Song: Crush On You
Album: Have A Nice Day 
Year: 1999
Track: #1

A Ghost Track? Or perhaps the biggest ever “should have been a single“?

“Crush On You” is the one Roxette song that wakes you up panicked in the middle of the night in a cold sweat screaming “why, oh why was this not a lead single?” I mean, it was remixed for crying out loud!

Let’s be fair here, compared to previously featured tracks such as “I Remember You” or “Do You Wanna Go The Whole Way?”, this is by no means a typical Ghost Track. Not only was this song played live but it served as the opening song for the 2001 Room Service Tour. So to be fair, this song got its fair share of love compared to your average album tracks… but folks, this ain’t no average album track. Far, far from it.

The ONLY reason I could imagine why they skipped this song back in 1999 from being a single was perhaps because critics could have argued it’s just an updated “The Look”. But let’s be real, critics never liked Roxette and who cares! “Wish I Could Fly” did show a more mature side and Marie’s vocals of course speak for themselves and yes, “Wish I Could Fly”  was a hit for Roxette!

But poor old “Crush On You” was left waiting in the wings, it could easily have been a double A-side single (remember those?) with “Wish I Could Fly”.
And the lyrics aren’t as nonsense as they seem. Sure, these lyrics probably didn’t keep Bob Dylan up at night but still, as silly as they are, they make more sense than “kissing is the wet sand“. The guy in the song is fixated on his crush so much so that he can’t think straight and everything appears to be topsy-turvy. He’s sleeping when it’s daylight, he’s got coffee on the paper, he’s renting the wrong movie and then when he watches the movie, he’s laughing at the wrong guy! Then Marie steps in declaring that the cause of all this hysteria is caused by a “crush”… “a crush on you…” – it’s actually not as illogical as a dog being an alligator might seem.

Do you remember that shocking moment when you realized this song was omitted from the 2006 RoxBox Collection?  You mean this irresistible electro-pop vibe just wasn’t worthy enough to make the compilation? If there was ever a song that defined Roxette Phase 2 (1999-2002), then this sound is it! And I’m sorry, but the day that “You Can’t Put Your Arms Around What’s Already Gone” is considered a more worthy contender than “Crush On You” is the day I eat my hat thank you very much. And another thing, is there a reason why this isn’t getting the live treatment in 2015? I need to calm down now I think, I’m getting angry, might be the dead flies in my scotch with ice. Can you tell I’m passionate about this one?

Here’s what Per Gessle had to say about “Crush On You”  in his book Songs, Sketches and Reflections – “…Written for Roxette’s Have a Nice Day album in the summer of 1998. I always loved this one. It felt like a different songwriting style for me with that monotone synth riff and hey, I almost got to rap!”

 Agree? Disagree? Thoughts?

“…No Elvis in the leather!”