“Crush” is a banger. And in trying to figure out why I like it so much, I’ve come up with one of my dumbest hot takes of all time. “Crush” is the prototype for “We Are The People” by Empire of the Sun. The backing vocals are airy. The guitar is veeery similar.

But then at the same time, there’s something in the vocals that is very like George Michael’s “Fast Love”. Reading the Wikipedia for the song, there’s a quote from Larry Flick from Billboard where he talks about how Jennifer Paige manages to make “Crush” sensual subtly, by using her vocal range as opposed to “groans and moans”. A huge part of George Michael’s success was down to the sexiness of his songs so it all kind of adds up.

Honestly that’s probably enough to justify liking a song, but “Crush” is pretty iconic in it’s own right. It’s one of the less over played one hit wonders that are this good. The lyrics suit the song perfectly. “Here’s what I do, I’ll play it loose” is one of the greatest combinations of lyric and delivery in songwriting. Jennifer Paige’s voice is super effortless and that works so well with the blasé vibe of the lyrics.

You can listen to “Crush” by Jennifer Paige here.