"Girls" is a song by British singer

Rita Ora Rita Sahatçiu Ora (born Rita Sahatçiu; 26 November 1990) is a British singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence in February 2012 when she featured on DJ Fresh's single, "Hot Right Now", which reached number one in the UK. Her debut studi ...

, featuring American rapper

Cardi B Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar Cephus (, ; born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper and songwriter. She first gained popularity as an influencer on Vine and Instagram. From 2015 to early 2017, she appeared as ...

, American singer

Bebe Rexha Bleta Rexha (; born August 30, 1989), known professionally as Bebe Rexha ( ), is an American pop singer and songwriter. After signing with Warner Records in 2013, Rexha received songwriting credits on Eminem's single " The Monster" (which later ...

and British singer

Charli XCX Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is an English singer and songwriter. Born in Cambridge and raised in Start Hill, Essex, she began posting songs on Myspace in 2008, which led to her discovery ...

. The single was released on 11 May 2018 by

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

. It was written by Ora, Rexha, Cardi B, Klenord Raphael,

Ali Tamposi Alexandra Tamposi (born November 17, 1989) is an American songwriter from West Palm Beach, Florida. She is best known for co-writing Kelly Clarkson's song "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)," 5 Seconds of Summer's song "Youngblood (5 Seconds of S ...

Pardison Fontaine Jorden Kyle Lanier Thorpe (born December 29, 1989), better known by his stage name Pardison Fontaine, is an American rapper and songwriter originally from Newburgh, New York. He is best known for his 2018 single " Backin' It Up" featuring Card ...

, Brian Lee, and producers

Jonny Coffer Jonathan Coffer (born 8 March 1989) is a multiple Grammy-nominated songwriter and record producer from London. He has written and produced for artists including Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, Lykke Li, FKA twigs, Naughty Boy, Emeli Sandé, Fall Out ...

Watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...

, and Ben Billions .

Background

The collaboration was announced on 4 May 2018. Rita Ora described the song as an "empowering anthem": In an interview with ''People'', Ora revealed that the song was inspired by

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her Camp (style), campy style, she has been ...

's "

I Kissed a Girl "I Kissed a Girl" is the debut single of American singer Katy Perry from her second studio album, ''One of the Boys'' (2008). It was released on April 28, 2008, by Capitol Records as the lead single from the record. Perry co-wrote the song with ...

", which she described as: "just such a statement; it was so fun".

Composition

"Girls" is a pop song that comprises a hip hop-influenced

beat Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery (c ...

. The lyrics explore themes of

same-sex attraction Same sex may refer to: * A phrase used in the discussion of sex or gender * Gonochorism, the state of having just one of at least two distinct sexes in any one individual organism * Homosexuality, the romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sex ...

Music video

The music video for "Girls" was released on 6 June 2018. It was directed by Helmi.

Live performances

Ora performed the song live for the first time at

BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend (R1BW) (previously known as One Big Weekend, for 2012 as Radio 1's Hackney Weekend, and for 2018 as BBC Music's Biggest Weekend) is a British music festival run by the BBC's radio station. It is held once a year, in a ...

on 28 May 2017, with Charli XCX and

Raye Raye may refer to: * Raye (singer) (born 1997), British singer and songwriter *Raye, English dub name of anime character Sailor Mars Given name *Raye Hartmann (born 1990), Canadian footballer *Raye Birk (born 1943), American film and television ...

, one year before its release as an official single. Her first televised performance was on the season finale of ''

Germany's Next Topmodel ''Germany's Next Topmodel'' (often abbreviated as ''GNTM'') is a German reality television series, based on a concept introduced by Tyra Banks with ''America's Next Top Model''. The competition is hosted by Heidi Klum who also serves as the le ...

'' on 24 May 2018.

Reception

American singers

Hayley Kiyoko Hayley Kiyoko Alcroft (born April 3, 1991) is an American singer, dancer and actress. As a child model and actress, she appeared in a variety of films including ''Scooby-Doo!'' film series (2009–2010), '' Lemonade Mouth'' (2011), '' Blue Lagoon ...

and

Kehlani Kehlani Ashley Parrish (born April 24, 1995) is an American singer, songwriter, and dancer. Kehlani is originally from Oakland, California, and achieved initial fame as a member of the teen group Poplyfe in 2011. In 2014, Kehlani released thei ...

, both of whom identify as

lesbians A lesbian is a homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with femal ...

, criticized the song for being "harmful" to the

LGBTQ community The LGBT community (also known as the LGBTQ+ community, GLBT community, gay community, or queer community) is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and other queer individuals united by a common culture and social ...

. Kiyoko referred to the song in a tweet she posted as being "tone-deaf", stating that the song "fueled the male gaze while marginalizing the idea of women loving women." Kehlani voiced her opinion in a series of tweets, "I have an incredible

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

out with one of the artists, and would love to work with the other three as well. I have met them all and respect them. There. Were. Harmful. Lyrics." She concluded her tweets with: "Every artist on the song is fantastic, and very much loved and supported by me... by all of us. But this isn't about talent, it's about choice." In 2019, ''

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 ...

'' included the song in its list of the "30 Lesbian Love Songs".

Singers' responses to backlash

Ora responded to criticism, as she wrote: "'Girls' was written to represent my truth and is an accurate account of a very real and honest experience in my life... I have had romantic relationships with women and men throughout my life and this is my personal journey". Nonetheless, she apologized following the controversy. Cardi insisted on Twitter that she and the others "never riedto cause harm or had bad intentions with the song", referencing her own bisexuality and prior experiences with women. Charli stated in an interview with ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' that she had read the criticisms, including Kiyoko and Kehlani's posts, regarding the song's lyrics, continuing: "... the intention of the song was never to hurt anybody. None of the artists on this song would ever want to upset or hurt anyone." She further mentioned that she wants to "learn from this experience" and hoped to continue dialogue without upsetting queer communities. Rexha opted for a more defensive response, telling ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'', "My sexual life is nobody's business... but we're singing a song about kissing girls and that remains true to who I am. It's the life that I live and it's honest to me." She went on to say "People automatically went for the negative instead of saying: 'Well maybe these girls do kiss girls, maybe Bebe is bi.' You don't know about my sexual orientation, so I felt disrespected."

Track listing

*Digital download #"Girls" (featuring Cardi B, Bebe Rexha and Charli XCX) – 3:41 *Digital download #"Girls" (featuring Cardi B, Bebe Rexha and Charli XCX) ( Martin Jensen Remix) – 4:20 *Digital download #"Girls" (featuring Cardi B, Bebe Rexha and Charli XCX) (

Steve Aoki Steven Hiroyuki Aoki (, ; born November 30, 1977), best known as Steve Aoki, is an American DJ, record producer, music programmer, and record executive.

Remix) – 3:45

Charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

* {{authority control 2018 singles 2018 songs Atlantic Records singles Bebe Rexha songs Cardi B songs Charli XCX songs Rita Ora songs Songs written by Rita Ora Songs written by Cardi B Songs written by Andrew Watt (record producer) Songs written by Ali Tamposi Songs written by Jonny Coffer Songs written by Brian Lee (songwriter) Songs written by Benjamin Diehl Songs written by Klenord Raphael Songs written by Bebe Rexha Lesbian-related songs LGBT-related controversies in music