"Crazy Kids" is a song by American singer

Kesha Kesha Rose Sebert (born March 1, 1987), formerly stylized as Ke$ha, is an American singer and songwriter. Her first major success came in 2009 when she was featured on rapper Flo Rida's number-one single, "Right Round". Kesha's music and ima ...

. It was released on April 29, 2013, as the third and final single from her second album ''

Warrior A warrior is a guardian specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal society, tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracy, social class, class, or caste. History ...

'' (2012), with

will.i.am William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "will I am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is the frontman of the musical group Black Eyed Peas, which he ...

Juicy J Jordan Michael Houston III (born April 5, 1975), known professionally as Juicy J, is an American rapper and record producer. Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, he is a founding member of the Southern hip-hop group Three 6 Mafia, established ...

as the featured artist depending on the version. An additional remix surfaced online featuring Pitbull. The lyrics were written by Kesha with assistance with Dr. Luke,

Benny Blanco Benjamin Joseph Levin (born March 8, 1988), known professionally as Benny Blanco (stylized in all lowercase), is an American record producer and songwriter. He is the recipient of the 2013 Hal David Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall ...

, Cirkut, who also helmed production of the track. Each featured artist wrote their own contribution. Featuring

whistling Whistling, without the use of an artificial whistle, is achieved by creating a small opening with one's lips, usually after applying moisture (licking one's lips or placing water upon them) and then blowing or sucking air through the space. Th ...

, the song is of the

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s ...

and

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

genres. A music video for the track premiered on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

on May 28, 2013, followed by the finale of her television documentary, '' Kesha: My Crazy Beautiful Life''. The song was met with mixed reviews upon release, with will.i.am's addition to the song being criticized, while positive reactions for the music video followed, accompanied by comparisons between her Riff Raff and

Brooke Candy Brooke Dyan Candy (born July 20, 1989) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and tattoo artist. Raised in the suburbs of Los Angeles, she rose to prominence after starring in Grimes' music video for " Genesis" (2012). Following its success ...

. Worldwide, the song has reached moderate success. The record peaked at 27 in the UK Singles Chart. In the United States, the song entered ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 59 and peaked at number 40 and entered the

Mainstream Top 40 Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/contemporary hit radio, CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played o ...

at number 22, eventually peaking at number 19. The record reached 14 in the charts in both Ireland and Lebanon. "Crazy Kids" is also certified Platinum in the US and Australia.

Background and remixes

The song was recorded for Kesha's second album, ''Warrior''. Kesha stated that the track is this album's version of her 2010 single "

We R Who We R "We R Who We R" is a song by American singer Kesha from her first extended play (EP), ''Cannibal (EP), Cannibal'' (2010). The song was released as the EP's lead single on October 22, 2010. It was written by Kesha, with Jacob Kasher Hindlin, Dr. ...

". She recorded the song in June 2012. will.i.am was in a nearby recording studio when he heard Luke, Blanco and Cirkut working with Kesha on the track, and immediately wanted to get involved. He co-wrote the album version and later wrote and recorded a new verse for himself, hoping he would be the featured artist in the song. Initially the record label decided not to include his verse; however, later his verse was included in the single/remix version of the song. It officially impacted

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (CHR, also known as contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top ...

on April 29, 2013, and

rhythmic contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 20, Rhythmic Top 30, Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and upbeat R&B hit ...

radio on May 7, 2013. It was made available for purchase as a digital download on April 30, 2013. will.i.am produced two other tracks whilst working with Luke, Blanco and Cirkut; they appear on will.i.am's album '' #willpower''. The second official remix, which features rapper Pitbull, follows the same formula as the will.i.am remix. As with the first remix, the song's second verse removed in favor of Pitbull's new verse and also includes Pitbull speaking during the intro. The third remix, featuring rapper

, was sent to U.S. Rhythmic radio and became available for purchase as a digital download on May 21, 2013. ''

Rap-Up ''Rap-Up'' is a magazine launched in 2001 by founder Devin Lazerine. The publication was originally a website devoted to hip hop, until Lazerine decided to pitch the possibility of a magazine to several publishers. The magazine is focused on the ...

'' called the Juicy J remix "raucous".

Composition

"Crazy Kids" combines the

genres Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other form ...

technopop, rap, and

into what '' VIBE'' called " hip-pop". Lyrically, "Crazy Kids" was said to establish dualistic personalities for Kesha. ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

'' writer

Annie Zaleski Annie Zaleski is a ''New York Times'' best-selling author and music historian. Career Zaleski is a regular writer for mainstream media outlets such as The Guardian and NPR Music, and a columnist at ''Salon''. She is based in Cleveland, Ohio w ...

said: "On the acoustic guitar-driven choruses, she's sweet and melancholy as she reveals her insanity; on the electronic-dipped verses, she unloads snappy hip-hop boasts ("I'm no virgin or no

Virgo Virgo may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Virgo (film), a 1970 Egyptian film * Virgo (character), several Marvel Comics characters * Virgo Asmita, a character in the manga ''Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas'' * ''Virgo'' (album), by Virgo Four, ...

/ I'm crazy that's my word, though") to assert herself." Over hip hop dub beats, Kesha raps " coochie" with "

Gucci Guccio Gucci S.p.A., doing business as Gucci ( , ), is an Italian Luxury goods, luxury fashion house based in Florence. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and ...

", drops several f-bombs, and contributes her famous sing-rap style vocals in addition to traditional singing. The song prominently features

in several areas. "Crazy Kids" is composed in the key of

G minor G minor is a minor scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has two flats. Its relative major is B-flat major and its parallel major is G major. The G natural minor scale is: Changes n ...

at a tempo of 128

beats per minute Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of in ...

Music video

The official music video for "Crazy Kids" was filmed on May 9, 2013. The music video was released on May 28, 2013, and was uploaded in her YouTube

Vevo Vevo LLC ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized in all caps until 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available ...

account on May 29, 2013. In the video Kesha wore large

platform shoes Platform shoes are shoes, boots, or sandals with a thick sole, usually in the range of . Platform shoes may also be high heels, in which case the heel is raised significantly higher than the ball of the foot. Extreme heights, of both the sol ...

and gold-rimmed sunglasses, as well as golden heart-shaped earrings. The video contains a scene where Kesha is flanked by chocolate-colored

pit bull Pit bull is an umbrella term for several Dog type, types of dog believed to have descended from bull and terriers. In the United States, the term is usually considered to include the American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, A ...

s, which Liza Darwin of MTV compared to the opening scene of the video for

Lana Del Rey Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Lana Del Rey discography, Her music is noted for its melancholic exploration of Glamour (presentation), glamor and Romanc ...

's song " Born to Die". In that video, Del Rey is situated between two

Bengal tiger The Bengal tiger is a population of the ''Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies and the nominate tiger subspecies. It ranks among the largest wild cats alive today. It is estimated to have been present in the Indian subcontinent since the Late ...

s. Darwin also commented on Kesha's grill, comparing it to similar attire worn by Australian rapper

Iggy Azalea Amethyst Amelia Kelly (born 7 June 1990), known professionally as Iggy Azalea ( ), is an Australian rapper. Born in Sydney, Azalea moved to the United States at the age of 16 in order to pursue a career in music. She earned public recognition ...

Critical reception

The song received mixed reviews from critics. ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...

'' stated that: "in addition to sporting pastel cornrows, eshawore an outfit that could only be described as ...interesting... her light ink corset under a plaid shirt,

long with Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mens ...

denim hot aisy dukespaired with white thigh-high stockings evokes a

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera ( , ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and television personality. Recognized as Cultural impact of Christina Aguilera, an influential figure in music and having received Public imag ...

in her ' Your Body'" video, meets

James Franco James Edward Franco (born April 19, 1978) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has starred in numerous films, including Sam Raimi's Spider-Man (2002 film series), ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007), ''Milk (2008 American film), Milk'' (200 ...

in ' Spring Breakers' vibe". About the video, Kesha tweeted the following: "Just wait until you see what these super sweet biker dudes are doing in my video". ''PopCrush'' blogged about the video, saying: "clearly, Kesha, who is quite pretty, is going for the dork look, like

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists in hist ...

did in her ' Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)' video. But instead of a headgear-and-braces-wearing nerd, she's more of a gangsta geek". Calling the video "an invitation to a lazy-Sunday house party", Canada's

MuchMusic Much is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. It is headquartered at 299 Queen Street West in what was o ...

wrote that Kesha's "ghetto fabulous" hair and the

Hells Angels The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is an international outlaw motorcycle club founded in California whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells ...

bikers make the video complete, and that they "loved it".

called Kesha's look "eye-popping couture", suggesting the sunglasses as being inspired by

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

and the braids by fellow rappers Riff Raff and Brooke Candy. Fashion writer Mickey Woods of '' Glamour'' affirmed the Brooke Candy comparison. ''New York'' magazine' music blog, ''Vulture'', documented a high volume of occult symbolism, specifically that which is conventionally associated with modern perceptions of the Bavarian Illuminati. Amanda Dobbins, the reviewer, toyed with the possibility of Kesha being a

whistleblower Whistleblowing (also whistle-blowing or whistle blowing) is the activity of a person, often an employee, revealing information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe, unethical or ...

for the cult, displaying the symbols such as the all-seeing eye tattooed on the rapper's palm, both overtly and excessively in the "Crazy Kids" video. Dobbins wrote: "She keeps waving it around, too, just to make sure that you see it and get mildly anxious about her Illuminati associations." Conversely, Dobbins suggested Kesha is serving consumers the Illuminati angle to snag more views, as ''Billboard'' and other mainstream music critics reported with the music video for "

Die Young "Die Young" is a song by American singer and songwriter Kesha. It was released on September 25, 2012, as the lead single from her second studio album, ''Warrior'' (2012). Kesha co-wrote the song with its producers, Dr. Luke, Benny Blanco, and ...

reported a similar position, noticing a trend with the singer and ocular-themed accessories, namely nail art. ''

Paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, Textile, rags, poaceae, grasses, Feces#Other uses, herbivore dung, or other vegetable sources in water. Once the water is dra ...

'' blogger Abby Schreiber said: "Never one for subtlety, Ke$ha rocks...an Illuminati tattoo on her hand...." During their critique of ''

'', ''

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 advertis ...

'' said 'Crazy Kids' displayed Kesha at "her most take-it-or-leave it" and called the beats " grimy". Considering her vocals on "Crazy Kids" as some of the singer's best, ''Billboard'' called the

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in whic ...

a "sing-a-long". Critics compared the track to "

Like a G6 "Like a G6" is a song by American music group Far East Movement featuring American production duo the Cataracs and American singer Dev, released as the lead single from Far East Movement's third studio album '' Free Wired''. The song was initial ...

" by the

Far East Movement Far East Movement (abbreviated FM) is an American Hip hop music, hip hop and electronic music group based in Los Angeles, composed of Kev Nish, Prohgress, J-Splif, Jon Street, Ray Ro, DJ Virman, and Jerm Beats. They signed with Martin Kierszenba ...

. Critics unfavorably reviewed will.i.am's addition to the song. ''Spin'''s Mark Hogan said will.i.am's verse delivers "cheap crassness," but praised Kesha's solo version, stating that her "charisma is enough for you to keep from flipping the dial." Hogan also added that while "Crazy Kids" was inferior to will's

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...

' collaboration, "

Scream & Shout "Scream & Shout" is a song by American musician will.i.am and American singer Britney Spears, taken from the former's fourth studio album, '' #willpower'' (2013). It was released on November 19, 2012, by Interscope Records as the second sing ...

", the song was destined for mainstream top 40 success. ''The Honesty Hour'' ran an article stating that the original was "fine" without the additional verse, but that will.i.am can "only help the song" commercially.

Chart and commercial performance

"Crazy Kids" debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at 59, and rose to a peak of 40, becoming her consecutive second solo single not to reach the top ten. It also peaked at 19 on the

chart, also becoming her second solo single not to reach the top ten on those charts. On December 13, 2018, "Crazy Kids" received a

platinum certification Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

in the United States by the nation's

Recording Industry Association of America 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 ...

(RIAA) for accomplishing combined sales and streaming equivalent units of 1 million in the country. In the UK, "Crazy Kids" peaked at 27. In Australia the song peaked at 32 on the

ARIA charts The ARIA Charts are the main Australian record chart, music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA beca ...

, obtaining a gold certification with digital sales of over 35,000 units.

Credits and personnel

*Vocals –

* Guest vocals –

Will.i.am William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "will I am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is the frontman of the musical group Black Eyed Peas, which he ...

*Songwriting: Kesha, Lukasz Gottwald, William Adams, Jordan Houston, Henry Walter, Benjamin Levin *Production: Dr. Luke, Cirkut, Benny Blanco Credits adapted from the liner notes on BMI.

Track listing

*;Digital download (remix featuring

) #"Crazy Kids" (featuring will.i.am) – 3:49 *;Digital download (remix featuring

) #"Crazy Kids" (featuring Juicy J) – 3:49 *;Digital download (German extended play) # "Crazy Kids" (featuring

) – 3:49 # "Crazy Kids" (featuring

) – 3:49 # "Crazy Kids" – 3:50 # "Crazy Kids" (instrumental) – 3:48 # "Crazy Kids" (video) – 3:47

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

* * {{authority control 2013 singles 2012 songs Juicy J songs Kesha songs Techno songs RCA Records singles Song recordings produced by Benny Blanco Song recordings produced by Dr. Luke Songs written by Dr. Luke Songs written by Kesha Songs written by will.i.am Song recordings produced by Cirkut Will.i.am songs Songs written by Cirkut Songs written by Benny Blanco Songs written by Juicy J