"Booty" is a song by American singer Jennifer Lopez from her eighth studio album, A.K.A. (2014). It was written and produced by Cory Rooney, Lopez, and Benny Medina, with additional writing from Chris Brown, Pitbull (Lopez's frequent collaborator who is also the featured artist), Diplo, and others. "Booty" samples "Dat a Freak", a song by Diplo and Swick. Initially entitled "Big Booty", the song was first rejected by Lopez who did not like the idea of having a song with a title like that. However, after playing the demo for her kids and seeing that they enjoyed the track, Lopez was convinced to record it.
"Booty" is a dance track with Middle Eastern influences and heavy percussion while its lyrics portrait Lopez inviting girls to the dancefloor to have a good time and dance, while shaking their buttocks. The song received generally favorable reviews from music critics, with many complimenting the song's fun nature, the dance environment and Pitbull's appearance, but a few dismissed its concept. Commercially, "Booty" performed moderately worldwide. It became a top twenty hit in the United States, charting at number eighteen on the US Billboard Hot 100, and reached number 2 in India and Russia, as well as the top forty in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, among other music markets.
Lopez performed a snippet of the track during a concert and eventually premiered it full at an Orchard Beach concert. She has also performed the song on Good Morning America and at Fashion Rocks. A one-minute teaser clip for the track was released on June 13, 2014, and it features Lopez and a group of women twerking. The teaser-video received high praise for its visuals and choreography, while Lopez was complimented by critics for looking rejuvenated and younger.
"Booty" was officially remixed with vocals from Australian rapper Iggy Azalea, replacing those of Pitbull. It was released as the third single from the album on August 24, 2014. The remix received generally positive reviews from critics, who commended Azalea for adding an explosive verse to the song. The music video for the remix was shot in Los Angeles in late August, and was directed by Hype Williams. It premiered on September 18, 2014, and it shows Lopez and Azalea dancing in revealing swimming costumes, before being drenched with water. Lopez and Azalea performed "Booty" for the first time together on live television at the American Music Awards on November 23, 2014.
Production and release
In 2014, Lopez received a demo of a song called "Big Booty", produced by Diplo, and was encouraged to record the track, with everybody indicating that it was the type of track she needed to do. However, Lopez claimed: "Never in my life will I do a song called 'Big Booty', it would never happen," explaining that she felt it was going to be a joke and the album was very important. After some reluctance, Lopez ended up writing the track and played the demo in her car to see if it would work. While playing some tracks in her car, with her twins, Lopez stated that they instantly loved that the track: "As soon as they heard 'Big Booty' they went crazy. They loved this song and because of that I recorded it," she admitted. During a brunch where she debuted multiple songs from A.K.A., Lopez spoke of the track, saying: "I didn't allow myself to be put in a box. On this album, I did all of it. This is who I am and I have to embrace all of that and be as honest as I can be."
When Lopez released her eighth studio album, A.K.A., she enlisted Australian rapper Iggy Azalea as a last-minute addition. Azalea contributed to the track "Acting Like That" and claimed she was honoured to be part of the remix, because she "used to sit in [her] bedroom as a young girl and lip-sync Jennifer Lopez songs, so it's very cool to have a song with her on her album." They also performed "Acting Like That" for the first time during a concert at B96′s Summer Bash in Chicago and eventually became friends, with Lopez also appearing on Azalea's MTV fashion show House of Style. During their interview, Lopez revealed that "Booty" would be her next single and confirmed Azalea as the featuring guest. Lopez told that Azalea "did something on it and obviously because [they] have that in common," she says referencing their buttocks. Azalea completed that they "have high fashion booty."
"Booty" was released on September 23, 2014, for digital download. Lopez also posted the single's cover art, featuring both artists posing in swimsuits and heels, with wet hair and sultry stares and Lopez's buttocks nearly touching Azalea's. Jim Farber of New York Daily News wrote that the single's cover art "doubles the pleasure and doubles the fun, playing off the idea of a high-level booty summit as the two singers model the same swimwear and same flanks." Azalea's verses replace those of Pitbull, whose verses were about Lopez's buttocks-related skills. Azalea instead talks about her own skills, with the rapper singing, "They begging me drop down on ‘em, but right now, Iggy on the top/The last time the world seen a booty this good, it was on Jenny from the Block".
Composition and lyrics "Booty" was written by Jennifer Lopez, Cory Rooney, Benny Medina, Chris Brown, Pitbull, Asia Bryant, Lewis D. Gittus, Tedra Renee Wilson, Danny Omerhodic and Diplo. It was produced by Lopez, Rooney and Medina, while Pitbull is featured on the track, becoming the sixth time he and Lopez collaborated in a song. The song also samples "Dat a Freak" by Diplo & Swick (featuring TT the Artist and Lewis CanCut). "Booty" was considered the only dance track on the album, adding a quirky Middle Eastern vibe into the mix. Saeed Saeed of The National also noted that the song has "heavy percussion and Oriental keyboard riff." Alexa Camp of Slant Magazine described the song's lyrical content as "a tribute to ladies who are, uh, 'booty-full'." Lopez claimed that lyrically, it's about owning everything about you and who you are, and embracing that." Katie Hasty wrote for HitFix that, lyrically, "she is admiring others' [booties] and gazing at them on other people, while she is flaunting her own for you." Hasty also noted that in the song Lopez is "both the objectifier and the object."
Critical reception
Pitbull version Reception towards the song was positive, with many critics praising the song's fun nature and Pitbull verses. Amaya Mendizabal of Billboard praised the track, calling it "a massive dance record," writing that the potential hit "begs for a dance troop and some serious choreography." Mike Wass of Idolator agreed, naming it a "surefire dance smash for the summer." Wass also praised Lopez and Pitbull collaboration, writing that it is "next-level in comparison to [Lopez's] previous outings with [Pitbull]." Rory Cashin of The Irish Times also praised Pitbull verses, calling them "fun" (noting that they never thought they'd actually write those words) and praised Lopez "on her most flirtatiously playful." In the same vein, Spin Anupa Mistry called Pitbull's verse "voracious", writing that it's "an inspired pairing" that would likely perform well on radio.
Lydia Jenkin of The New Zealand Herald remarked that "though 'Booty' might have some of the most ridiculous lyrics she has ever been involved with, you know it is going to spend months being spun round club dance floors, and has some of that Beyoncé-ish military drum beat appeal that works so well with urban choreography." Phil Mogredien of The Observer was more critical with the song, writing that the song finds Lopez and Pitbull "celebrating big arses in spectacularly risible fashion." Devone Jones of PopMatters criticized her vocals, but praised its production and Pitbull's appearance, commenting: The last song on the album, 'Booty', inspires very little hope that she will ever get out of the I-must-stop-teaming-up-with-Pitbull phase of her career. As usual, she doesn’t have the edginess to pull the vocals off, but Pitbull adds any flavour Jennifer should have injected. He may come up with anything new, but it at least helps the production, which is some of the best production on the album due to Diplo’s hand in it. Its dance-ability helps lift JLo’s lackluster and plain vocals."
Iggy Azalea version
The remix gathered positive reaction from music critics. Bradley Stern wrote for Idolator that "it should come as no surprise that Iggy Azalea's newly polished remix of Jennifer Lopez's ode to the booty, 'Booty,' is a booty-ful delight." Website Rap-Up praised the remix for "add[ing] an explosive verse to the bombastic banger." Brennan Carley of Spin enjoyed the track, claiming that Azalea "stomps in with some much stronger words for the haters than the ones Taylor Swift lobbed on 'Shake It Off'." Nolan Feeney of Time noted that Azalea appearance is now "thankfully on hand to inject the song with a little extra stuffing." Jim Farber of New York Daily News wrote that, musically, "the new take has more oopmh, courtesy of Azalea's rapid flow, not to mention the added story line of J. Lo playing butt-mentor to the new curvy flavor of the month." However, Farber also noted that "even in the remix, the song won't be as fetching to most fans as the women's figures. It has a fairly routine club beat, and Lopez' vocal remains pale and thin." Farber went on to comment on A.K.A lackluster sales and how Azalea could help Lopez to regain success on the charts.
Commercial performance For the week of September 24, 2014, it debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 18, becoming the second highest debut of her career (behind only "On the Floor", also featuring Pitbull, which started at number 9 in 2011). "Booty" also marked the highest-charting Hot 100 entry from A.K.A. and her best single on the charts since 2012's "Dance Again", which peaked at number 17. Billboard reported that 92 percent of its Hot 100 points were attributed to streaming, as "Booty" entered the Billboard Streaming Songs chart with 9.2 million streams; 96 percent of which were Vevo on YouTube views. The song topped the Hot Dance Club Songs, becoming her 16th number-one there, surpassing Katy Perry to rank 7th overall for the most Billboard club chart-toppers. "Booty" was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on April 10, 2015.
In Canada, the song became the "Hot Shot Debut" on the Canadian Hot 100 chart, debuting at number 11. It became her highest debut on the chart to date, surpassing "Dance Again," which started at number 13. In other countries, "Booty" had moderate impact. In Australia, it debuted at number 27, its peak position, falling to number 44 the following week. In New Zealand, the song spent a week inside the "Recorded Music NZ" at number 30. In France, the song went on to debut and peak at number 93, one hundred positions higher than the album's lead-single, "First Love".
Teaser video