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Crazy World (Boys Like Girls album)

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Crazy World
Studio album by
Boys Like Girls
ReleasedDecember 11, 2012[1]
RecordedDecember 2011 – May 2012
Studio
Genre
Length42:26
LabelColumbia
ProducerMartin Johnson
Boys Like Girls chronology
Love Drunk
(2009) 		Crazy World
(2012) 		Sunday at Foxwoods
(2023)
Singles from Crazy World
  1. "Be Your Everything"
    Released: August 14, 2012
  2. "Life of the Party"
    Released: November 4, 2012

Crazy World is the third studio album by American rock band Boys Like Girls. It marks a departure from the group's original emo and alternative rock sound in favor of a more country style. The Crazy World EP was released on July 17, 2012 with the tracks, "Be Your Everything", "Life of the Party" and "The First Time" to help promote the album. The album was released on December 11, 2012.[1]

The lead single "Be Your Everything" was released in the summer of 2012, and entered the Billboard Hot Singles Sales chart at number 18. Its music video ran into heavy rotation on CMT and GAC starting in the fall of 2012. The album debuted and peaked at number 134 on the Billboard 200. It is the only to feature bassist Morgan Dorr and last with guitarist Paul DiGiovanni.

Background

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The group began working on their third studio album in 2010, however, after feeling it was "disingenuous" to the band, they scrapped it. According to Martin Johnson, the album originally leaned into an electro-pop hybrid sound and "didn't really feel like Boys Like Girls."[2] Johnson retreated to Nashville, writing with other musicians and creating demos that "didn't have a specific purpose."[2] During that time span, he wrote 300 songs and believed a Boys Like Girls album was hiding in there somewhere and sent the members about 24 tracks.[3] In the fall of 2011, the band reunited at Johnson's home in Los Angeles and used his demos for their third album. Relieved from the pressure of having to recapture top 40 success, they decided to throw "out the idea of having to cater to modern music" and lean into a pop rock and country music sound.[2] In November 2011, the group posted a video announcing the album. However, days after it was uploaded, the band announced bassist Bryan Donahue's departure. Donahue was asked to leave the band and was reported that the reason he was kicked out was due to him having too many plans disrupting the band's progress and was apparently too "engrossed" in his other solo projects, Early Morning Blues and The Tower and the Fool.[4] He was replaced by Morgan Dorr.[2] The group began recording the album in December 2011, posting studio updates.[5] The album was recorded between December 2011 and May 2012, in California and New Jersey.[6]

Release

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On June 18, 2012, the group premiered songs from their upcoming third studio album live on their USTREAM.[7] On July 9, previewed a clip of the song "Be Your Everything".[8] On July 12, the group released a lyric video for the song.[9] On July 17, the band released a three-track EP Crazy World, as a preview for their forthcoming album. In support of the EP's release, they embarked on the Crazy Good Summer Concert Series with Carly Rae Jepsen on July 19.[10] On August 14, the album's lead single "Be Your Everything" was released along with its music video.[11] From September to October 2012, they embarked on a co-headlining tour with The All-American Rejects to promote the album, with support from the Ready Set and Parachute.[12] On November 4, the band released "Life of the Party" as the album's second single.[13] On November 15, they posted a "Crazy World Song Reveal" page, allowing fans to share a link to it in order to unlock a new song off the new record.[14] On November 8, the album's tracklist was revealed.[15] On November 16, the new track was revealed as "Stuck in the Middle", and the LP was made available for pre-order.[16] Days prior to the release of Crazy World, the band released "Leaving California" and "Hey You" for streaming on SoundCloud.[17][18] The album was officially released on December 11, 2012.[19] On December 25, the band released a lyric video to "Stuck in the Middle".[20]

Reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic41/100[21]
Review scores
SourceRating
AbsolutePunk.net80%[22]
AllMusic[6]
Alternative Press[23]
idobi Radio[24]
Melodic[25]

Crazy World received mixed reviews from critics. On Metacritic, the album received an average rating of 41, indicating generally "mixed or average reviews".[21] Gregory Robson of AbsolutePunk.net gave the album a positive review stating, "Crazy World is a fine album from a band who seems comfortable with their place in the landscape of contemporary music. Though they are miles removed from the sonic terrain of their humble beginnings, they are surging forward with this new path, and if the amount of potential chart-toppers on Crazy World are any indication, it's a path paved with platinum."[22] Jen Appel of idobi Radio praised the group's songwriting and felt the record was "much stronger than anything else they've released."[24] Johan Wippsson of Melodic wrote, "all the tracks are of high quality, so the album should like the previous ones be a safe buy."[25]

Tim Sendra of AllMusic gave a mixed review for the album remarking, "The only thing that keeps this from sounding like a Jake Owen album is the lack of southern accents, but that would have been hard for a bunch of ex-punks from Boston to pull off. What the album most sounds like is a goofy, brodacious version of Taylor Swift's Red, only with more programming and less heartbreak. It's an open question whether any fans of the group's hooky stadium emo will follow them as they travel south of the Mason-Dixon line; odds are quite a few might feel betrayed by the change in direction and the nagging feeling that maybe the group may have sold out just a little in pursuit of a new audience."[6] Scott Heisel of Alternative Press gave a negative review describing the album as "phony as they come."[23]

Track listings

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All lyrics written by Martin Johnson.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The First Time"Martin Johnson4:26
2."Life of the Party"Johnson, Luke Laird3:57
3."Crazy World"Johnson, Kevin Griffin3:56
4."Be Your Everything"Johnson, Rob Hawkins3:30
5."Stuck in the Middle"Johnson, Brandon Bush, Kristian Bush, John Webb Jr.3:51
6."Cheated"Johnson, Sam Hollander, Dave Katz, Claude Kelly3:42
7."Shoot"Johnson, Laird4:52
8."Leaving California"Johnson, Chris Tompkins4:09
9."Take Me Home"Johnson, Hawkins3:46
10."Red Cup, Hands Up, Long Brown Hair"Johnson, Eric Paslay2:54
11."Hey You"Johnson, Brad Warren, Brett Warren5:58
Total length:42:26
Crazy World EP
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Be Your Everything"Johnson, Hawkins3:30
2."Life of the Party"Johnson, Laird3:57
3."The First Time"Johnson4:26
Total length:11:53

Charts

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Chart performance for Crazy World
Chart (2012) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[26] 134

References

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  1. ^ a b "Boys Like Girls announce 'Crazy World' release date". Alternative Press. September 28, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d Emily Zemler (November 26, 2012). "Boys Like Girls Frowned on Third Album, So They Scrapped It". Billboard. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  3. ^ Sierra Tishgart (July 30, 2012). "Martin Johnson of Boys Like Girls on Recording Crazy World". Teen Vogue. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  4. ^ "Boys Like Girls 'Kick Out' Bassist". Rock Sound. November 21, 2011. Archived from the original on January 7, 2014. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  5. ^
  6. ^ a b c Tim Sendra. "Crazy World LP Review by Tim Sendra". AllMusic. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  7. ^ Johan Wippsson (June 18, 2012). "Boys Like Girls Ustream Live Tonight @ 6Pm Pt/9pm Et". Melodic. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  8. ^ "Boys Like Girls stream "Be Your Everything" preview". Alternative Press. July 9, 2012. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  9. ^ Johan Wippsson (July 15, 2012). "Boys Like Girls Releases Lyric Video For Be Your Everything". Melodic. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  10. ^ Johan Wippsson (July 9, 2012). "Boys Like Girls Set To Release 'Crazy World' Ep July 17". Melodic. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  11. ^ Johan Wippsson (August 14, 2012). "Boys Like Girls Releases Video For 'Be Your Everything'". Melodic. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  12. ^ Johan Wippsson (July 25, 2012). "Boys Like Girls Announce Co-headlining National Tour With The All-american Rejects". Melodic. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  13. ^ "Boys Like Girls release lyric video for "Life of the Party"". Alternative Press. November 5, 2012. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  14. ^ Johan Wippsson (November 17, 2012). "Boys Like Girls Need Your Help To Unlock A New Song!". Melodic. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  15. ^ "Boys Like Girls announce 'Crazy World' tracklisting". Alternative Press. November 8, 2012. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  16. ^ "Boys Like Girls premiere new song, "Stuck In The Middle"". Alternative Press. November 17, 2012. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  17. ^ "Boys Like Girls stream new song "Leaving California"". Alternative Press. December 8, 2012. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  18. ^ "Boys Like Girls stream new song "Hey You"". Alternative Press. December 9, 2012. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  19. ^ Johan Wippsson (October 1, 2012). "Multi-Platinum Selling Pop Rock Band Boys Like Girls Set December 11 Release Date". Melodic. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  20. ^ "Boys Like Girls release "Stuck In The Middle" lyric video". Alternative Press. December 27, 2012. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  21. ^ a b "Reviews for Crazy World LP by Boys Like Girls". Metacritic. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  22. ^ a b Gregory Robson (December 20, 2012). "Boys Like Girls - Crazy World". AbsolutePunk.net. Archived from the original on August 13, 2014. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  23. ^ a b Scott Heisel (10 December 2012). "Boys Like Girls - Crazy World - Reviews". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on January 14, 2013. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  24. ^ a b Jen Appel (July 30, 2012). "Boys Like Girl - Crazy World: Album Review". idobi Radio. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  25. ^ a b Johan Wippsson (September 14, 2012). "Review: Boys Like Girls - Crazy World EP". Melodic. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  26. ^ "Boys Like Girls Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
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Crazy World at MusicBrainz (list of releases)

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