Where Them Girls At
Encyclopedia
"Where Them Girls At" is a song by French DJ
and record producer David Guetta
, featuring vocals from American rapper Flo Rida
and Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj
. It was released for digital download
from May 2, 2011 by Virgin Records
(EMI France), serving as the lead single
from Guetta's upcoming fifth studio album Nothing But the Beat
. It was written by Michael Caren
, Jared Cotter, Flo Rida, David Guetta, Nicki Minaj, Juan and Oscar Silinas
, Giorgio Tuinfort and Sandy Vee
.
Initially, "Where Them Girls At" was recorded in 2010 and featured just Flo Rida, however after getting into touch with Minaj about a collaboration, Guetta played Minaj the record and she decided to record vocals for it. Computer hackers obtained an a cappella
version of the song and added their own production before leaking the song online. Guetta and his label subsequently mastered a proper version of the song, released it earlier than planned and called an employee of The Pentagon
to investigate the matter.
"Where Them Girls At" combines Electro house with hip hop
. Upon release, initial reviews were positive, praising the production and Minaj's tongue-in-cheek
lyrics. An accompanying music video
for the song was filmed in Los Angeles in May 2011 and released June 28, 2011.
in 2010, when the duo collaborated for Rida's album Only One Flo (Part 1)
and the Step Up 3D soundtrack. The duo released "Club Can't Handle Me
" in 2010 under the condition that Rida would collaborate on a song for Guetta's fifth album Nothing But the Beat. Guetta would later approach Nicki Minaj
for a collaboration, and although Minaj wanted to appear solo on one of Guetta's records, agreed to appear on "Where Them Girls At" after hearing it for the first time. "Where Them Girls At" was written by Michael Caren
, Jared Cotter
, Flo Rida, David Guetta, Nicki Minaj, Juan and Oscar Silinas
, Giorgio Tuinfort and Sandy Vee
.
An early version of the song featuring a cappella
vocals was obtained by computer hackers, through accessing Guetta's recording studio's Wi-Fi
connection. The hackers subsequently added their own production
to the track and falsely posted it online as a Guetta song. As a result of their action, Guetta and his label released the single earlier than planned, with no promotion. Additionally, they hired an investigator from The Pentagon
to find the perpetrators.
In an interview with MTV News
in March 2011, Guetta revealed he was debating between two tracks to release as the first single from his upcoming fifth studio album: a song with English singer-songwriter Taio Cruz
and American rapper Ludacris
entitled "Little Bad Girl
" or the track with Rida and Minaj, then known as "Where Dem Girls At?" A music video for the song, set to feature "a positive message", was filmed in Los Angeles
in May 2011. "Where Them Girls At" impacted U.S. mainstream
and rhythmic radio
on May 17, 2011.
said "[the song] is a rambunctious mix of hard-hitting thuds and candy-coated synths over lyrics spouting the standard sexy laydee and partying clichés. Its centre, however, is a sweet 'n' gooey tongue-lashing from Minaj, who commands: 'Through the club all the girls in the back of me/ This ain't football why the f**k they tryna tackle me?', in her usual quick-witted, lickety-split manner." He awarded the song three out of five stars.
, the song debuted at number three, giving Guetta his twelfth top twenty hit. In the United States, the song debuted at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100
chart, selling over 160,000 digital downloads in less than one week and giving Guetta his third top 20 hit in the US. As of September 2011, the song had sold over 1,000,000 digital copies in the US. The song debuted at number three in Canada
, becoming the highest debuting song that week on the Canadian Hot 100
.
on a fan page named "David Guetta Turkiye" and on June 28 premiered on Guetta's YouTube
and Vevo
channels. All three artists, David Guetta, Flo Rida
, and Nicki Minaj
, appear in the video. However, the vocalists only appear in each of their respective verses.
smartphone to take a picture, and an animated billboard ad with a Renault Twizy Z.E.
is also featured.
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
and record producer David Guetta
David Guetta
Pierre David Guetta , known professionally as David Guetta , is a French house music producer and DJ. Originally a DJ at nightclubs during the 1980s and 1990s, he co-founded Gum Productions and released his first album, Just a Little More Love, in 2002. Later, he released Guetta Blaster and Pop Life...
, featuring vocals from American rapper Flo Rida
Flo Rida
Tramar Dillard , better known by his stage name Flo Rida , is an American rapper and singer-songwriter. He released his debut album, Mail on Sunday, in March 2008. His debut single "Low", featuring T-Pain, was a #1 hit for ten weeks in United States in early 2008. Two other singles resulted from...
and Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj
Nicki Minaj
Onika Tanya Maraj , better known by her stage name Nicki Minaj; ), is a Trinidadian-born American recording artist...
. It was released for digital download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
from May 2, 2011 by Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
(EMI France), serving as the lead single
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
from Guetta's upcoming fifth studio album Nothing But the Beat
Nothing but the Beat
Nothing but the Beat is the fifth studio album by French DJ and record producer David Guetta. The album was released on August 26, 2011 through Virgin Records . Released as a double album, the first disc features collaborations with artists from the R&B, hip hop and pop world such as Lil Wayne,...
. It was written by Michael Caren
Mike Caren
Mike Caren is an American Record Producer, Executive Vice President of A&R for Atlantic Records and Co-President of Elektra Records. After completing jobs with SRC/Loud Records and Ruthless Records, he started his career at Atlantic in 1995 at the age of seventeen as Manager of Rap Marketing for...
, Jared Cotter, Flo Rida, David Guetta, Nicki Minaj, Juan and Oscar Silinas
Play-N-Skillz
Play-N-Skillz are an American hip-hop electronic music record production duo from Irving, Texas, consisting of brothers Juan "Play" Salinas and Oscar "Skillz" Salinas, who are also rappers...
, Giorgio Tuinfort and Sandy Vee
Sandy Vee
Sandy Julien Wilhelm, known professionally as Sandy Vee, is a French songwriter, disc jockey and music producer. Originally a disk jockey and producer within the house genre, he began working with pop artists in 2009...
.
Initially, "Where Them Girls At" was recorded in 2010 and featured just Flo Rida, however after getting into touch with Minaj about a collaboration, Guetta played Minaj the record and she decided to record vocals for it. Computer hackers obtained an a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
version of the song and added their own production before leaking the song online. Guetta and his label subsequently mastered a proper version of the song, released it earlier than planned and called an employee of The Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
to investigate the matter.
"Where Them Girls At" combines Electro house with hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
. Upon release, initial reviews were positive, praising the production and Minaj's tongue-in-cheek
Tongue-in-cheek
Tongue-in-cheek is a phrase used as a figure of speech to imply that a statement or other production is humorously intended and it should not be taken at face value. The facial expression typically indicates that one is joking or making a mental effort. In the past, it may also have indicated...
lyrics. An accompanying music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for the song was filmed in Los Angeles in May 2011 and released June 28, 2011.
Background
Guetta first worked with American rapper Flo RidaFlo Rida
Tramar Dillard , better known by his stage name Flo Rida , is an American rapper and singer-songwriter. He released his debut album, Mail on Sunday, in March 2008. His debut single "Low", featuring T-Pain, was a #1 hit for ten weeks in United States in early 2008. Two other singles resulted from...
in 2010, when the duo collaborated for Rida's album Only One Flo (Part 1)
Only One Flo (Part 1)
Only One Flo is the third studio album by American hip hop artist Flo Rida, which was released on November 24, 2010, through Atlantic Records and his own label Poe Boy Entertainment. The album was preceded by the singles "Club Can't Handle Me" and "Turn Around " which were released in June and...
and the Step Up 3D soundtrack. The duo released "Club Can't Handle Me
Club Can't Handle Me
"Club Can't Handle Me" is a song by American rapper Flo Rida featuring French disc jockey David Guetta. It was released as a digital download on iTunes on June 28, 2010 as the lead single of the Step Up 3D soundtrack album and is also included on Flo Rida's third studio album, Only One Flo ...
" in 2010 under the condition that Rida would collaborate on a song for Guetta's fifth album Nothing But the Beat. Guetta would later approach Nicki Minaj
Nicki Minaj
Onika Tanya Maraj , better known by her stage name Nicki Minaj; ), is a Trinidadian-born American recording artist...
for a collaboration, and although Minaj wanted to appear solo on one of Guetta's records, agreed to appear on "Where Them Girls At" after hearing it for the first time. "Where Them Girls At" was written by Michael Caren
Mike Caren
Mike Caren is an American Record Producer, Executive Vice President of A&R for Atlantic Records and Co-President of Elektra Records. After completing jobs with SRC/Loud Records and Ruthless Records, he started his career at Atlantic in 1995 at the age of seventeen as Manager of Rap Marketing for...
, Jared Cotter
Jared Cotter
Jared Lincoln Cotter is an American pop/R&B singer, songwriter and model. He has hosted a number of TV shows, and he co-wrote the number 1 song "Down" by Jay Sean.-Biography:...
, Flo Rida, David Guetta, Nicki Minaj, Juan and Oscar Silinas
Play-N-Skillz
Play-N-Skillz are an American hip-hop electronic music record production duo from Irving, Texas, consisting of brothers Juan "Play" Salinas and Oscar "Skillz" Salinas, who are also rappers...
, Giorgio Tuinfort and Sandy Vee
Sandy Vee
Sandy Julien Wilhelm, known professionally as Sandy Vee, is a French songwriter, disc jockey and music producer. Originally a disk jockey and producer within the house genre, he began working with pop artists in 2009...
.
An early version of the song featuring a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
vocals was obtained by computer hackers, through accessing Guetta's recording studio's Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
connection. The hackers subsequently added their own production
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
to the track and falsely posted it online as a Guetta song. As a result of their action, Guetta and his label released the single earlier than planned, with no promotion. Additionally, they hired an investigator from The Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
to find the perpetrators.
In an interview with MTV News
MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
in March 2011, Guetta revealed he was debating between two tracks to release as the first single from his upcoming fifth studio album: a song with English singer-songwriter Taio Cruz
Taio Cruz
Taio Cruz is a British singer-songwriter, record producer, occasional rapper, and entrepreneur. In 2008, he released his debut album Departure, which Cruz wrote, arranged and produced himself. It achieved initial success in the UK and earned him a MOBO Award nomination...
and American rapper Ludacris
Ludacris
Christopher Brian Bridges , better known by his stage name Ludacris, is an American rapper and actor. Along with his manager, Chaka Zulu, Ludacris is the co-founder of Disturbing tha Peace, an imprint distributed by Def Jam Recordings...
entitled "Little Bad Girl
Little Bad Girl
"Little Bad Girl" is a single by French DJ David Guetta, featuring vocals from English singer-songwriter Taio Cruz and American rapper Ludacris. It was released for digital download from 27 June 2011 by Virgin Records, serving as the second single from Guetta's latest studio album Nothing but the...
" or the track with Rida and Minaj, then known as "Where Dem Girls At?" A music video for the song, set to feature "a positive message", was filmed in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in May 2011. "Where Them Girls At" impacted U.S. mainstream
Contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...
and rhythmic radio
Rhythmic Contemporary
Rhythmic contemporary, also known as rhythmic top 40, rhythmic contemporary hit radio or rhythmic crossover, is a music radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary rarely uses rock music or country music in its airplay, but it may...
on May 17, 2011.
Critical response
Lewis Corner from Digital SpyDigital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
said "[the song] is a rambunctious mix of hard-hitting thuds and candy-coated synths over lyrics spouting the standard sexy laydee and partying clichés. Its centre, however, is a sweet 'n' gooey tongue-lashing from Minaj, who commands: 'Through the club all the girls in the back of me/ This ain't football why the f**k they tryna tackle me?', in her usual quick-witted, lickety-split manner." He awarded the song three out of five stars.
Commercial performance
"Where Them Girls At" saw a top ten debut in New Zealand and a top twenty debut in Ireland and the Netherlands. In addition, the song debuted at number-one on both Belgian Ultratip charts & the official Scotland charts. On the UK Singles ChartUK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, the song debuted at number three, giving Guetta his twelfth top twenty hit. In the United States, the song debuted at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart, selling over 160,000 digital downloads in less than one week and giving Guetta his third top 20 hit in the US. As of September 2011, the song had sold over 1,000,000 digital copies in the US. The song debuted at number three in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, becoming the highest debuting song that week on the Canadian Hot 100
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...
.
Music video
On June 27, 2011, the official music video for "Where Them Girls At" was released via FacebookFacebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
on a fan page named "David Guetta Turkiye" and on June 28 premiered on Guetta's YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
and Vevo
Vevo
Vevo is a music video website. It is a joint venture among Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Abu Dhabi Media with EMI licensing its content to the group without taking an ownership stake. The service was launched officially on December 8, 2009...
channels. All three artists, David Guetta, Flo Rida
Flo Rida
Tramar Dillard , better known by his stage name Flo Rida , is an American rapper and singer-songwriter. He released his debut album, Mail on Sunday, in March 2008. His debut single "Low", featuring T-Pain, was a #1 hit for ten weeks in United States in early 2008. Two other singles resulted from...
, and Nicki Minaj
Nicki Minaj
Onika Tanya Maraj , better known by her stage name Nicki Minaj; ), is a Trinidadian-born American recording artist...
, appear in the video. However, the vocalists only appear in each of their respective verses.
Synopsis
The video shows giant bubbles which contain the song's beats, drifting across the streets of Los Angeles. When people burst the bubbles, they start dancing uncontrollably. Flo Rida is seen rapping his verse in a poolside and Minaj is seen in an art gallery with male models (Chadd Smith and Casper Smart of The LXD). Guetta is at a rooftop, table turning, and creating bubbles. Minaj inhales one of a bubble and starts singing to the beat of the music, while breathing out bubbles. The bubbles which Guetta produces, attract many people (especially women) to his party.Product placement
In the video David Guetta can be seen reading an Ice Watch wristwatch, using a Sony Ericsson Xperia PlaySony Ericsson Xperia Play
The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, codenamed Zeus, is a handheld game console smartphone produced by Sony Ericsson. Under the Xperia smartphone brand running Android 2.3 Gingerbread, the device is the first device to be part of the PlayStation Certified program which means that it can play PlayStation...
smartphone to take a picture, and an animated billboard ad with a Renault Twizy Z.E.
Renault Twizy Z.E.
The Renault Twizy Z.E. is an electric city car to be produced by Renault. The concept car was unveiled at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show. In May 2011 Renault announced to begin production soon and began taking reservations. Sales scheduled in Europe for late 2011 and the UK for the first quarter of...
is also featured.
Track listing
Charts
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada (Canadian Hot 100 Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... ) |
3 |
| Poland (Dance Top 50 Polish Music Charts The Polish Music Charts are two official album charts and seven singles charts in Poland, provided by ZPAV, the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry . The first, the Top 100, is a monthly chart based on data received from the album companies... ) |
12 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
14 |
| US Hot Dance Club Songs (Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... ) |
10 |
| US Pop Songs Mainstream Top 40 (Pop Songs) The Mainstream Top 40 is an airplay chart from Billboard magazine, and is also known as Pop Songs on billboard.com. It was often mistaken for and confused with the now discontinued Pop 100 Airplay chart... (Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... ) |
13 |
| US Rap Songs (Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... ) |
24 |
Certifications
Radio and release history
| Country | Date | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Worldwide | 2 May 2011 | Digital download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
| United States | 6 May 2011 | Digital download – instrumental |
| United States | 17 May 2011 | Mainstream Contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts... , rhythmic Rhythmic Contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as rhythmic top 40, rhythmic contemporary hit radio or rhythmic crossover, is a music radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary rarely uses rock music or country music in its airplay, but it may... airplay |
| Germany | 27 May 2011 | CD single |