Songfacts®:

• "Crush" was the debut single for the American Idol seventh season runner-up David Archuleta. It entered the Hot 100 at #2, making it the highest chart entry by an Idol contestant for a song never performed on the show. The record had previously been held by Carrie Underwood, whose version of The Pretenders' "I'll Stand By You" debuted at #6 in May 2007.
• This song about the emotional and physical rush of having a crush became the highest charting "crush song" in Hot 100 history. Previously both The Jets' "Crush on You" and Jennifer Paige's "Crush" peaked at #3.
• The song was produced by Emanuel Kiriakou, who co-wrote it with Jess Cates and David Hodges. With Cates, Kiriakou also produced and co-wrote Nick Lachey's Top 10 single "What's Left Of Me" and "Inconsolable" by the Backstreet Boys. Hodges is best known for being a member of Evanescence (he co-wrote many of the songs on their Fallen album) and his production work for Kelly Clarkson on her Breakaway album, including "Because Of You."
• David Archuleta told Digital Spy that this song is about "not being sure exactly what you feel for someone. You're like, 'Is this real, or is it just one of those normal everyday crushes?' It's really about the confused emotions that arise in that situation."
• This was only the second time that the American Idol runner-up has outperformed the winner on the Hot 100 with their debut single. (David Cook's coronation single "The Time of My Life" peaked at #3.) The previous instance was in 2003 when runner-up Clay Aiken's debut single "This Is The Night" went straight in at #1, while the second season winner Ruben Studdard's "Flying Without Wings" peaked at #2.
• This was the first song the label played to Archuleta. After singing so many adult ballads, the American Idol runner-up was immediately attracted to its youthful edge. He told the Los Angeles Times: "They played just a rough demo of it, and I was just like, 'wow.'"
• Raised Mormon, Archuleta went through what he called a "faith crisis" when he realized he was gay, as same-sex relationships are forbidden in the church. He didn't come out until 2021, when he was 30.
  
  When he started dating men, he really connected to this song for the first time. "I was like, 'Oh, so this is what it feels like to like someone,'" he told People in 2022. "Now I see why everyone relates to my song."