When I’m crushing on a guy I develop a deeply embarrassing habit of arranging my life around the possibility of seeing him. One spring, a guy working at the wine shop near my apartment had me timing my runs for the hours he was there, telling myself I was simply being practical while my attention was doing a whole other fucking thing. I knew the wine aisle by heart and had suddenly become a woman with very serious opinions about pinot because I wanted a few more seconds of conversation with a man whose name I barely knew. A fresh crush can turn a regular Thursday into a full little production, and I would choose an outfit twice and rehearse how casual I planned to seem all the way there. One glance from him had already become a private fantasy before he even said hello, which was probably a little unwell of me but very familiar. Kate Schettler’s ‘Boi Crazy’ understands that beautiful kind of temporary madness. I pressed play and went straight back to that wine aisle, pretending I was there for the pinot.
Kate wrote “boi crazy” in that delicious first-stage haze of a new relationship, when every text feels loaded and every look gets replayed in the shower. Trusting the moment feels sexier than picking it apart with your friends for six business days. She started it alone at the piano, then took it into the studio to fill out the harmonies and background vocals until the whole thing had that bright, fluttery rush of a summer crush getting a little too much control over her schedule. The spoken-word moments give it a flirty ’90s pop flavor, all diary entries and glossy lip balm, but Kate is a Philadelphia girl and that Philly soul DNA runs through this shit. “boi crazy” feels warm and romantic, letting a good feeling be a good feeling. Frankly, sometimes a hot guy makes a girl lose the plot enough to write a song about it. Good for her.
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Kate opens with “What’s gotten into me? / What’s coming over me? / I think I’m a bit boy crazy / I’m crazy for you boy.” She knows a crush can put an electric current through the smallest details, which is how I have ended up in front of a mirror dressed in a black leather mini because a man I barely knew smiled at me the previous Tuesday. A brush of his fingers at a bar can keep a woman thinking for days, and Kate carries that restless fixation with a smile in her voice and a little sway in her delivery, making a minor flirtation feel fucking dangerous.
She drifts deeper into the haze on “I think I’m a little hazy / I’m feeling a little lazy / I think I’m in infatuated / Sedated elated.” That part of a crush is basically your brain choosing candlelight over common sense, with your shoulders dropping as the day slows around the stupid hope that he’ll text. Kate holds onto the softness in that scattered little mood, and her phrasing gives every damn word room to breathe until distraction becomes elegant.
By the time she reaches “I think I’m intoxicated / Really isn’t complicated / I just like the way we move / We vibe and we groove,” Kate makes attraction feel simple enough to trust, keeping the focus on the easy movement of two people who already know how to fall into step. Her piano keeps the groove low while the spoken moments make the room feel private enough for a slow smile across the table. A hand lingering near yours can make one more drink feel fucking necessary.
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The final turn arrives with “I’m into you / Walls are coming down / Trust fall / Down,” and the flirtation moves toward something more vulnerable. Attraction gets really sexy when a woman decides someone deserves a little faith, and I have felt it after a conversation ran late and his attention stayed steady enough to quiet every other thought. Kate gives the melody room to hold that feeling, keeping its bright gloss while the emotion moves closer.
This girl’s résumé is fucking stacked! Kate Schettler was already singing and playing piano as a little girl – long before boys had done enough fuckery to become the subject matter. She studied musical theater at Syracuse, then started writing and performing in Nashville. Atlanta came next before she brought the whole thing to Los Angeles. Along the way, she spent years as a worship leader and music director. That history is why her voice can pull you close without begging for your attention. Tori Kelly and Alicia Keys sit deep in the foundation, while Ariana Grande and Ella Mai bring the flirt that gives her pop its gloss. RAYE and H.E.R. sharpen the writing enough to make you listen twice, but music isn’t the only place Kate gets to show off. Kate has appeared on The Bold and the Beautiful, then made time for General Hospital. Hightown is on the list too, because apparently she looked at one creative lane and said, “Cute, but I’m bored.” She has spent her whole life building the kind of career that makes a girl lean into her friend on the dance floor and go, “Wait, who the fuck is this?”
That wine-shop crush never turned into anything, and by June I had learned his girlfriend liked cabernet, which made the whole fantasy feel fucking silly. The pinot aisle remains a little embarrassing for me, though the version of myself who could walk into a store with a stupid hope and leave glowing from one glance had her charms. Kate lets her have that moment on ‘Boi Crazy,’ giving the flirtation enough warmth to stay sweet even as it tips toward a little recklessness. I will take that kind of temporary madness every time.
