Mad Over You

"Mad Over You"
Single by Runtown
ReleasedNovember 4, 2016
Recorded2016
Genre
Length3:35
LabelEric Many Entertainment
SongwriterDouglas Jack
Producers
Runtown singles chronology
"Vybz Kartel Music"
(2016)		 "Mad Over You"
(2016)		 "Kilogram"
(2016)

"Mad Over You" is a song by Nigerian singer Runtown, released on November 4, 2016.[1] It was primarily produced by Del B, along with production assistance from Runtown and T-Spize.[2] Described as a love-themed ballad, "Mad Over You" is a blend of highlife, R&B, and Pon Pon.[2][3] It debuted at number 38 on the Billboard Twitter Top Tracks chart, marking the singer's first appearance on Billboard. As of March 2017, "Mad Over You" garnered over 2 million streams on Spotify. It was nominated for Song of the Year at The Headies 2018 and for Best Single at the 2017 Nigeria Entertainment Awards.

Background and promotion

In March 2017, Runtown told Pulse Nigeria's Joey Akan that he recorded "Mad Over You" while embroiled in a contractual dispute with Eric Many Entertainment.[2] Two weeks prior to his U.S tour in mid-2016, he worked with Del B on musical ideas for the song. Del B told Akan that "Mad Over You" was the last of two songs recorded during his session with Runtown.[2] Tanzanian singer Vanessa Mdee was present in the studio when Del B and Runtown worked on the song's instrumental and flute, respectively. Runtown later contacted TSpize to provide guitar work.[2]

Lyrically, "Mad Over You" is about a Ghanaian girl Runtown admires. Musically, it has a bouncy rhythm and is infused with percussion, guitar, and a flute. In an email exchange with The Fader magazine, Runtown said the song is inspired by African beauty.[1] In 2016, Runtown performed the song at Citi FM's Decemba 2 Remember concert, and at Sarkodie's annual Rapperholic concert.[4] In April 2017, the singer performed the song at the season finale of Big Brother Naija.[5]

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Mad Over You" was directed by Clarence Peters and uploaded to YouTube on December 7, 2016.[6] It features a small group of women, who displayed several different fashion pieces and body art.[7] A writer for Joss magazine criticized the music video for not complementing the song's lyrics, saying the "choice for location in itself is an epic failure."[8] In February 2020, the video for "Mad Over You" surpassed 100 million views on YouTube.[9]

Covers

In December 2016, Nigerian musician Mr Eazi released a cover of the song.[10] In January 2017, Ghanaian singer Nana Yaa released her rendition of the song.[11] Jamaican dancehall artist Ding Dong covered the song in October 2017, pairing his version with a dance move he created called Lebeh Lebeh.[12] In April 2018, Cobhams Asuquo and Sizzy Benjamin released a joint cover of "Mad Over You"; the original version's highlife guitar chords were removed in favor of electric guitar licks.[13]

Commercial performance

"Mad Over You" debuted at number 38 on the Billboard Twitter Top Tracks chart, marking the singer's first appearance on the chart.[14] As of March 2017, "Mad Over You" garnered over 2 million streams on the streaming media service Spotify.[15] The song received two million downloads on MyNotJustOk, becoming the most downloaded song of 2017 on the platform.[16]

Critical reception

Gabriel Myers Hansen, whose review was posted on the E News Ghana website, described the song as a tribute to Ghana and said it "makes it into favorable places in history because of the sheer majesty of its swing".[4] Joey Akan of Pulse Nigeria called it a "mid-tempo song which can coast through you initially, but eventually envelopes you with its synths, mellow drum patterns and more."[7] TooXclusive's Jim Donnett praised Runtown for adapting the Ghanaian Alkayida sound to deliver a hit.[17] A writer for The Native said the song explores themes of love and likened the track to "For Life", which was released in May 2017.[18]

Accolades

Year Awards ceremony Award description(s) Results Ref.
2018 The Headies Best Pop Single Nominated [19]
Song of the Year Nominated
Viewer's Choice Nominated
2017 Ghana-Naija Showbiz Awards Song of the Year Won [20]
Nigeria Entertainment Awards Best Single Nominated [21]

Charts

Chart performance for Mad Over You
Chart (2025) Peak
position
Nigeria (TurnTable Top 100)[22] 90

References

  1. 1 2 Amber Alexander (4 November 2016). "Nigerian Star Runtown Is In Love With Ghanaian Beauty On "Mad Over You"". The Fader. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Joey Akan (10 March 2017). "How Runtown, Del'B, Tspize created Nigeria's hottest single [Video]". Pulse. Archived from the original on 13 May 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  3. ↑ Sabo Kpade (October 25, 2017). "The 10 Songs That Define Nigeria's 'Pon Pon' Sound". OkayAfrica. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
  4. 1 2 Gabriel Myers Hansen (19 January 2017). "REVIEW: Why Ghana is mad over Runtown's "Mad Over You"". E News Ghana. Archived from the original on 6 July 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  5. ↑ "Nigeria: #BBNaija - 2baba, Tiwa Savage, Runtown to Perform At Grand Finale". allAfrica. 6 April 2017. Archived from the original on 10 April 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  6. ↑ "VIDEO: Runtown – "Mad Over You"". TooXclusive. 8 December 2016. Archived from the original on 30 April 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  7. 1 2 Joey Akan (8 December 2016). "Singer scores a late 2016 hit song with 'Mad Over You'". Pulse. Archived from the original on 24 May 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  8. ↑ "Affluent Love in Sunken Embers: A Review of Runtown's "Mad Over You" Music Video". Joss Magazine. 3 March 2017. Archived from the original on 28 May 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  9. ↑ Motolani Alake (10 February 2020). "Runtown's 'Mad Over You' hits 100 million views on YouTube". Pulse Nigeria. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
  10. ↑ Jasper Efe (31 December 2016). "Runtown – Mad Over You[Cover]". Daily Post. Lagos, Nigeria. Archived from the original on 26 May 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  11. ↑ "NanaYaa drops 'SuperWoman' a remix of Runtown's 'Mad Over You'". Ghana Web. 6 January 2017. Archived from the original on 11 May 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  12. ↑ DingDongVEVO (2017-10-23), DING DONG - LEBEH LEBEH (Official Video), archived from the original on 2018-04-30, retrieved 2018-02-27
  13. ↑ "Cobhams Asuquo and Sizzy Benjamin cover Runtown's "Mad Over You"". The Native. 19 April 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
  14. ↑ Idoko Salihu (7 January 2017). "Wizkid, Runtown make Billboard Twitter Top Tracks chart". Premium Times. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  15. ↑ Joey Akan (23 March 2017). "Believe it or not, 'Do like that' has over 11 million streams on Spotify". Pulse. Archived from the original on 19 May 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  16. ↑ "Runtown's 'Mad over you' is most downloaded song of 2017". Nigerian Tribune. January 3, 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
  17. ↑ Jim Donnett (16 January 2017). "Runtown's "Mad Over You" … Not So MAD?". TooXclusive. Archived from the original on 18 May 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  18. ↑ ""For Life" is basically "Mad over you" 2.0 but we don't care". The Native. 15 May 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
  19. ↑ Praise, Billy (5 May 2018). "The HEADIES 2018: Full List Of Winners". The Guardian. Lagos, Nigeria. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  20. ↑ "Ghana's 24/7 news platform wins "Best Entertainment Website" award at 2017 Ghana-Naija Showbiz Awards". Pulse Ghana. 18 May 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  21. ↑ Durosomo, Damola (11 July 2017). "Wizkid, Davido, Tiwa Savage, Jidenna and More Nominated For 2017 Nigeria Entertainment Awards". OkayAfrica. Archived from the original on 6 November 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  22. ↑ "TurnTable Nigeria Top 100: March 14th, 2025 – March 20th, 2025". TurnTable. Archived from the original on March 25, 2025. Retrieved March 25, 2025.
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