Hot (Inna Song)

"Hot" is the debut single by Romanian singer Inna, released on 12 August 2008. It is from her debut studio album of the same name (2009). The song was written and produced by Play & Win members Sebastian Barac, Radu Bolfea and Marcel Botezan. Musically, "Hot" is a trance-inspired electro house song, with its instrumentation consisting of synthesizer sounds and trance beats. Throughout the track, the hook is repeated multiple times, and male vocals are used to complement Inna.

Music critics gave generally positive to mixed reviews of the recording, commending its simplicity, efficacy and dance nature, while criticizing the quality of its lyrics and calling the track innovation loose. One reviewer also compared "Hot" to the work of British rock band New Order and French disc jockey David Guetta. The song won in the Best Dance category at the 2009 Romanian Music Awards, while it was nominated for an Eska Music Award in the same year. Commercially, it became Inna's breakthrough single, topping the charts in Bulgaria, Romania and Spain and reaching the top 20 in multiple countries. Due to high sales, "Hot" was awarded Gold and Platinum certifications in Denmark, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

For promotion, two accompanying music videos—known as "True Love Edit" and "Dancing in the Dark Edit"—were shot by Florin Botea and released in 2008. The first clip portrays a female nightclub dancer receiving cards from a supposed admirer, who then turns out to be her partner, while the second was meant to emphasize Inna's image. The singer performed the track live multiple times, including at the 2009 Eska Music Awards, Sopot Hit Festival, MAD Video Music Awards and her own Inna: Live la Arenele Romane gig in Bucharest. Dutch DJ duo Blasterjaxx also notably remixed "Hot" for the 2016 Ultra Music Festival to positive response.

Background and composition

As a child Inna became interested in music, with her mother, grandmother and grandfather singing as a hobby. She attended the Colegiul Economic (Economy College) in Mangalia, later studying political science at Ovidius University in Constanța. Inna also took singing lessons and participated in music festivals, while unsuccessfully auditioning for the Romanian band A.S.I.A. When Inna worked in an office, her manager heard her singing and contacted Play & Win. Adopting the stage name Alessandra in 2008, she approached a pop-rock style, which switched to "commercial" minimal-infused house music after changing her stage name to Inna.

"Hot" was entirely written and produced by Play & Win members Sebastian Barac, Radu Bolfea and Marcel Botezan, and was released as the first single from Inna's debut studio album of the same name (2009). It was sent to Romanian radio station Vibe FM on 12 August 2008, where it was played for the first time during the radio programme Request 629. During an interview with Romanian website Music Pass, Inna stated: " lay & Winpresented us 'Hot' ..which I didn't like. It sounded weird and different from what I had learned from y music teacher ..It was a little strange, much more effects, ..something like S.F." The track had been previously offered to Romanian singer Alessia to record, who however rejected it as it did not match her standards. On another occasion, Inna stated that the track emerged "out of fun" and that its success surprised her.

"Hot" has been described as an "unadulterated and stylised" trance-inspired electro house song. Its hook: "Fly like you do it / Like you're high like you do it / Like you fly like do it / Like a woman" is repeated multiple times throughout the track. Male "la la la" vocals complement "Hot", which according to Paul Lester of ''The Guardian'' sound "as though a hunky waiter from the local beach cafe wandered into shot". BBC
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