Format Digital download Label RCA | Genre Dancehall
electro-R&B | |
Released May 25, 2010 (2010-05-25) Recorded No Excuses (Los Angeles), The Red Lips Room (Beverly Hills) Length 5:29 (album version)
4:05 (radio edit) | ||
"Woohoo" is a song by American recording artist Christina Aguilera, featuring American rapper Nicki Minaj. The song was written by Aguilera, Onika Maraj, Claude Kelly, Ester Dean and Jamal "Polow da Don" Jones, and produced by Polow da Don, for Aguilera's sixth studio album, Bionic (2010). "Woohoo" was serviced to rhythmic contemporary crossover airplay as the album's second radio single on May 25, 2010. The song, which contains a sample of the 1972 song "Add már uram az esőt" by Kati Kovács, lyrically speaks about the act of oral sex.
Contents
- Composition
- Critical reception
- Chart performance
- Live performance
- Track listing
- Credits and personnel
- References
"Woohoo" has been described as an electro-R&B and dancehall track. The song received mixed to positive reviews from critics, some of whom praised Minaj's appearance and Aguilera's vocals. Many noted its similarities to Kelis's "Milkshake". However, others expressed distaste for the song's sexual nature. "Woohoo" debuted and peaked at 46 and 79 in Canada and the United States, respectively. Aguilera performed the song in a medley with "Bionic" and "Not Myself Tonight" at the 2010 MTV Movie Awards.
Composition
"Woohoo" was written by Aguilera, Maraj, Claude Kelly, Ester Dean and Polow da Don. The song is an electro, R&B and dancehall track. Aguilera's vocals are distorted in parts. "Woohoo" contains a sample from the Hungarian song "Add már uram az esőt", originally sung by the Hungarian singer Kati Kovács in 1972. The song's chorus has been described as "shouty" and "sing-song". Rob Harvilla of The Village Voice noted that the song sounded like a mix of "Milkshake" and "Lip Gloss" with "electro synths". Lyrically, the song is about the act of oral sex.
Critical reception
"Woohoo" received mixed to positive reviews from critics, most of them commended Aguilera's vocals and praising Minaj's appearance. However, the others were not impressed with the song's sexual nature. Sara D. Anderson of AOL Music said the "provocative, dancehall track nicely fuses Aguilera's powerful voice with Minaj's MC tactics". Benjamin Boles of Now Magazine called the track the top track on Bionic, commenting that Minaj's cameo "rescues" the song. Alexis Petridis of The Guardian, said, "If you're going to do a five-minute song about cunnilingus, it's a good idea to enlist foul-mouthed rapper Nicki Minaj, whose bug-eyed contribution lends the proceedings an air of gripping abandon." Chris Ryan of MTV Buzzworthy called the song "sexually explicit, funky club pop", saying "In Nicki Minaj, Aguilera has found the perfect partner for her erotic-pop adventures". He also called the song a "dirtier cousin of Rihanna's 'Rude Boy' or 'Hollaback Girl'", and commended Minaj's verse.
Becky Bain of Idolator said the song's "catchiness" was "miles ahead" of "Not Myself Tonight", also compared it to "Hollaback Girl". Bain also said, "If there's one person who can match Christina Aguilera's naughtiness, it's Nicki Minaj, so these two pretty much make a perfect pair for this type of song." Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic said the track had an "incessant title loop piercing like a dental drill" and said it "doesn't work as temptation". He also commented "her crassness is no longer alienating as it was on Stripped". Michael Cragg of musicOMH also compared the song to dental work, commenting that the song, "which is about oral sex but is about as sexy as going to the dentist." Genevieve Koski of The A.V. Club called the song along with the "meat" of Bionic, "already-passé electro trash."
Chart performance
In its first week of release, "Woohoo" debuted at 46 on the Canadian Hot 100, and 79 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song became Aguilera's 15th straight single to hit both charts, keeping her streak of having all of her singles chart on the Billboard Hot 100. The song fell off both charts the following week. However, due to increased digital sales after her performance at the 2010 MTV Movie Awards and the release of Bionic, the song re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 99. The song also charted at number 148 on the UK Singles Chart after the release of Bionic.
Live performance
Aguilera sang a portion of the song, alongside "Bionic" and "Not Myself Tonight", at the 2010 MTV Movie Awards. During "Woohoo", the last of the set, Aguilera and her backup dancers removed their leather capes and revealing painted red hearts on their groins, ending with Aguilera's LED heart glowing. James Montgomery of MTV News referred to the song as a "seriously sexy dance number." Montgomery described the performance's ending, stating, "Not to be outdone, Aguilera ended things by standing tall at center stage, the camera zooming in on her midsection, which now bore a beating heart of its own."
Most critics were not impressed with the medley, comparing it to Aguilera's identity during the Bionic era. Tamar Anitai, also of MTV Buzzworthy summarized the performance saying it "was all about her "I-I'm-still-a-diva" vocals, frenzied stage show, and adult-only innuendo...And then this happened." She went on to comment also sarcastically, "This is so just Christina Aguilera's way of saying she loves you! And that the diminutive diva still has a sense of humor....It's like a little knowing wink that assures you that when she's not changing diapers and doing mommy stuff, Mamaguilera's hanging out at dance party sex dungeons and wailing from the bottom of her light-up hoo-ha. She is DEFINITELY not the same girl who once bopped around on the Disney Channel in a Scrunchie."
Track listing
- "Woohoo" – 5:29
Credits and personnel
Source