Dancing Crazy

Background

In October 2010, Cosgrove announced a few tour dates for the previously-known Sparks Fly Tour, in support of her debut full-length studio album of the same name. Later, the new leg was renamed to the Dancing Crazy Tour, named after her new single "Dancing Crazy". Rumors of a new album, called Turn It Up: Remixed, later surfaced, with the track-listing showing the remixes and acoustic versions of the songs from her previous album, along with the lead single and in-edit tracks "Sparks Fly", "Lovestruck", and "Turn It Up" (featuring Rivers Cuomo). The rumors were later denied, on January 3, 2011, as it was revealed that her new work would not be a full-length remix or studio album, but an extended play instead. Eight days later, Cosgrove herself tweeted a picture from the photoshoot of the EP. "Dancing Crazy" was released to online digital download websites, such as iTunes and Amazon, on December 21, 2010.

"Dancing Crazy" was written by Avril Lavigne, Max Martin, and Shellback, all of whom would later go on to write Lavigne's own song, "What the Hell". "Dancing Crazy" was also produced by Martin and Shellback.

Composition

"Dancing Crazy" is a mid-tempo pop rock track with pop and dance-pop lyrics dealing mainly with Cosgrove and her friends just going out, partying, and having a good time. The single is written in a common verse-chorus style. The song opens up with the first verse, and then transpires to bridge. After that, the first chorus is sung, followed by the second verse. The second bridge and chorus follow that. The third verse slows down, and sees Cosgrove singing the chorus in a slower melody. The final chorus then ensues. 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. [One of my] favorite 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." Auto-Tune was also used in this song hence the Ke$ha sounded voice in the lyrics "Did you hear me say that/Did-did Did you hear me say that."

Critical reception

Instead of the song getting positive reviews like her previous song "Kissin' U", the song has been met with negative reviews from music critics. Idolator 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's 'Disgusting', Miranda can pull it off. For a song called 'Dancing Crazy', though, a bit more musical lunacy—or maybe one extra beat speeding it along—would have been nice to elevate it to something resembling insanity." Reflectiveinklings gave the song a mixed review, stating "Dancing Crazy still is embedded with a nifty hook just like 'Kissin' U'. However, the sameness between the two aforementioned singles gets thrown out right away after that comparison. If 'Kissin' U' surprised me for showcasing Cosgrove’s vocals with aplomb, Dancing Crazy does the opposite. Dancing Crazy pretty much offers the listener what he might have heard from other artist in the past. In a few words, yes, this song is a bit generic. The track might get a few plays because of its little charm (which will fully entice the kids who really love her show) and curiosity from the listener but afterwards, the magic fades. This is a step backwards for Cosgrove. Let us just hope she bounces back." Commensensemedia gave the song 3 out of 5 stars, while negatively saying, "Cosgrove's music suffers from the same issues as a lot of her peers' (like Selena Gomez's): mediocre vocals and the same-old synth-pop beat. 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

The single has been moderately successful on music charts. In the US, the song has charted on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 100. Also, it did have success on US radio, when it peaked at number thirty-six on the Pop Songs chart, which is based on pop radio airplay. It is also her first single to chart on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart, where it debuted and peaked at number twenty-one. It was moderately successful in some foreign countries, such as Slovakia, where 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, which kicked off in January 2011. The song is the fourteenth and final track to be performed on the tour, being performed after her performance of a new track, Sayonara. Aside from being promoted while on tour, the song was also performed live on the March 9th, 2011 episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show. The performance saw Cosgrove singing the song as several children danced around her. As Cosgrove started to sing the final chorus of the song, Greyson Chance, who had opened up for her on her Dancing Crazy Tour, came out onto the stage to sing with her. On March 15, the day of the album's release, Cosgrove performed at the Hard Rock Cafe in Hollywood, California. The tour Dancing Crazy Summer Tour added this song for the finale song of the show where Chance came out and sang it with Cosgrove. She has confetti go all over after the song is finished.

Music video

The music video for "Dancing Crazy" was first announced during Cosgrove's interview on The Today Show. 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, and Cosgrove is seen getting out of bed, grabbing her coat, and sneaking outside to the girls, as they pull out of the house, she sees her teenage neighbor walking the dog. It is unknown as to why he is walking his dog at 11pm, but nonetheless there is romantic chemistry between them. The two have eye contact momentarily, and smile at one another. As the first verse begins, Cosgrove and her friends are seen in the car, dancing to a song on the radio, while driving down the road. As the bridge begins, several other cars filled with teenagers are seen following them, and they all pull over and get out at a local high school. As the chorus begins, they are seen jumping over a fence onto a football field, where a car and large speakers have already been set up. As they turn on the music in the football field, the teens all begin to dance with one another. Shots of Cosgrove still sitting in the car with her friends dancing are shown at random moments, switching back and forth between the football field and the car. As the second verse begins, Cosgrove is seen sitting on the car at the football field. The cars should not technically be on the field, since Cosgrove and her companions were forced to jump a fence to gain entrance to the school and cars can obviously not jump fences, but this is ignored. More kids begin to arrive, including the neighbors that Cosgrove seen when she was leaving the house. As the bridge begins, he is seen greeting random kids, however, he does not appear to have noticed Cosgrove yet. As the chorus plays, the teens all form a circle, and one at a time several kids take turn break dancing in the center of the circle. As the second chorus closes, Cosgrove and her neighbors notice each other at the same time, and she walks over to him. After talking for a moment, they walk over to the bleachers as the third verse begins. They are seen talking and laughing for a while. He then puts his arm around her. A few moments later, they are shown holding hands on the bleachers, and as the third verse ends, they are seen kissing one another. As the final chorus plays, the two are seen together, dancing by the car on the football field. Clips of several teens break-dancing continue to switch back and forth. The sprinklers come on, however, and all of the teens run back home. Cosgrove is then shown back in the car with her girlfriends, presumably driving back home. As the sun begins to rise, Cosgrove arrives home and waves goodbye to her friends. As she sneaks up to her room and lays down, intending to finally get some sleep, her alarm clock goes off, and it's time for her to wake up for school. This irritates her. The video closes with a shot of her pressing the snooze button.

Track listing

1. "Dancing Crazy" – 3:43