"I Want Crazy" is a song co-written and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist

Hunter Hayes Hunter Easton Hayes (born September 9, 1991) is an American multi-genre singer, songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist. He is proficient at more than 30 instruments. Hayes released his Hunter Hayes (album), self-titled debut alb ...

. It is one of five songs recorded for ''Hunter Hayes (Encore)'', the deluxe edition of Hayes' self-titled debut album. Hayes debuted the song at the

Academy of Country Music Awards The Academy of Country Music Awards, also known as the ACM Awards, were first held in 1966, honoring the industry's accomplishments during the previous year. It was the first country music awards program held by a major organization. The academy ...

on April 7, 2013, and it was released the next day as the lead single for the reissue of ''

'' and fourth from the album overall. Hayes wrote the song with

Lori McKenna Lorraine McKenna ( Giroux; born December 22, 1968) is an American folk, Americana, and country music singer-songwriter. In 2016, she was nominated for the Grammy Award for Song of the Year and won Best Country Song for co-writing the hit single " ...

and

Troy Verges Troy Verges is an American songwriter of country and pop music from Louisiana. Career His first cut as a songwriter was a track on Faith Hill's '' Breathe''. His credits include the singles " Wanted", recorded by Hunter Hayes; "Beer Money", r ...

. A new mix of the song produced by

Ryan Tedder Ryan Tedder (born June 26, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. As well as being the lead vocalist of the pop rock band OneRepublic, he has an independent career as a songwriter and producer for various artists since th ...

was released in the UK on April 17, 2015 as the third single from his international debut album, '' I Want Crazy'' (2015). Upon release, "I Want Crazy" met with critical and commercial success. It became Hayes' second top 20 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 (after " Wanted") and was certified 2× Platinum by the (RIAA). In Canada, "I Want Crazy" peaked at number 14 and was certified Platinum, in addition to topping the Canadian Country Airplay chart compiled by ''Billboard''. The song was nominated for

Best Country Solo Performance The Grammy Award for Best Country Solo Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 54th Grammy Awards description guide it is design ...

at the

56th Grammy Awards The 56th Annual Grammy Awards presentation was held on January 26, 2014, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The show was broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. ET/PT and was hosted for the third time by LL Cool J. The show was moved to January to avoid com ...

, but lost to

Darius Rucker Darius Carlos Rucker (born May 13, 1966) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He first gained fame as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of rock band Hootie & the Blowfish, which he founded in 1986 at the University of South Ca ...

's " Wagon Wheel".

Content

The song is a moderate up-tempo accompanied by

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

and

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

. In it, the male singer says that he wants his lover to be "crazy", and will not be satisfied by a slower-paced relationship. It is in the key of

E-flat major E-flat major (or the key of E-flat) is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has three flats. Its relative minor is C minor, and its parallel minor is E minor, (or enharmonically ...

, with open fifths consisting of the pitches E and B sounding on the verses.

Critical reception

Giving it a "thumbs up", Sam Gazdziak of Engine 145 said "Clearly, he’s singing to a younger audience who want to hear more about the wild and crazy side of love and not the harsh realities… That said, the song is also ridiculously catchy, and Hayes’ talents as a singer and musician help make it rise above any lyrical missteps." It received 4 stars out of 5 from Billy Dukes of

Taste of Country Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wi ...

, who said that the song had a "frantic pace" that "matches what he’s looking for", and that it "shows a new level of confidence". A 4.5 star rating came from Matt Bjorke of Roughstock, who compared it favorably to

Keith Urban Keith Lionel Urban (born 26 October 1967) is an Australian-American musician, singer, guitarist and songwriter known for his work in country music. Recognized with four Grammy Awards, Urban also received fifteen Academy of Country Music Award ...

and said that the "lyrics… are stronger than most of the songs on country radio and the melody is interesting."

Music video

The music video for "I Want Crazy" was directed by Ends and shot in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. It premiered on CMT and

GAC GAC or Gac may refer to: Companies and organisations * GAC Group, a Chinese automotive company based in Guangzhou, Guangdong * GAC Ireland, an Irish bus manufacturer established with Bombardier (1980–1986) * Games Administration Committee, ...

on April 29, 2013.

Commercial performance

"I Want Crazy" debuted at number 24 on the U.S. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Country Airplay Country Airplay is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States since January 20, 1990. This chart lists the 60 most-listened-to records played on 150 mainstream country radio stations across the country as monitored ...

chart for the week of April 27, 2013. It also debuted at number 36 on the U.S. ''Billboard''

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart for the week of April 20, 2013. It also debuted at number 43 on the U.S. ''Billboard''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

chart for the week of April 27, 2013. In March 2015, the song was certified 2× Platinum by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. The song has sold 1,884,000 copies in the US as of March 2020. The song also debuted at number 14 on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record chart in Canada; a n ...

chart for the week of April 27, 2013.

Chuck E. Cheese's Chuck E. Cheese (formerly known as Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre, Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza and simply Chuck E. Cheese's) is an American family entertainment center and pizza restaurant chain founded in 1977 by Atari's co-founder Nolan Bu ...
version

The popular

pizza Pizza (, ) is a dish of Italian origin consisting of a usually round, flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomatoes, cheese, and often various other ingredients (such as various types of sausage, anchovies, mushrooms, onions ...

chain

Chuck E. Cheese's Chuck E. Cheese (formerly known as Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre, Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza and simply Chuck E. Cheese's) is an American family entertainment center and pizza restaurant chain founded in 1977 by Atari's co-founder Nolan Bu ...

used the song in a January 2014 show; the song was sung by Jasper T. Jowls.

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2013 singles Hunter Hayes songs Atlantic Records singles Songs written by Hunter Hayes Songs written by Troy Verges Song recordings produced by Dann Huff Songs written by Lori McKenna 2013 songs