmusic.com known profess ...

and Shellback. The single peaked at number 100 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the United States. Musically, ''High Maintenance'' mainly incorporates the pop genre with electropop influences. ''High Maintenance'' received mixed to positive reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

, with many complimenting the EP's sound and production as more adult than Cosgrove's previous

teen pop Teen pop is a subgenre of pop music that is created, marketed and oriented towards preteens and teenagers.Lamb, Bill"Teen Pop" About.com. Retrieved January 28, 2007. Teen pop incorporates different subgenres of pop music, as well as elements o ...

-oriented releases. However, others maintained that Cosgrove and her music lacked originality. The EP was promoted mainly through touring and live promotional appearances on television, including 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 ...

Background and development

In October 2010, Cosgrove announced new tour dates for the Sparks Fly Tour, in support of her debut full-length studio album of the same name. It was later renamed the

, named after her single "

". On January 11, 2011, Cosgrove tweeted a picture from the photoshoot of the EP. In an interview with '' Billboard'', Cosgrove revealed the title of the EP to be ''High Maintenance'', named after the track of the same name, which is a duet with

Rivers Cuomo Rivers Cuomo ( ; born June 13, 1970) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist, guitarist, pianist, and songwriter of the rock band Weezer. Cuomo was raised in a number of Buddhist communities in the Northeast U.S. until the age of 10, wh ...

that was co-written by Cuomo, along with Josh Alexander and Billy Steinberg and produced by Cuomo and

Dr. Luke Lukasz Sebastian Gottwald (born September 26, 1973), known professionally as Dr. Luke, Tyson Trax, and Made in China, is an American record producer and songwriter. His professional music career began in the late-night television sketch comedy ...

. Along with the first two confirmed tracks, three more songs were confirmed for the EP which were: the electropop song "Sayonara" that was co-written by

Greg Kurstin Gregory Allen Kurstin (born May 14, 1969) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2017 and 2018, and written and produced four songs ...

Bonnie McKee Bonnie Leigh McKee (born January 20, 1984) is an American singer and songwriter. Her debut album, ''Trouble'', was released in 2004 under Reprise Records. After underperforming, McKee was dropped by her label and took a musical hiatus before es ...

and Nicole Morier and produced by Kurstin, a cover of the

Shontelle Shontelle Layne (born 4 October 1985), known mononymously as Shontelle, is a Barbadian singer and songwriter. She released her debut album ''Shontelligence'' in 2008. Her second album, '' No Gravity'', was released in 2010. Her singles "T-Shirt ...

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

"Kiss You Up" that was co-written by MoZella with

Jimmy Harry Jimmy Harry is an American songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist who currently resides in Los Angeles, California. Harry has worked with artists such as Madonna, Pink, Weezer, Kylie Minogue, Kelly Clarkson, Fischerspooner, Oh Land, an ...

and

Tony Kanal Tony Ashwin Kanal (born 27 August 1970) is a British-American musician, record producer, songwriter, and animal rights activist. Kanal is the bassist and co-writer for the American rock bands No Doubt and Dreamcar. His musical work outside of ...

, who produced, and "Face of Love", which was co-written by

Scott Cutler Scott Michael Cutler is an American songwriter, musician, record producer, and music executive. As a member of the alternative rock band Ednaswap, he co-wrote "Torn" which was covered in 1997 by Natalie Imbruglia. Her recording became the worl ...

, Carsten Mortenson,

Anne Preven Anne Preven (born February 25, 1965) is an American songwriter, musician, and record producer. As a member of the alternative rock band Ednaswap, she co-wrote " Torn" which was covered by Lis Sørensen (Danish), Trine Rein (Norwegian), and then N ...

and

Lucas Secon Lucas Secon, (born 3 November 1970) also known by the stage name Lucas, is a record producer, songwriter and rapper. He has written and produced for artists including the Pussycat Dolls, Alesso, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Kylie Minogu ...

, who produced it.

Composition

The EP's sound is

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...

. The EP's lead single, "

", was reviewed by

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.

: "Dancing Crazy, ..has one thing on its mind: cutting loose on the dance floor until the wee hours of the morning. ..Though the actions in this tune aren't necessarily irresponsible, they may be a little iffy for the youngest tweens." Hiponline said of the album, "The High Maintenance EP is a

pop-rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and ...

whirlwind, complete with sing-along choruses, candy-coated vocals and dance floor friendly beats." They later went on to say "Title track 'High Maintenance' sees Miranda trading

tongue-in-cheek The idiom tongue-in-cheek refers to a humorous or sarcastic statement expressed in a serious manner. History The phrase originally expressed contempt, but by 1842 had acquired its modern meaning. Early users of the phrase include Sir Walter Scott ...

vocals about her carefree, fun-loving ways with

, who contributed as a songwriter and producer to the track. From the sentimental

'Kiss You Up' to the explosive,

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

'Sayonara' this album shows Miranda's true versatility as an artist embracing multiple styles and influences."

Promotion

Cosgrove headlined the

, which was named after the EP's lead and only single "

". The tour began January 24, 2011 and ended February 25, 2011. The tour featured dates in

House of Blues House of Blues is an American chain of live music concert halls and restaurants. It was founded by Isaac Tigrett, the co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, co-star of the 1980 film ''The Blues Brothers''. The first location opened at ...

locations. Accompanying Cosgrove on the tour was

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, ga ...

During the week before the EP's release, the music video for "Dancing Crazy" was available for free digital download on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

. Aside from being performed while on tour, the song was also performed live on the March 9, 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 came onto the stage to sing with her. On March 15, 2011, 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 ...

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 ...

. The first 500 customers to purchase the EP from FYE or the performance at the Hard Rock Cafe received a free wristband, which grants them access to an album signing held by Cosgrove.

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

also aired the television special ''Dancing Crazy With Miranda Cosgrove'' on Saturday, March 19, 2011. The special showed footage of Cosgrove recording the single as well as its music video. It also showed a behind-the-scenes look at her tour. On April 5, 2011, Cosgrove tweeted that she would be going on tour again in the summer.

again opened up for her on the North American part of the tour. On August 11, 2011, Cosgrove's tour bus was involved in a traffic collision on

Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15, I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of Interstate 695 (Maryland), I-695 in ...

Vandalia, Illinois Vandalia is a city in and the county seat of Fayette County, Illinois, United States. At the 2020 Census, the population was 7,458. Vandalia is northeast of St. Louis, on the Kaskaskia River. It served as the state capital of Illinois from 1 ...

. Five passengers were injured including Cosgrove, who sustained a broken ankle. Initial reports confirmed that the tour would be postponed while Cosgrove recovered. A week later, Cosgrove released a statement stating that the tour was canceled by the doctor's orders. Cosgrove admitted that she would resume touring by the following year. The tracks on ''High Maintenance'' were released on the Japanese edition of Cosgrove's debut album ''Sparks Fly''.

Single

" is the EP's lead and only single, co-written by Avril Lavigne with

Max Martin Karl Martin Sandberg (; born 26 February 1971),Max Martin
allmusic.com known profess ...

and Shellback, who produced it. The song was released for digital download on December 21, 2010, while the music video was released onto

on February 13, 2011. It featured Cosgrove and her love interest at a party on a high school football field. In the US, it peaked at number 36 on the Billboard

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. On the

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, it debuted and peaked at number 21. It peaked on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at 100.

Critical reception

Upon its release, ''High Maintenance'' was met with mixed to positive reviews. James Christopher Monger of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

wrote that the extended play (EP) had a more

adult An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of major ...

pop sound, and gave the album a rating of two and a half stars out of five. Lauren Carter of ''

The Boston Herald The ''Boston Herald'' is an American daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarded eight Pulit ...

'' compared the EP to the likes of Avril Lavigne and

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 ...

and commented "''High Maintenance'' is mostly high-octane fun, Cosgrove's all-grown-up soundtrack to letting loose and testing the rules without breaking them." Mikael Wood of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' said that Cosgrove's return to music is stronger than before. Allison Stewart of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' gave a mixed view of the EP, stating, "Cosgrove's new EP, ''High Maintenance'' will sound familiar to anyone who heard her modestly received, similar-sounding 2010 full-length debut, '' Sparks Fly'' or any other

disc released in the last five years." However, the editors for ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'' gave the EP a negative review, noting, "She has been singing since the start of

's ''

iCarly ''iCarly'' is an American teen sitcom created by Dan Schneider, which originally aired on Nickelodeon from September 8, 2007, to November 23, 2012. The series tells the story of Carly Shay (Miranda Cosgrove), a teenager who creates and hosts ...

'', but Cosgrove's new electro-inspired EP is the first release to distinguish the 17-year-old from the show's lead character. But the break's not too sharp."

Commercial performance

The EP debuted at number 34 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart in the US.

Track listing

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2011 EPs Albums produced by Greg Kurstin Albums produced by Max Martin Albums produced by Shellback (record producer) Columbia Records EPs Epic Records EPs Miranda Cosgrove albums