Crave (Madonna and Swae Lee song)
"Crave" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna and American rapper Swae Lee, from the former's fourteenth studio Madame X (2019). The song was written by the two artists and Starrah, while production was handled by Madonna, Mike Dean, and Billboard. It was released by Interscope Records for digital download and streaming as the album's second single on May 10, 2019. The song has been noted as a pop, trap, and hip hop ballad inspired by Fado music, with the lyrics talking about desire and craving for someone who's running away. It was one of the first songs Madonna wrote for Madame X, but she put the work on hold when she began working with other musicians in Lisbon. When she revisited the song, Madonna came to the conclusion that a male voice was needed for inclusion and approached Swae Lee to sing with her, as she was a fan of his voice.
"Crave"
May 10, 2019
3:21
- Madonna Ciccone
- Khalif Malik Ibn Shaman Brown
- Brittany Hazzard
- Madonna
- Billboard
- Mike Dean
"Crave" received generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised its sound. However, there were some who found the song forgettable. In the United States, it reached the eleventh place of Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart, becoming her biggest hit there since "Frozen" (1998). It also gave Madonna her record-breaking 48th number-one hit on the Dance Club Songs chart. On the UK Single Sales chart, it reached number 51. An accompanying music video, directed by Nuno Xico, was released on May 22, 2019; it features Madonna and Swae Lee singing the song on a New York City rooftop. A remix of the song was created by Tracy Young and performed on Madonna's 2019–20 Madame X Tour.
Critical reception[edit]
"Crave" was met with generally positive reviews from music critics. Writing for Rolling Stone, Rob Sheffield deemed it one of the "truly great Madonna moments" on Madame X.[15] Also from the magazine, Emily Zemler referred to the song as "a sultry pop number about hungering for another person", praising Swae Lee's "smooth-talking verse".[6] NME's El Hunt called the song a "breezy, low-key moment" that recalls the feeling of "heartbreak" from Madonna's fourth studio album Like a Prayer (1989), "and yet sounds nothing like it".[12] Writing for Idolator, Mike Wass felt it was "the third and (easily) most commercial cut from Madame X [...] a sexy, mid-tempo groove, it evokes the Hard Candy era, but the tone here is mellower and more romantic", ultimately concluding that "if radio didn't ignore Madonna's entire existence, it would sound perfect on pop and rhythmic formats".[16] For Jeremy Helligar from Variety stated it "wouldn't sound out of place on Ariana Grande's latest album".[9] Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine praised the "rawness" on Madonna's voice, which he felt "amplifies the nakedness of her lyrics".[17] Robbie Barnett from the Washington Blade called it the album's best vocal collaboration.[18]
Sean Maunier, for Metro Weekly, called it "arresting and ethereal [...] sounds like it comes from a different world entirely".[19] Us Weekly's Nicholas Hautman felt that "Crave" and album track "Crazy" both have "potential to be stadium sing-alongs should they make it onto Madonna’s live setlists".[20] For The Guardian, Ben Beaumont-Thomas said "Crave" counted with an "elegant, sinewy melody that twines around you rather than jabbing you into submission".[21] The HuffPost's Daniel Welsh opined it was one of the moments on Madame X where Madonna gets introspective.[22] Chris DeVille, from Stereogum, deemed the song a "misty ballad that makes Madonna emoting over trap drum programming sound like the most natural thing in the world".[23] From Gay Star News, Jamie Tabberer was more critical: "featuring twangy guitars and gentle rap from Swae Lee, this languid ode to obsessive love [...] is too indistinct, and the delivery is wishy-washy".[24] Jonny Coleman, from The Hollywood Reporter, said the track sounded like a "Rihanna leftover" and deemed it forgettable.[25] Rich Juzwiak from Pitchfork dismissed the song as a "naked attempt to score Madonna her own 'We Belong Together'", criticizing her vocal delivery for being "flat as denial".[26]
Commercial performance[edit]
In the United States, "Crave" became Madonna's highest debut on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart, debuting at number 19, for the issue dated June 8, 2019. It became her 37th entry on the chart and her 2nd appearance in the 2010s decade after "Ghosttown" (2015).[27] The next week, the song climbed four places to number 15, becoming the "most added" song of the week.[28] The song then climbed to its peak of 11, becoming Madonna's largest hit on the Adult Contemporary chart since "Frozen" (1998).[29] The song also reached a peak of number 34 on the Adult Pop Songs chart, becoming her 21st entry on the chart and her largest hit on it since "Give Me All Your Luvin'" (2012).[30] "Crave" also topped the US Dance Club Songs chart for the issue date of November 16, 2019, becoming Madonna's record-extending 49th single to do so in total.[31]
In the United Kingdom, the song reached number 51 on the official sales chart, spending only one week on the chart.[32] Similarly, on the UK Download chart, "Crave" debuted at its peak of number 49 for the week starting on May 17, 2019.[33] In Scotland, the track peaked at number 64, staying inside the Scottish Singles Chart for one week.[34] On the French downloads chart, the song also debuted at its peak of number 23, while in Hungary, the song reached number 28 on the Single Top 40.[35][36] "Crave" further peaked at number 19 on Sweden's heatseeker chart, and reached number 22 on Billboard China's foreign language songs chart.[37][38]
Credits and personnel adapted from the Madame X album liner notes.[5]