"Bottoms Up" is a song by American singer
Trey Songz
Tremaine Aldon Neverson (born November 28, 1984), known professionally as Trey Songz, is an American R&B singer and rapper. His debut album, '' I Gotta Make It'', was released in 2005 through Atlantic Records. His follow-up album, ''Trey Day'', ...
. It was produced by
Kane Beatz
Daniel Andrew Johnson (born December 20, 1986), professionally known as Kane Beatz, is an American record producer and songwriter from Orlando, Florida.
Life and career
Johnson first found monetary success from producing while still in high sc ...
and features rapper
Nicki Minaj
Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accent ...
. The song serves as the
lead single
A lead single (also known as a debut 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.
Release s ...
from his fourth studio album, ''
Passion, Pain & Pleasure
''Passion, Pain & Pleasure'' (stylized as PASSION PAIN & PLEASURE) is the fourth studio album by American R&B recording artist Trey Songz; it was released on September 14, 2010. The album serves as a follow-up to his commercial breakthrough ''Re ...
''. It is his most successful single to date, peaking at number 6 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100.
Background
The song was intentionally leaked on July 13, 2010, and to celebrate the release of the song, Songz discussed the song with Minaj on
Ustream
IBM Watson Media (formerly Ustream and IBM Cloud Video) is an American virtual events platform company which is a division of IBM. Prior to IBM acquisition, it had more than 180 employees across San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Budapest offices. ...
.
In the webcast, Songz explained how the collaboration came together, stating:
"I'm in L.A. for BET Awards
The BET Awards is an American award show that was established in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which are presented annua ...
weekend, I'm working on a couple records, and I do this song called 'Red Lipstick,' and then I do 'Bottoms Up' the next day. I hit Nicki and I'm like, 'Man, I've got these two incredible records, I think one of them is gonna be my first single, and I need you to do it. Can you come this weekend? Can you come down?' I stayed a couple extra days and she came through. Two, three days later I got a verse back that was just stupid."
Songz then addressed Minaj directly, stating, "I fell in love with you. When I heard the verse, I was like, 'Oh my shit, I love her. She killed it.'" Minaj also stated that she had been asked several times when she would do a song with Trey Songz, and said when Songz contacted her she said she thought "This is our time". When directing to Songz and also speaking to fans on her verse, the tribute to the late
Anna Nicole Smith
Anna Nicole Smith (born Vickie Lynn Hogan; November 28, 1967 – February 8, 2007) was an American model, actress, and television personality. Smith started her career as a ''Playboy'' magazine centerfold in May 1992 and won the title of 1993 ...
, and appearing as her alter-egos Roman Zolanski, and Harajuku Barbie, she said:
"I kept on hitting you like, 'I'mma have it done today.' I think I did live with it for, like, three days because I was changing it up, I couldn't get it. But then, all of a sudden, something just hit me. I was gonna take that part out he Anna Nicole Smith partbecause I was like, 'Trey is gonna think I'm crazy.' Roman is very spastic. Roman is crazy and Roman is weird and Roman doesn't care.... The person on DJ Khaled
Khaled Mohammed Khaled (born November 26, 1975), known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ, record executive, record producer and rapper.
Khaled first gained recognition as a radio host in the 1990s on the radio station WEDR, 99 Ja ...
's 'All I Do Is Win
"All I Do Is Win" is a song from DJ Khaled's fourth studio album ''Victory'' (2010). It was the third single from the album. The track features American rappers T-Pain, Ludacris, Snoop Dogg and Rick Ross. It was released on February 8, 2010, a ...
' remix, that's Nicki, and the person on 'Bottoms Up,' that's Roman."
Composition and critical reception
"Bottoms Up" features a "bass-thumping" beat. Nicki Minaj appears in the song as herself, and her alter-egos, Roman Zolanski, and Harajuku Barbie. Minaj delivers her lines as in cartoonish voices and inimitable baby-talk, distorting her voice in parts to sound tipsy.
Minaj also sings breathily and references
Anna Nicole Smith
Anna Nicole Smith (born Vickie Lynn Hogan; November 28, 1967 – February 8, 2007) was an American model, actress, and television personality. Smith started her career as a ''Playboy'' magazine centerfold in May 1992 and won the title of 1993 ...
, and biblical figures
Mary
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
and
Joseph
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
.
Like his previous song, "
Say Aah
"Say Aah" is a song by American singer Trey Songz featuring American rapper Fabolous. The track was written by the two along with Nate Walka, Ronald M. Ferebee, Jr., Tony Scales, and Don Correll, with the latter producing it with Troy Taylor an ...
", according to Chris Ryan of
MTV Buzzworthy
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a d ...
, "is about the joys of enjoying a frosty beverage at the nightclub of your choosing." Ryan also said the song had an R. Kelly vibe to it.
Ryan also gave the song a positive review, stating, "Trey Songz, sex inventor. Nicki Minaj, Harajuku Barbie. A duet between the two. It's getting hot in herre."
WERQ-FM
WERQ-FM (92.3 MHz) is a commercial radio station in Baltimore, Maryland. It features a Mainstream Urban radio format and is owned by Radio One of Lanham, Maryland, the largest broadcasting company serving African American audiences in the United ...
gave the song a positive review, commending Minaj's cameo.
BET Sound Off said, "two of the hottest things in the industry have teamed up for what might be a contender for the hottest joint of the 2010 Summer", commenting, "THIS ish right here is the perfect anthem for happy hour, the end of a hard day at work or even a stressful situation. Maybe it's the pounding kicks that keep my head nodding. Or, maybe it's the infectious hook 'Bottoms Up, Bottoms Up.'" Andy Kellman of
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
called it "shamelessly mindless". Mariel Concepcion of ''
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 advertise ...
'' gave the song a positive review, praising Minaj's role, stating, Songz' part "fades in to the background" and that "Minaj steals the spotlight with a layered, almost cartoonish 16-bar verse that injects the track with much-needed liveliness and creativity", showing "more personality in 45 seconds than most rappers do in an entire song, balancing an aggressive attitude with her gentler side."
''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
''s Sean Fennessey described the song as "gleeful, kinetic" and viewed that Songz is outperformed by Minaj, writing "
hesupplies a brilliant extended cameo on the song, and as she has on nearly all of her guest appearances this year, changes tempo, tone and persona in thrilling flashes".
"Bottoms Up" is set in common time with a moderate tempo of 82 and is 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 ...
.
Music video
The music video was directed by
Anthony Mandler
Anthony Mandler (born April 18, 1973) is an American film director, music video director, television commercial director and photographer. As a music video director, his most notable and frequent collaborator is Rihanna. The two have worked on s ...
and filmed on July 31, 2010.
A sneak peek to the music video was released August 16, 2010. The video provides dark, carnival-esque visuals to this club record.
Trey commented on the music video in an interview with ''
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
'' stating, “‘Bottoms Up,’ I feel, is a very creative video.
t'sdifferent from the norm, different than what I feel is expected of me and anything I’ve shot for that matter. It’s as if I’m walking through some kind of funhouse, filled with women and different seductive things. The music video premiered on August 17, 2010 on
106 & Park
''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rated ...
while Songz hosted the show with Rocsi.”
The video premiered on ''
BET
Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...
's
106 & Park
''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rated ...
'' on August 17, 2010. The video features Trey Songz walking around and performing in front of girls who are behind glass walls dancing erotically. Throughout the video Trey sits on chairs and holds bottles of alcohol. Right before Nicki's verse, Trey is seen in a club with the girls that were behind the glass. Nicki performs her verse as her alter-egos
Roman and Barbie,
in a corner of a room and as one of the girls behind the glass windows with belts. The entire verse is shown in a spastic movement until the end of her verse where she grabs her breasts and yells at the camera. By the end of the video Trey is shirtless and Nicki flirts promiscuously towards the camera. The video ends with Nicki/Roman/Barbie blowing a kiss at Trey.
Live performances
Minaj has performed her verse on her
Pink Friday Tour
The Pink Friday Tour is the debut concert tour by Trinidadian singer/songwriter Nicki Minaj in support of her first two studio albums, ''Pink Friday''
(2010) and '' Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded'' (2012). The tour began in May 2012 with shows in A ...
and her
Pink Friday: Reloaded Tour.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
References
{{authority control
2010 singles
Trey Songz songs
Nicki Minaj songs
Music videos directed by Anthony Mandler
Song recordings produced by Kane Beatz
Songs written by Nicki Minaj
Songs about alcohol
Songs written by Trey Songz
Songs written by Chef Tone
Songs written by Kane Beatz
2010 songs
Cultural depictions of Anna Nicole Smith