Songoftheday 5/16/21 - I see ya blowin' me a kiss, it doesn't take a scientist to understand what's going on baby...

 

 

"Crush" - Jennifer Paige

from the album Jennifer Paige (1998)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #3 (four weeks)

Weeks in the Top-40: 23

 

Today's song of the day comes from Jennifer Paige, who had started her singing career in her home state of Georgia before grabbing the attention of international dance-pop label Edel, who signed her and originally released her debut single "Crush". Written by producer Andy Goldmark along with Kevin Clark, Benny Cosgrove, and Mark Mueller, the song was a breezy and innocent-sounding slab of mid-tempo pop that would sell millions for the likes of Faith Hill and Paula Cole. But Paige managed to put a little edge in her vocals, not unlike the sorely underrated Harriet from a few years back (though maybe just singing in minor keys isn't really edgy). The lyrics are squeaky-clean and ready for mainstream consumption, though, and radio jumped on this in a flash, making Paige's first try her biggest success, with Disney's Hollywood Records buying her out...

"Crush" became Paige's first and only single to make Billboard magazine's official Hot 100 pop chart in America, reaching the top ten in September of 1998. The single also was a hit at "easy listening" radio, climbing to #19 on their older-skewing Adult Top-40 format and #26 on the even-older Adult Contemporary radio list. Internationally, with the push from Edel "Crush" was even bigger, topping the singles charts in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and reaching the top ten in Poland (#3), the UK (#4), France (#4), Italy (#4), Hungary (#5), Ireland (#6), the Netherlands (#6), Norway (#6), Spain (#7), Belgium (#7W/#17F), Denmark (#7), and Austria (#10). Her self-titled debut album, released in August of that year, didn't do as well as the single, stopping at #139 on the Billboard 200 sales tally in America, possibly foreshadowing her status as a "one-hit wonder" on mainstream radio. 

Jennifer's follow-up single, "Sober", was also produced by Goldmark who wrote it with Wayne Kirkpatrick, who had many country music hit successes. Despite that, the single got a tepid worldwide reaction, stalling at #68 in the UK, while stiffing completely in the U.S.. A third offering, "Always You", got a set of remixes that helped her land on Billboard's Dance Club Play chart at #6, but again only got to #81 in the UK. 

Paige returned in 2001 with her second album on Hollywood, Positively Somewhere. The lead single, "These Days", was a reused Australian reality-show hit, co-written by Natalie Imbruglia's "Torn" guy Phil Thornallley (and really resembles Edie Brickell's "What I Am"), but besides popping on to Billboard's Adult Top-40 radio chart at #34, and a single top-40 single placing at #31, the track mostly was passed by, as was the album. Another cut from the set, "Stranded", a borrowed song from Christian-pop act Plumb, was a minor hit in Britain at #79. Hollywood cut their losses with a Greatest Hits set after that. Since then, Paige has released three more albums independently, her most recent being Starflower which came out in 2017.

(5/10)

(Click below to see the rest of the post)

Here's Jennifer appearing on the Donny & Marie talk show to promote the single (of course Donny would love this)...

In 2009, the musical show Glee used "Crush" in a particularly creepy scene with Lea Michele and Matthew Morrison. Their version "bubbled under" the Billboard Hot 100 at #120...

 

 

And finally, an international TV appearance with a band, where she kind of proves she really was more talented than the song itself..

Up tomorrow: Swedish popsters revive an 80's girl-group seasonal classic.