Bizounce

Background

After initially attempting to rap under the name "O-Lovely", Olivia chose to attend Hofstra University and Five Towns College to further her career in music. Olivia said that people would frequently compare her voice to R&B singer Brandy. During her audition for American record producer Clive Davis, she sang the gospel hymn "His Eye Is on the Sparrow". At age 17, Olivia was the first artist signed to J Records by Davis. In an interview with Billboard, Olivia said she was signed to the label immediately after the meeting. Executives from the record company referred to her as "the First Lady of J". Olivia described herself as "the one chosen to flagship the label" since her single and album were one of the first projects released by the company.

Joshua Thompson produced Olivia's demo, and arranged her audition for Arista Records' executives and Davis. It was written by Olivia along with producers Doug Allen and Thompson, and songwriters David L. Conley, Quincy Q. Patrick, and Juan Magic" Peters. J Records senior vice president Ron Gillyard described Olivia as "the real deal", emphasizing her roles as "a songwriter, a singer, and a rapper". Olivia later described the recording and promotion of "Bizounce" and the album as a learning experience for her future ventures; she said her time at J Records was: "cut short by the politics of the industry and me not actually taking my career into my own hands". She said record executives took away her control over the creation of the album because of her youth and inexperience.

Composition and lyrics

According to digital information from Beatport, "Bizounce" is a R&B and funk song composed in the key of G minor. An overview from AllMusic described it as a rap and electronic song with elements of dance and Hi-NRG music. The song's instrumentation is composed of drums, keyboards, and a bass guitar. AllMusic's Jon Azpiri praised the contrast between the "brutally frank" lyrics about break-ups and infidelity, and the "seductive" instrumentals, making the single one of the most memorable of 2001. According to a review in Billboard, Olivia's vocal performance reflects her hip hop influences and gives the single a "street edge" while its "orchestral tinges" are best-suited for R&B radio.

In an interview with Billboard, Olivia called the single an "empowering women's song" for inspiring women to leave unfulfilling relationships. She said she wrote it: "for all the people who don't know how to tell the other person to 'bounce' ". An article in Vibe magazine noted lyrics, like: "I can't take this shit no more / Picture frame broken daddy 'cause I can't trust you / I'm ridin' high now / So nigga fuck you", as creating an impression of Olivia as a "potty-mouth". NME's John Mulvey commented that Olivia's "ruthlessness rather than her vocabulary" was the standout, especially in the lyric: "Shoulda known what you missed at home / Now you're all alone with no-one to bone". Mulvey joked that the amount of censorship on the radio edit made Olivia sound "avant-garde".

Release and promotion

"Bizounce" was released through J Records as the lead single from Olivia's debut album Olivia on March 20, 2001. The release included explicit and "PG-13" versions of the single along with a twenty-nine second snippet of the second single "Are U Capable", and a minute and twenty-two second snippet of the album track "It's On Again". The instrumental and "X-rated" versions of the single were released on vinyl.

Olivia made appearances on television and on live shows to promote "Bizounce". Before the album's release, she performed the single on Soul Train, BET, MTV's hip-hop video block Sucker Free (known at the time as DFX), and The Source Sound Lab. It was included on the set list for her promotional tour leading up to the album's release on May 15, 2001. Director Marcus Raboy shot the accompanying music video for the single. A review from Billboard praised the video as something that would: "catch the eyes and ears of music fans". Raboy would later work with Olivia on the music video for the follow-up single "Are U Capable".

During the record's promotion, Olivia described having a good working relationship with Davis, but she called him "extremely controlling" after leaving the label. Olivia claimed that she was forced to be the bad girl while label mate Alicia Keys was promoted as the good girl. In an official statement, J Records' representatives pointed to Olivia's credits as a co-writer for a majority of the album as proof of her involvement with the project and maintained: "Clive doesn't categorize artists as good or bad girls". In her 2014 autobiography, Release Me: My Life, My Words, Olivia wrote that she disagreed with the record label's decision to release "Bizounce" as her debut single. Despite saying the single was a perfect fit for the clubs, and one of her favorite tracks from the album, she believed it did not reflect her as an artist. She originally pushed for "It's On Again" to be the single.

Critical response

"Bizounce" received mixed reviews from music critics. Mark Bautz of Entertainment Weekly described "Bizounce" as "a saucy hit single" and noted it as one of the album's highlights. A review in Billboard praised Olivia's vocals, saying she "has the mouth of a bad girl and the voice of an angel", and described the single as making her: "a bona fide R&B singer". SongQuarters' Paulina Bozek wrote that "Bizounce" established Olivia as a "powerful R&B/rap debutante". Shaheem Reid of MTV named the single an "anthem for women who are fed up wit their mates" while an article in Vibe magazine opined that it was a "hit heavy on attitude". Mulvey of NME commended the single as giving a "steely boot to a crap lover" in the style of TLC, Kelis, and Eve as well as being a "vicious kiss-off" and a "boudoir come-on".

The Morning Call's Len Righi criticized "Bizounce" for being indicative of a negative trend in R&B music, where "the plaintive human voice in the throes of transcendent ecstasy or bottomless hurt is not nearly as important as the right attitude, hip-hop production and clothing". Righi negatively compared the single to music by R&B singer Aaliyah, saying they both emphasized style over substance.

Commercial performance

"Bizounce" was a commercial success in the United States. It peaked at number fifteen on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and number four on the U.S. |Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. The single was Olivia's highest charting entry on the Hot 100 chart until her 2005 collaboration with rapper 50 Cent on "Candy Shop" became her only number-one single on the chart. Prior to the release and success of "Candy Shop", Fred Bronson of Billboard viewed Olivia as a one-hit wonder with "Bizounce" as her only previous success. In Canada, the single peaked at number sixteen on the Canadian Singles Chart. As of August 13, 2003, "Bizounce" has sold 415,000 copies.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of "Olivia", J Records, BMG Rights Management.