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"Crazy in Love" was the first single from Beyoncé's first album Dangerously in Love. The song was a 2003 U.S. number-one single, and featured Jay-Z.

Song information

Beyonce's debut solo single was co-written by her, Rich Harrison, and Jay-Z, and co-produced by Beyonce and Rich Harrison. The song is built around a sample of the song "Are You My Woman", originally performed by the Chi-Lites and written by Eugene Record. The single was one of the most commercially successful songs of 2003, and is generally considered to be Beyonce's signature solo song. In the single, notable for its harsh, blaring horns and beat-driven melody, Beyonce recalls moments of temporary romantic insanity that have her "looking so crazy in love".

Although Beyonce had released singles as part of Destiny's Child before, and had appeared as a solo artist on special soundtrack and guest appearances, much pressure was put on her to perform for her first major solo single ever. Knowles began shopping for beats, and had at one point considered using "Naughty Girl" (another song off the album, eventually the fourth single released) for her first single. While searching for a backing track, she discovered struggling producer Rich Harrison. Harrison played a beat that he had created from the song "Are You My Woman", and was soon commissioned to create a melodic track for the verses and chorus. Harrison was about to write the lyrics too, but Beyonce's manager and father, Matthew Knowles instructed Harrison to keep away from lyrics as Beyonce held a vested interest in them. Beyonce had only given Rich one hour to write the song, and problems soon arose as he was severely hungover from a night of partying and Beyonce's managent began to laugh at and criticize his drunk behavior. Luckily, Harrison was able to write the music of the verses and chorus in time for Beyonce’s return, and she subsequently wrote the bulk of the lyrics and bridge.

Industry advisors suggested to Knowles that she return to "Naughty Girl" as her debut single. It was believed that "Naughty Girl" would probably not be a big hit, but was guaranteed to do moderately well. On the other hand, "Crazy in Love" was seen as a gamble: it would either flop horribly or take off. However, Knowles insisted on moving ahead with "Crazy in Love".

Having dismissed all insecurities about the song, Beyonce still felt that it did not have the edge it needed to perform well on urban charts. In order to move beyond Top 40 Mainstream markets, she called in her boyfriend, Jay-Z, who flew in during the middle of the night to record his rapped parts. Like most of Jay-Z’s guest raps, the verse was recorded from memory, not written down. By doing so, Beyonce hoped to move beyond Destiny’s Child's reputation of pop-R&B. With time running out, Beyonce turned in the final mixed version of the song.

Chart success

The release of "Crazy in Love" troubled Beyonce’s industry advisors, who felt the song would not perform well due to the unconventional sound. Their worries proved to be misplaced, as "Crazy in Love" became one of the biggest hits of 2003, where it topped The Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks for several weeks. The single also topped other charts like Hot 100 Airplay, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, Hot Dance Music/Club Play, Hot Digital Tracks, Top 40 Tracks, Top 40 Mainstream, and the Rhythmic Top 40.)

The single was such a hit that it even crossed over and entered the Adult Top 40, where it peaked at number twenty-eight (a notable accomplishment considering the traditionally conservative composition of the Adult Top 40). The song also became Beyonce's first digital hit by topping the Hot Digital Tracks chart. Unfortunately for Beyonce, digital downloads were not yet counted towards the Hot 100. In any case, the song didn’t seem to need the points anyway, as the song only had a 12" Maxi Single and a DVD Single released (those formats provide only small points), and the song was supported by its airplay). Nevertheless, the song was certified as a digital gold single for sale of over 200,000 digital downloads.

Music video

Just as Beyonce took risks on "Crazy in Love" as her first solo single, she decided to take risks on the song’s music video by enlisting Jake Nava, a relative rookie in the world of music video directors, to direct her video. The elaborate video displays Knowles dancing solo and with backup dancers, as well as a cameo by Jay-Z (paralleling his rap interlude). The song is often credited for jump-starting the music video directing career of Jake Nava. Beyonce's music video won three MTV Video Awards in 2003: the Best Choreography, the Best Female Video, and the Best R&B Video. The video also went on to be named one of the top 12 videos of the year by Reel Images Magazine

Awards

In the 2003 Grammy Awards, "Crazy in Love" won the awards for Best R&B Song and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.

Comprehensive charts

Official remixes/versions list

• "Crazy in Love" (Album Version) featuring Jay-Z
• "Crazy in Love" (Album Version) featuring Vaness Wu
• "Crazy in Love" (Instrumental)
• "Crazy in Love" (Live) (Edited Performance from Live at Wembley)
• "Krazy in Luv" (Junior's Dance Radio Mix)
• "Krazy in Luv" (Maurice’s Nu Soul Remix)
• "Krazy in Luv" (Adam 12 So Crazy Remix)
• "Krazy in Luv" (Rockwilder Remix)
• "Krazy in Luv" (Rockwilder Remix Instrumental) (on 12" vinyl only)
• "Krazy in Luv" (Lego's Poontin Muzik Dub) (on 12" vinyl only)

• Beyoncé Singles
• 2003 singles
• Number One singles