Crazier

Background and release

Taylor Swift co-wrote "Crazier" with Robert Ellis Orrall. The song is set in compound time with six eighth notes per bar. It is played in E major at a moderately fast tempo of 144 beats per minute. Taylor Swift's vocals span from E3 to B4. The chorus has a chord progression of E—B—C#m—A. USA Today described it as a "pretty waltz".

The song's appearance in Hannah Montana: The Movie came about after filmmakers approached Taylor Swift about using her music in the film. Film officials emailed her asking for a song "that was perfect to fall in love to" and "sort of a country waltz". Although it was not written intentionally for the film, Taylor Swift sent in "Crazier" and the filmmakers "loved it". In addition, Taylor Swift offered to perform the song in the film herself as a cameo appearance. In the film, Taylor Swift performs at an open mic fundraiser to save a small town's treasured park from developers. The quick scene was filmed in a single day, but Taylor Swift's performance impressed film members. Film director Peter Chelsom said, "I've made a very big mental check to work with her again." A music video for "Crazier", directed by Peter Chelsom, features excerpts from Hannah Montana: The Movie and premiered on March 28, 2009, on the Disney Channel. It features Taylor Swift playing the song on acoustic guitar and her backup band playing other instruments, intertwined with scenes of the movie characters Miley Stewart (Miley Cyrus) and Travis Brody (Lucas Till).

Critical reception

Warren Truitt of About.com complimented Taylor Swift's "chim[ing]" in the ballad. Heather Phares of Allmusic praised the track, calling it "the best song on Hannah Montana: The Movie". She complimented it for being "more genuine, more effortless, than any of [Cyrus'] or Hannah's tracks". James Berardinelli agreed, stating, "Arguably, the movie's biggest mistake is having Taylor Swift perform a song, since she can sing and the comparison is not flattering to the movie's star." Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly described "Crazier" as "a pretty, yearning ballad". Premiere magazine reviewer Olivia Putnal referred to Taylor Swift's performance as one of the film's "high points". Peter Hartlaub of the San Francisco Chronicle believed that Taylor Swift's cameo was enjoyable, but also called it a mistake on the part of the filmmakers, explaining "Taylor Swift is so talented that she makes Cyrus seem bland by comparison." Perry Seibert from TV Guide wrote, "when genuine teen star Taylor Swift shows up to perform [...] she demonstrates all the spontaneity and authenticity that Miley Cyrus lacks." In June 2022, Insider ranked "Crazier" as Taylor Swift's fourth best soundtrack song.

Chart performance

"Crazier" made its debut on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 72 on the week ending April 11, 2009. "Crazier" rose three spots to number 69 in the following week, and jumped to number 38 on the week ending April 25, 2009, due to an 87 percent increase in digital downloads. For the week of Saturday, May 2, 2009, the song reached its peak on the Hot 100 at number 17, selling 110,000 downloads. It also peaked at number 28 on the Pop 100 chart. As of November 2014, "Crazier" has sold one million copies in the United States.

As the song was not officially released to radio as a single, digital sales also accounted for its appearance on international charts. The song debuted at number 79 on the week ending April 11, 2009. For the week ending May 2, 2009, it reached number 30 on Hot Canadian Digital Singles and number 63 on the Canadian Hot 100. "Crazier" reached number 57 on the Australian Singles Chart. The song debuted and peaked at number 100 on the UK Singles Chart for the week ending May 16, 2009.

Charts

Certifications

References

References

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13. Seibert, Perry. "Hannah Montana: The Movie". [[TV Guide]].
14. (2022-06-26). "All 8 of Taylor Swift's soundtrack songs, ranked".
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16. "Taylor Swift – Crazier – Music Charts". aCharts.us.
17. Trust, Gary. (April 16, 2009). "Chart Beat: Rascal Flatts, Miley Cyrus, Eminem, Jason Mraz".
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