Cat Cohen's Anatomy of a Hit a Hit in 2003

Crazy in Love by Beyonce

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Beyonce excites dance audiences with her playfully seductive and compelling case for being out of control over her current love interest.

Song:	Crazy in Love
Artist:	Beyonce
Album:	Dangerously in Love
Songwriter:	Beyonce Knowles, Rich Harrison, and Jay-Z
Producer:	Rich Harrison and Beyonce Knowles
	B000099T2L

Concept
Wild excitement of the singer’s infatuation with her current squeeze.

Lyric
A sensual and emotional description of being irrationally attracted to someone. A list of images without any attempt at story making.

I look and stare deep in your eyes

I touch more and more on you every time

When you leave I’m begging you not to go

Call your name two, three times in a row

Groove
Relentless 16th feel over a strong quarter note dance beat.

Melody
Riff after riff construction with hardly any melody to speak of.

Harmony
Two chords in the introductory signature. None in the song itself, especially in the a capella verse.

Structure
Sig A B Sig A B Rap Sig B A Tag

Signature Riff Verse Chorus Signature Riff Verse Chorus Rap Signature Bridge Chorus Tag

Signature
2-part signature, one part is a sampled synth brass figure from an earlier Chi-Lites recording, the other a series of vocal oh,ohs.

Production
An excellent use of contrasting dance music elements repeated over and over in unexpected ways with numerous sound hooks.

Performance
Expressive as only Beyonce can do with the sensuality and urgent edge she knows how to convey so well.

Predicted Longevity
As strong and creative as this recording is, it should be less of a classic than a recall of the year 2003. The lack of a memorable melody and lyric will limit it to an excellent but eventually disposable dance record.