Va Va Voom
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"Va Va Voom" is a song by rapper and singer
Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...
from the deluxe edition of her second
studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
, '' Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded''. It was released on October 23, 2012 by
Young Money Young may refer to: * Offspring, the product of reproduction of a new organism produced by one or more parents * Youth, the time of life when one's age is low, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood Music * The Young, an America ...
, Cash Money, and
Universal Republic Republic Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Based in New York City, it was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially ...
as the sixth and final
single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...
from the album. The song was written by Minaj, Lukasz Gottwald, Allan Grigg, Max Martin, and Henry Walter, and it was produced by
Dr. Luke Łukasz Sebastian Gottwald (born September 26, 1973), known professionally as Dr. Luke, Tyson Trax, and Made in China, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He began his professional music career as the Saturday Night Live ...
,
Kool Kojak Allan Peter Grigg, better known by his stage name Kool Kojak and stylized as "KoOoLkOjAk," is an American songwriter and record producer notable for music in '' Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'', co-writing and co-producing Flo Rida's #1 ''Bil ...
, and
Cirkut Henry Russell Walter (born April 23, 1986), known professionally as Cirkut, is a Canadian record producer and songwriter. He has co-produced and co-written commercially successful singles, often in tandem with American record producer Dr. Luke ...
. Being released as the sixth single, it was sent to UK
radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...
s on September 15, 2012 and later sent to Top 40 mainstream radio on October 23, 2012. It was planned to serve as the
lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...
, but its release was postponed at the last minute in favor of "
Starships A starship, starcraft, or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for traveling between planetary systems. The term is mostly found in science fiction. Reference to a "star-ship" appears as early as 1882 in '' Oahspe: A ...
". It was included on the deluxe edition of '' Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded,'' and was later included in the album's
reissue In the music industry, a reissue (also re-release, repackage or re-edition) is the release of an album or single which has been released at least once before, sometimes with alterations or additions. Reasons for reissue New audio formats Reco ...
'' Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded – The Re-Up''. "Va Va Voom" is a
dance-pop Dance-pop is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit ra ...
and
electropop Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...
song with
lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...
about sexual activity towards a male. Upon its release, the song received positive reviews from critics, who found it catchy and radio-friendly. Commercially, the song entered the top twenty in countries including Ireland, Slovakia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. An accompanying music video was shot in December 2011, but was initially shelved after Minaj decided not to release "Va Va Voom" as the album's lead single, because she was not happy with the video's end result.


Background

"Va Va Voom" was written by Minaj, Lukasz Gottwald, Allan Grigg, Max Martin and Henry Walter, with production by Dr. Luke, Kool Kojak and Cirkut. It was intended to be the lead single from ''Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded''. It was to be solicited to
rhythmic contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 20, Rhythmic Top 30, Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and upbeat R&B hit ...
radio stations on February 7, 2012. It was later postponed a week to February 14, 2012, with a release to
contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (CHR, also known as contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top ...
scheduled for the same date. However, Minaj announced that "
Starships A starship, starcraft, or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for traveling between planetary systems. The term is mostly found in science fiction. Reference to a "star-ship" appears as early as 1882 in '' Oahspe: A ...
" would instead be released as the lead single. On May 24, 2012, a poll was posted on Minaj's website, asking fans to help select the next singles, the poll is divided into three categories, the third category asks to choose the second worldwide pop single, the choices were: "
Pound the Alarm "Pound the Alarm" is a song by rapper Nicki Minaj. It was released on June 12, 2012 by Young Money, Cash Money, and Universal Republic as the fourth single from her second studio album, '' Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded'' (2012). The song was writt ...
", " Whip It", and "Va Va Voom". "Va Va Voom" had the most votes and won the poll. "Whip It" came in second place and "Pound The Alarm" came in third. However, after several radio stations in the UK, France, and Australia started heavily playing "Pound the Alarm", Minaj announced on June 6, 2012, that "Pound The Alarm" has been chosen instead. "Va Va Voom" was eventually solicited to
contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (CHR, also known as contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top ...
in the United States on October 23, 2012.


Composition

Musically, "Va Va Voom" was described as "a sultry, electro-pop thumper" by
Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its initial launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television pro ...
. Lyrically, the song talks about "seduction finds Minaj playing the temptress atop some delicious dub-lite pulsations." It contains the lyrics "I know that he got a wife at home, but I need just one night alone." The verses of the song are rapped, while the bridge and chorus are sung. "Va Va Voom" is set in
common time A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates the ...
with a
tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...
of 127 beats per minute. Written in the key of
C minor C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature consists of three flats. Its relative major is E major and its parallel major is C major. The C natural minor scale is: Cha ...
, it follows the
chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural, or simply changes) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from ...
Cm–E–B–A; Minaj's voice spans from A3 to B4.


Reception

According to
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
's Kara Klenk, "Va Va Voom" remains a "stand out track" on the album, along with "Beautiful Sinner," " Come on a Cone" and "
Beez in the Trap "Beez in the Trap" is a song by rapper Nicki Minaj, featuring fellow American rapper 2 Chainz. It was released on May 29, 2012, by Young Money Entertainment, Young Money, Cash Money Records, Cash Money, and Universal Republic Records, Universal Re ...
." Sarah Crafford of ''
The Sun Chronicle ''The Sun Chronicle'' (formerly ''The Attleboro Sun'' and the ''Evening Chronicle'') is a daily newspaper in Attleboro, Massachusetts, United States. Most of its readers are in Attleboro and North Attleborough, Massachusetts, but it also covers n ...
'' recommended the song to listeners who favored Minaj's Pop tracks, complimenting the song as a "catchy, sing-along and soon-to-be hit!." Comparing the song to that of "Super Bass," Alexander Miller of
Quinnipiac University Quinnipiac University ( ) is a private university in Hamden, Connecticut, United States. The university grants undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees. It also hosts the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. History What became ...
's ''Quad News'' stated that "Va Va Voom" could find itself as the hit bonus single of the album. Bradley Stern from ''MuuMuse'' was very positive saying the song was "insanely infectious" and compared the song to
Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...
' song "Seal It With a Kiss". He also said "Throw in a very ' You da One'-esque breakdown (again, Dr. Luke), and you’ve got an unbelievably sickening (in the good way!) pop tune." David Jeffries from
Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
chose "Va Va Voom" as a standout track on the album. He compared the song to "some Black Eyed Peas-styled flash." Sal Cinquemani from ''
Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...
'' described the song as "the most obvious successor to Minaj's crossover hit uper Bass.David Asante of the Urban entertainment website ''That Grape Juice'' gave it a positive review and christened the song "SuperBass 2.0"."


Chart performance

Following the album's release, "Va Va Voom" sold 46,000 downloads, prompting it to debut at number seventy-nine on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, eventually peaking at number twenty-two. It also debuted on the
Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...
at number seventy-four. The song also garnered success across American ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' charts, charting at number fifty on the
Hot Digital Songs The Digital Song Sales (previously named Digital Songs and Hot Digital Songs) ranks the best-selling digital songs in the United States, as compiled by Luminate and published by ''Billboard'' magazine. Although it originally started tracking so ...
chart, 45 on the Hot Canadian Digital Songs chart, fifteen on the Rap Digital Songs, and twenty-one on the Pop Digital Songs. As of December 2014, "Va Va Voom" has sold 1.1 million copies in the United States. The song debuted at thirty-six on the
Australian Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian record chart, music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA beca ...
, where it eventually peaked. It stayed there for two non-consecutive weeks, and stayed in the charts for seven weeks altogether. The song then charted at twenty-nine on the
New Zealand Singles Chart The Official Aotearoa Music Charts, formerly the Official New Zealand Music Chart (), is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The M ...
and peaked at number twenty, continuing her top twenty peaking success. It stayed in for only eight weeks. The song peaked at six and one on the Belgium Singles Chart (Flanders and Wallonia), respectively and number 34 on the
German Singles Chart The GfK Entertainment charts are the official charts for music, home video, and video games in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on be ...
. In the UK Singles Chart, the song debuted at number 43, before climbing to number 20 a week later where it stayed there for two consecutive weeks. It spent a total of eight weeks in the top 40. The song debuted at number 37 in the
Scottish Singles Chart The Scottish Albums Chart is a chart compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) which is based on how physical and digital sales towards the UK Albums Chart fare in Scotland. The official singles chart for Scotland, the Scottish Singles Chart, ...
, before climbing to 20 a week later, spending a total of eight weeks in the top 40. In the
Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...
, "Va Va Voom" debuted at number 31, before going on to peak at number 13 in its fifth week in the top 40. The song spent nine consecutive weeks in the top 40.


Music video


Background

The music video was filmed on December 21, 2011, in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
and was directed by
Hype Williams Harold "Hype" Williams (born August 1, 1970) is an American music video and film director, film producer, and screenwriter. Early life Williams was born in Queens. He is of mixed African-American and Honduran descent. He attended Adelphi Univ ...
. Even though during filming Minaj tweeted: "The look were about to shoot, your gonna Spazz", she later expressed her disliking of the end product, but eventually stated that it will be released as a result of the song becoming a single. The music video premiered on October 26, 2012 on E! News.


Synopsis

The video begins with a rising sunset set in a fairytale like setting set in the wilderness. Two
unicorns The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since Classical antiquity, antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn (anatomy), horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unico ...
appear running across water, a reference to the movie ''
Legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the ...
'', before Minaj appears in a costume with a male companion (rumored to be Robin Hood) behind her, and special effects are displayed throughout the video. Minaj and the boy, dressed in a
nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...
's attire continue to be flirtatious towards one another throughout the video, and he tries to woo Minaj, but she continues to play hard to get. The unicorns appear once more before Minaj is shown in another bizarre costume accompanied by a blonde wig. Then Minaj appears to be channeling the fairy tale princesses
Sleeping Beauty "Sleeping Beauty" (, or ''The Beauty Sleeping in the Wood''; , or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess curse, cursed by an evil fairy to suspended animation in fi ...
and
Snow White "Snow White" is a German fairy tale, first written down in the early 19th century. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', numbered as Tale 53. The original title was ''Sneewittch ...
, while cooking, a
knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...
appears before Minaj and kills her with his
sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...
. She then appears to be lying inside of a glass showcase (possibly a glass "coffin", as follows the story of Snow White). In the end, Nicki pulls a surprising twist by appearing as the evil Queen and seducing the male companion when he arrives to save the "Snow White (Nicki)" from the glass showcase.


Reception

Gina Serpe from E! News gave the video a positive review, stating: "It's safe to say this video has something for everyone. Starting with Nicki herself looking damn good".


Live performances

Minaj performed "Va Va Voom" live for the first time on television on January 25, 2013 on ''
Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', sometimes shortened to ''JKL'', is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, and broadcast on ABC. The nightly hour-long show tapes and is based out of the Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywo ...
''.


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Radio history


References

{{Nicki Minaj singles 2012 songs 2012 singles Nicki Minaj songs Cash Money Records singles Songs written by Nicki Minaj Songs written by Dr. Luke Songs written by Max Martin Song recordings produced by Cirkut Song recordings produced by Dr. Luke Music videos directed by Hype Williams Songs written by Kool Kojak Song recordings produced by Kool Kojak