"How We Do (Party)" is a song by the English singer Rita Ora from her debut studio album, Ora (2012). The song was written by Andrew Harr, Bonnie McKee, Christopher Wallace, Hal Davis, Jermaine Jackson, Willie Hutch and seven others, and produced by Kelly Sheehan, Kuk Harrell, the Monarch and the Runners. It was released as the lead single from the album for digital download and streaming by Columbia and Roc Nation in various countries on 20 March 2012. Sampling the refrain from the Notorious B.I.G.'s "Party and Bullshit" (1993), it is a dance and pop song, exploring the story of Ora warding off her hangover by falling in love with her love interest. The song received moderate responses from music critics, who mostly applauded the music and sound, while others compared it to the works of Jessie J, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga.

"How We Do (Party)" topped the record charts of Ireland, Scotland and the United Kingdom, and reached the top 10 in Australia, Japan and New Zealand. The song further peaked at number 62 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Dance Club Songs as well as number 68 on the Canadian Hot 100. It attained a platinum certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in the UK and a gold certification from Recorded Music New Zealand (RMNZ) in New Zealand, as well as a double platinum certification from the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) in Australia. An accompanying music video was directed by Marc Klasfeld and released to YouTube on 17 April 2012, depicting the singer with a group of people on a party in different settings. It attracted praise for Ora's signature-described appearance with red lipstick and platinum blonde hair. To promote the song, she performed it on several occasions, including The Jonathan Ross Show, MTV Unplugged and Isle of MTV.

Background and composition

"How We Do (Party)" was written by Alexander Delicata, Andre Davidson, Andrew Harr, Berry Gordy Jr., Bob West, Bonnie McKee, Christopher Wallace, Hal Davis, Jermaine Jackson, Kelly Sheehan, Osten Harvey Jr., Sean Davidson and Willie Hutch. Note: Click on the three dots on the right of the track to display the credits. Its production was handled by Sheehan, Kuk Harrell, the Monarch and the Runners. The song was released for digital download and streaming by Columbia and Roc Nation on 20 March 2012 as the lead single from Ora's debut studio album Ora (2012). Several remixes, including ones by Gustavo Scorpio, Laidback Luke, Papercha$er and Sandro Silva, accompanied the single's release as part of an extended play (EP). Musically, "How We Do (Party)" is a dance and pop song, sampling the refrain from American rapper Notorious B.I.G.'s single "Party and Bullshit" (1993). Ora's vocals in the song span from a low note of B3 to a high note of E5. The song is composed in time and the key of G major with a tempo of 116 beats per minute and a chord progression of G–C-Em-C. Singing over an acoustic guitar, its lyrics explore the story of Ora warding off her hangover by falling in love with her love interest, who is passed out on the floor. Lyrics include: "Cause when the sun sets, baby/ On the avenue/ I get that drunk sex feeling/ Yeah, when I'm with you/ So put your arms around me, baby/ We're tearing up the town/ Cause that's just how we do".

Critical reception Upon release, music critics acclaimed "How We Do (Party)" as an empowering, infectious club and party anthem. Several comparisons to other electronic dance-pop hits at the time were made. A Digital Spy critic placed the song somewhere between "the carefree nature of Lady Gaga's 'Just Dance' and the addictiveness of Katy Perry's 'Last Friday Night' ". On a similar note, Laurence Green from MusicOMH further compared it to "Last Friday Night" as well as to Jessie J's "Domino" (2011), stating that it is "so similar you'd be forgiven for thinking a computer managed to subsume and replicate the two songs into this". Chris Richards for The Washington Post felt that "it's sweetly disorientinglike a Kesha lyric trapped in a Miley Cyrus melody".

Commercial performance In the spring of 2012, "How We Do (Party)" made the top-ten in Australia Australian and New Zealand Singles Chart. It received a gold certification from the Recorded Music New Zealand (RMNZ) in New Zealand and a double platinum award from the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) in Australia for selling 7,500 and 140,000 units, respectively. Then, it debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart issue dated 25 August 2012. The song became Ora's third chart-topping single in the United Kingdom and spent a total of 19 weeks on the chart. In 2014, it received a platinum certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales and streams of 600,000 units in the country. The song also was number one in Ireland and Scotland. That same summer,

The same summer, "How We Do (Party)" charted in North America, peaking in the 60s on Billboards Hot 100 charts for Canada and the US. In the United States, "How We Do (Party)" spent three weeks on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart, before entering the Hot 100 at number 96 and reaching its summit at number 62 on the chart dated 7 July 2012. The song did particularly well on the radio and in clubs. It was a Dance Club Songs charttopper and a top-40 hit on charts measuring the Mainstream Top 40 and Rhythmic radio formats. On the Japan Hot 100, where the minority of entries are from English-language Western artists, "How We Do (Party)" was a top-five hit. It became the 98th best-performing song on the chart in the 2013 Billboard tracking year.

Promotion

The official music video for "How We Do (Party)" was uploaded to Ora's YouTube channel on 17 April 2012, preceded by the release of a teaser, approximately a week before. Behind-the-scenes footage from the song's video was published on the singer's channel on 10 August. Directed by American director Marc Klasfeld, Ora stated that the music video was a big party with "no judgment" along with a bunch of people in there, saying "It's definitely about embracing anyone who wants to come to a party." The video commences with a group of partying people, dancing in a dark-coloured setting and sporting bright clothes. In the following scene, Ora enters the setting and begins to sing the song. Further interspersed shots show the singer partying on several other settings, alternating between a "lush" garden at twilight, a foil-wrapped bedroom and a white-cube space filled with guests, where she uses their torsos as "paint brushes".

Thomas from MTV labelled the video as "effervescent" and compared Ora's appearance throughout the video to that of American singers Faith Evans and Gwen Stefani, writing that "with a red knit cap pulled down over platinum-blond curls, [Ora] called to mind a cross between [...] Evans and Stefani". For the aforementioned website's Lansky, the video has everything, ranging from Viking hats and American flag-embroidered leather jackets to "ferocious" purple suede heels and dip-dyed coloured bathing suits, including Ora in her "signature" red lipstick and "platinum" blonde hair.

On 1 May 2012, Ora performed an acoustic version of the song on Billboard's The Juice episode. At another occasion, the singer presented the song at BBC Radio 1's Hackney Weekend at the Hackney Marshes, London, on 23 June 2012. On 18 August 2012, she gave a performance of it on The Jonathan Ross Show. Another performance took place at the Jingle Bell Ball concert in London on 9 December 2012, closing her performance with the song. Further footage of Ora performing "How We Do (Party)" was broadcast during MTV's Unplugged series on 17 September 2012 as well as on the 11th edition of the Isle of MTV in Floriana, Malta, on 23 June 2013.

Copyright lawsuit

In 2016, American writer Abiodun Oyewole, a founding member of the Last Poets, filed a copyright infringement suit against Ora, rapper Christopher Wallace known as the Notorious B.I.G. and several other songwriters and producers over their use of the phrase "party and bullshit". The phrase appeared on Wallace's single "Party and Bullshit", which Ora sampled on "How We Do (Party)". Oyewole alleged that "[they] publish[ed] and distribute[d] [...] the crescendo, hook, text, lyrics and sound" of his single "When the Revolution Comes" (1968) without his permission. He further stated that the phrase is meant to "challenge[] and encourage[] people to NOT waste time with 'party and bullshit', but to move towards success". On 4 September 2019, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York judge Robert Katzmann ruled that the artist's use of the line did not constitute copyright infringement and that Ora and Wallace were well within their rights to use it in their songs. The court further stated that "Party and Bullshit" and "How We Do (Party)" "sufficiently transformed the purpose of [the line] from something to be condemned or shunned 'to something glorified', and one embracing and enjoying the 'party and bullshit' culture".

Track listing

Digital download and streaming "How We Do (Party)"4:06

Digital download and streamingExtended play (EP) "How We Do (Party)"4:06 "How We Do (Party)" (Gustavo Scorpio Club Mix)7:33 "How We Do (Party)" (Papercha$er Club Remix)6:11 "How We Do (Party)" (Sandro Silva Extended Club Mix)5:36 "How We Do (Party)" (Laidback Luke Club Remix)5:12

Charts

Weekly charts

+ Chart (2012) Peakposition Euro Digital Song Sales (Billboard) 1 Global Dance Songs (Billboard)12 Romania (Airplay 100) If the user accesses the link, the respective podcast will start downloading automatically. 62

Year-end charts

+ Chart (2012) Position Australia (ARIA) 84 UK Singles (OCC) 50 US Dance Club Songs (Billboard) 2

Chart (2013) Position Japan (Japan Hot 100) 98

Certifications

Release history

+ Release dates and formats for "How We Do (Party)" Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Various 20 March 2012 United States 24 April 2012 Contemporary hit radio

See also List of Billboard Dance Club Songs number ones of 2012 List of number-one singles of 2012 (Ireland) List of songs subject to plagiarism disputes List of UK Singles Chart number ones of the 2010s

Notes

References