"Swish Swish" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Katy Perry featuring Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj from the former's fifth studio album, Witness (2017). It was initially released as a promotional single on May 19, 2017, and later as the album's third single. The house-inspired EDM and hip-hop song was written alongside Sarah Hudson, Starrah, producer Duke Dumont, and additional producer PJ "Promnite" Sledge, with Roland Clark receiving writing credits for the sampling of his song "I Get Deep", and Noah "Mailbox" Passovoy receiving additional and vocal production credits.
"Swish Swish" uses basketball metaphors to address Perry's bullies and detractors. Multiple media outlets suspected that the song is about singer-songwriter Taylor Swift's 2015 single "Bad Blood", which was believed to be about Perry. Upon its release, music critics wrote mixed reviews of the track; some praised the track's empowering theme and Minaj's verse, while others criticized the song's lyrics. "Swish Swish" reached the top 10 in the Philippines and Lebanon, in addition to the top 20 in Canada and the United Kingdom as well as the top 30 in Australia and Ireland. It has also been certified diamond in Brazil as well as platinum in Australia, Canada, Finland, New Zealand, Poland, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and was featured in the video game Just Dance 2018.
Promotion for the track began with a live debut of the track on Saturday Night Live, with a performance that went viral. Subsequently, Perry continued to promote the track during BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend, the Glastonbury Festival 2017 and The Voice Australia. Later, to further promote the track, a lyric video for the track, featuring Brazilian singer Gretchen, was released on July 3, 2017. The official music video, directed by Dave Meyers, premiered on August 24, 2017. Three days later, Perry and Minaj performed the track together for the first time during the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards.
Production and release After Duke Dumont produced a track Perry recorded for H&M's 2015 holiday campaign called "Every Day Is a Holiday", he expressed interest in working with the singer again, adding: "I think we could switch things up a little more for the next record. Who knows what we could do?" Eventually, they paired together to work on the record, with Dumont claiming that Perry was a fan of his music and that they kept in touch, noting that "her vision for the album wasn't a million miles away from the stuff I'm making." He added: "[...] working on this project it was great seeing what her vision was for the album and being able to help with that. I am genuinely excited for the music." Dumont also said that "it was a very easy process and we made the song quickly. And then about two weeks ago I heard that [Nicki Minaj] is going to feature on it, it was very quick."
Minaj's appearance on the track was only discovered when the song was released. Minaj and Perry previously worked together on Minaj's song "Get on Your Knees", with Perry writing it with the rapper. However, she did not have time to record her vocals, and Ariana Grande ended up singing the song. As Perry recalled, "We've always wanted to collaborate, we've done so many things together... we did a VH1 show. [...] I actually sent her a couple of songs before these songs were out and she loved 'Swish Swish' the most and she just did it so much justice. Honestly, I just want her to do the whole song." Perry also talked about Minaj's rap skills, commenting: "With Nicki, she's such a [boss-ass bitch] that you can send her anything and her pen game is crazy." On May 18, 2017, Perry announced on Instagram the track would be released at midnight Eastern time. "Swish Swish" was released the next day as the third single from her fifth album Witness, and was included along with the pre-order of the album upon its debut. Its single cover features Perry's "blinged-out hand holding receipts from a place called 'Karma Coffee & Tea'." On May 26, 2017, Capitol Records confirmed it would focus on promoting "Swish Swish" to pop radio.
Composition and lyrics
"Swish Swish" was written by Perry with Duke Dumont, Sarah Hudson, PJ "Promnite" Sledge, Minaj, and Brittany Hazzard, while its production was done by Dumont with additional production by Sledge and Noah "Mailbox" Passovoy. The song samples "I Get Deep" by Roland Clark. "Swish Swish" was noted to have a beat similar to Maya Jane Coles' "What They Say" (2010). The song is performed in the key of F minor with a tempo of 120 beats per minute in common time. It follows a chord progression of Cm–A♭maj–Gm–Cm–A♭maj–Fm, and Perry's vocals span from E♭3 to A♭4. The track is four minutes and two seconds long. "Swish Swish" is a house-inspired EDM song. Raisa Bruner of Time defined it as a hip hop song. It starts with a sparse piano, before the "club-ready beat" kicks in. Lyrically, "Swish Swish" uses basketball metaphors to talk about getting over the haters. As added by Da'Shan Smith of Billboard "'Swish Swish' "is targeted towards a 'sheep' who is 'calculated' but not capable of bringing down Perry's spirits." Perry stated "Swish Swish" represents "a liberation from all the negative that doesn't serve you" as part of the "360-degree liberation" theme of her Witness album. She also called it a "great anthem for people to use when someone's trying to hold you down or bully you". The song starts with Perry comparing herself to a tiger, "declaring that one 'don't lose no sleep/ don't need opinions/ from a shellfish or a sheep.'" During the song, she calls herself a "courtside killer queen". Minaj's rap alludes to her "silly rap beefs" as well as Migos.
Following its release, several publications suggested that "Swish Swish" was a diss track in response to Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood" (2014), which was believed to be about Perry. Before the song being released, Perry was asked if there was a reaction to "Bad Blood" on Witness, with Perry replying: "I think [my new album is] a very empowered record. There is no one thing that's calling out any one person. One thing to note is: You can't mistake kindness for weakness and don't come for me. Anyone. Anyone. Anyone. Anyone. And that's not to any one person and don't quote me that it is, because it's not. It's not about that. Honestly, when women come together and they decide to unite, this world is going to be a better place. Period end of story. But, let me say this: Everything has a reaction or a consequence so don't forget about that, okay, honey." When asked if the song was directed at anyone in particular on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Perry simply replied that the song is an anti-bullying anthem. Additionally, Nicki Minaj's verse contains the line, "Silly rap beefs just get me more checks," which addresses Minaj's own purported "beef" with rapper Remy Ma, while also referring to her as a stan. On May 22, 2017, while appearing on the Carpool Karaoke segment on The Late Late Show with James Corden, after singing to "Swish Swish", James Corden asked Perry about a 2013 feud between her and Swift. "There's a situation. [...] Honestly, it's really like she started it, and it's time for her to finish it." She also added: "[T]here is the law of cause and effect. You do something, there's going to be a reaction, and trust me daddy, there's going to be a reaction. It's all about karma, right?."
Critical reception
"Swish Swish" divided music critics at the time of its release. Leonie Cooper of NME was very positive, noting that "calling in Nicki Minaj's fast and furious flow for the Fatboy Slim-sampling 'Swish Swish', meanwhile, is something of a master stroke, turning a good song into a great one." Raisa Bruner of Time defined the song as "a feisty hip-hop track that lets both artists show off their respective areas of expertise". Rianne Houghton of Digital Spy called it "a sexy, shady banger, and it's all about keeping receipts." Hannah J Davies of The Guardian claimed that the song "is a house-fuelled banger with undeniable groove and nonsense content." Kevin O'Donnell of Entertainment Weekly called "Swish Swish" "one of the best party-starters of her career, destined for some killer remixes," also praising the "fiery verse" from Nicki Minaj.
Nylon writer Sydney Gore also praised Minaj for being "absolutely ruthless when she comes in toward the end." Kitty Empire of The Observer also noted that "the Roland Clark sample" and "the ever-inventive Nicki Minaj, provides more top-flight, shade-throwing diva product." Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine praised how Perry "convincingly dabbles in house" in the song. Wren Graves for Consequence picked as the album's standout track, defining it as a "spunky, funky kiss-off track with a spellbinding beat by Duke Dumont, [where] Perry is deadly with her put-downs" and "Nicki Minaj is trotted out for punchline duty and punches gamely." Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic also selected it as a highlight from the album. Mikael Wood of Los Angeles Times thought the song was "a delight as Perry rhymes 'another one in the basket' with 'another one in the casket' over Duke Dumont's thrusting '90s-house beat".
Jillian Mapes of Pitchfork was less favorable, declaring: "If you're going to do something as tired as fueling this beef, at least give us the satisfaction of making it deliciously shady." Anna Gaca of Spin called it "another single that makes little sense", and "a random grab bag of Perry's vocals, obnoxious voice-altering effects, and piano flourishes, all laid over a house-inflected beat". Gavin Miller of Drowned in Sound was mixed in his review, calling "largely just a deep house track with Katy Perry singing a topline, which isn't a bad thing," but felt the producers were "just offering up tunes they've had on their hard drives for Perry's team to compartmentalise and see what demographics they represent." Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph felt the song was "too generic to land any blows".
Retrospectively, Christopher Rosa of Glamour called the song a "moment of brilliance" on Witness with its "basement rave-ready beat and cheeky lyrics". He also ranked "Swish Swish" as Perry's overall 8th best track made. Entertainment Weekly deemed it her 10th best song and a "vogue-worthy tribute to 90's house music, complete with hissing hi-hats, endearingly goofy lyrics", adding that Minaj's guest verse was "gag-worthy".
Accolades Awards and nominations +Name of award, year listed, category, and result Award Year Category Result Ref. iHeartRadio Music Awards 2018 Best Music Video Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Dance Trend
Listicles +Name of publication, year listed, name of listicle, and result Publication Year Listicle Result The Line of Best Fit 2017 Best Songs of the Year 42nd Revolt 2024 Best Pop Songs with a Rap Verse 7th
Commercial performance In the United States, "Swish Swish" debuted and peaked at number 46 on the Billboard Hot 100 while reaching number 33 on the Pop Songs chart. The song fared better on the Dance Club Songs chart, becoming her 18th number-one on the chart. By having eighteen songs at the top, Perry became the fifth singer with most number-ones on the Dance Club charts and extended her record for most consecutive number-one songs on the chart. As of September 2017, it has sold 165,288 copies in the country, and has been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In Canada, the song first opened at number 27 on the Canadian Hot 100. "Swish Swish" later climbed to number 13, becoming Perry's 22nd top-twenty entry in the nation. It has since been certified Platinum by Music Canada (MC) for shipments of 80,000 units.