"Do What U Want" is a song by American singer Lady Gaga from her third studio album, Artpop (2013). Featuring guest vocals from American singer R. Kelly, the song was released as the album's second single on October 21, 2013, by Streamline and Interscope Records. The lyrics involve Gaga's declaring that her thoughts, dreams, and feelings are her own regardless of anything other people say. She wrote and produced "Do What U Want" alongside Paul "DJ White Shadow" Blair, with additional writing from Kelly, Martin "Tchami" Bresso and William "DJ Snake" Grigahcine. Blair first presented Gaga with the song's initial concept two years prior to its release. Production on "Do What U Want" was completed in 2013, with Kelly's vocals added soon after. Its sudden popularity upon premiering led to the song becoming the second single from Artpop.
Musically, "Do What U Want" is a mid-tempo synth-pop, electropop and R&B song featuring 1980s-style synthesizers and an electronic instrumental track. The lyrics discuss the media's appetite for publishing opinion and critique, with Gaga telling detractors that her thoughts, dreams and feelings are her own, no matter what one does with her body. Upon its release, "Do What U Want" received generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised the song's simplicity and production. The single cover for "Do What U Want", a close-up of Gaga's buttocks in a floral thong, was photographed by American fashion photographer Terry Richardson, who had also directed the song's accompanying music video. The video was planned to be released through BitTorrent in December 2013 but was cancelled for unknown reasons.
"Do What U Want" was a commercial success, topping the charts in Greece and Hungary while peaking within the top 10 in Austria, Canada, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Lebanon, Norway, Scotland, South Korea, Spain, and the United Kingdom as well as the top 20 in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. Live performances of the song were televised on the 2013 American Music Awards, Alan Carr: Chatty Man, Saturday Night Live, The Voice and The X Factor. Several remixes of "Do What U Want" were released, including ones with guest vocals from American singer Christina Aguilera and American rapper Rick Ross.
On January 10, 2019, Gaga decided to have "Do What U Want" removed from music streaming services after the airing of a television documentary, Surviving R. Kelly, exposed new allegations of sexual misconduct and assault by Kelly, who had previously been charged regarding similar accusations in 2002 but was acquitted in 2008. The song was removed from new vinyl and CD pressings of Artpop in November 2019.
Writing and development "Do What U Want" was co-written by Gaga, Paul "DJ White Shadow" Blair, R. Kelly, Martin "Tchami" Bresso and William "DJ Snake" Grigahcine. It was produced by Blair and Gaga and features vocals by Kelly. Gaga had been living in Chicago and completing the songs for Artpop, which was being influenced by the R&B and hip hop music predominant there. After seeing a news article discussing her weight, Gaga decided to write a song protesting what she called "shallow journalism". She also wanted to create something different from her past hits, after the release of the first single from the album, "Applause".
Blair recalled how in 2011 his friend Martin was playing him a particular beat from his own remix project. Blair liked the music and presented it to Gaga who had begun writing the song's lyrics while on the Born This Way Ball tour. Blair described its beat as "some space age George Jetson R&B sound". After the lyrics were completed in September 2013, Blair suggested bringing Kelly on board as a collaborator. Kelly was in the process of completing his album, Black Panties, and agreed to participate following a telephone conversation with Gaga. Kelly told Billboard that working with the singer was "natural jelling". Gaga told MTV News about the song: I've been living in Chicago and spending a lot of time there, and that's where R. Kelly hails from. I was working on Artpop and I wrote ['Do What U Want'] on tour. It was about my obsession with the way people view me. I have always been an R. Kelly fan and actually it is like an epic pastime in the Haus of Gaga that we just get fucked up and play R. Kelly. This is a real R&B song and I [said 'I] have to call the king of R&B and I need his blessing.' It was a mutual love.
Recording and composition
"Do What U Want" is a mid-tempo synth-pop, electropop and R&B song, drawing influence from 1980s-inspired throbbing synths and an electronic beat. Eric R. Danton of Rolling Stone described it as a "muscular club beat". James Montgomery from MTV News said that a "lurching, lascivious beat" was the main backbone of the song, interspersed with Gaga's loud-voiced vocals, a "corky" chorus and Kelly's "cool, coital" singing. The song's chorus is built around arpeggios. Complex described its "Do what you want, what you want with my body" hook as "catchy and somewhat raunchy". The song's lyrics represent Gaga telling off detractors that her thoughts, dreams, and feelings are her own, no matter what one says about her. Jim Farber of New York Daily News suggested "Do What U Want" to be a response to "everyone who ever made a tart comment about her — which, by now, involves half the planet". Gaga and Kelly alternate singing the lines "Do what u want/ What u want with my body/ Do what u want/ What u want with my body/ Write what you want, say what you want about me/ If you want you know that I'm not sorry".
According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com, "Do What U Want" is set in the time signature of common time, with a moderate tempo of 96 beats per minute. It is composed in the key of F minor with Gaga's vocals ranging from the notes of E3 to F5. The song follows a basic sequence of D–E–Fm–E–D–E as its chord progression. "Do What U Want" was recorded at Record Plant Studios in Hollywood, California and at PatchWerk Recording Studios, in Atlanta, Georgia. Gaga's vocals were recorded by Dave Russell and Bill Malina, while Kelly's by Abel Garibaldi and Ian Moonness. Russell held primary mixing of the track at Record Plant, with additional support from Benjamin Rice, Ghazi Hourani, Zane Shoemake, and Dino "SpeedoVee" Zisis. The song's instrumentals include guitars by Tim Stewart, programming by Rick Pearl, and audio mastering done by Gene Grimaldi at Oasis Mastering Studios in Burbank, California.
Release and promotion
On September 3, 2013, Gaga asked her fans through Twitter to help her choose the second single: options given were "Manicure", "Sexxx Dreams", "Aura" and "Swine". On September 20, 2013, Gaga announced that "Venus" had been chosen as the second single, and that it would be released before the album. A snippet of "Do What U Want" debuted in a US commercial for Best Buy/Beats on October 17, 2013. It was also used in promotion for British mobile company, O2, as part of their "Be More Dog" campaign. Because of how popular "Do What U Want" quickly became upon its premiere on October 21, 2013, when topping various iTunes charts, Gaga and her label decided to release that as the second official single from Artpop, instead of "Venus". "Do What U Want" officially impacted Italian radio stations four days later, and on October 30, 2013, in the UK. The song impacted mainstream and rhythmic contemporary radio stations in the United States six days afterwards. Lipshutz compared the song's last-minute release to that of "Judas" from Born This Way in April 2011. After quick commercial success, the label soon decided to rush a single release.
The first promotional artwork features Gaga naked with moss covering her genitals. The single's official cover art was released on October 21, showing Gaga's backside, wearing a floral thong. The cover art was shot by photographer Terry Richardson. In an interview with German television station ProSieben, Gaga explained that the explicit imagery for the cover art was due to the constant criticism and discussion surrounding her, adding that "When I look at how society has changed, I feel like this is a good time to show you my ass, because it's all I choose to give you."
According to Digital Spy's Catherine Earp, the shoot resembles a polaroid. Leigh Silver from Complex magazine compared it to Andy Warhol's polaroid series, where the artist shot pictures of blonds and their rear. Hilary Hughes from Esquire called the cover art "awful" but felt that the image paved way for much imagination in lieu of the suggestive theme of the song. The night before the song's release, Gaga tweeted lyrics of "Do What U Want" in reference to critics and rumors that had surfaced throughout her career, including those claiming the singer to be a hermaphrodite, gaining weight in 2012, and her drug addiction. She also addressed media fabrications on her alleged negative relationships with Madonna and Katy Perry. Alex Camp from Slant Magazine felt Gaga's stunt cheapened the song's intent, pointing out how it highlighted the singer's preoccupation with social media and her public image.
Critical reception
Upon release, "Do What U Want" received generally positive response from reviewers. Lars Brandle of Billboard, Slant Magazine contributor Alexa Camp, and Kevin Fallon from The Daily Beast compared Gaga's vocals to those of Aguilera. Camp describes the track as "a measured electro banger that smartly doubles as a love song." Brandle complimented the song as "radio-friendly" and concluded that "Gaga is in good form." Lipshutz, also from Billboard, the same publication wrote that the song and its lyrics were a "thrilling listen, intoxicatingly defiant". Fallon was highly enthusiastic toward the song, calling it "pure pop heaven" and giving his praise to its "chorus that will make it a radio hit..... and driving, danceable beat throughout." Dharmic X from Complex praised "Do What U Want" as "catchy". Latifah Muhammad from Black Entertainment Television felt that "Between the two, Kelly seems the furthest of his sonic comfort zone but nestles into a groove over the dance beat" and described the track as "musical genius".
Jim Farber of New York Daily News gave the song four out of five stars, saying that the "music provides its own quirk. To match the R&B-style beat — and the guest appearance by R. Kelly — Gaga finds a new soul edge to her voice. She belts, scoring a hit in every sense." Slate magazine's Aisha Harris felt that Gaga and Kelly's efforts worked "surprisingly well". Nidhi Tewari of International Business Times said that Gaga sounded her "rebellious best" on the upbeat song. Lewis Corner from Digital Spy gave the song four out of five stars, stating that its "ear-snagging melody revives some of her earlier pop perfection." Hilary Hughes from Esquire felt that Kelly's guest appearance on the song, improved its quality much more than the preceding single "Applause". Hughes added that Gaga's Whitney Houston-esque vocals are elevated further by Kelly's "standard, soaring tenor". "Do What U Want" was listed as one of the 100 Best Songs Of 2013 by Rolling Stone, ranked at number 17.