"I'm a Freak" is the third English (and overall fifth) single from

Enrique Iglesias Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (; (born 8 May 1975) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He started his recording career in the mid-1990s on the Mexican indie label Fonovisa and became the bestselling Spanish-language act of the decade. By the ...

's album, '' Sex and Love''. It was the first single from the album to be released worldwide. The single was released on 11 January 2014 and features American rapper

Pitbull Pit bull is a term used in the United States for a type of dog descended from bulldogs and terriers, while in other countries such as the United Kingdom the term is used as an abbreviation of the American Pit Bull Terrier breed. The term was f ...

. The single was commercially successful and a hit in Europe. It became a top ten hit in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Scotland, Finland, Belgium (Flanders), Poland, Serbia, top twenty hit in Czech Republic, Russia, Spain and top forty hit in Bulgaria, and Austria.

Background

The single was scheduled to be released in December 2012 but was postponed for unknown reasons. The track got leaked on the internet and social media on 31 December 2013. This is the third single on which Iglesias and Pitbull have collaborated after the likes of " I Like It" and "

I Like How It Feels "I Like How It Feels" is a song by Spanish recording artist Enrique Iglesias. The song was originally intended to be the lead single from a reissue of Iglesias' album '' Euphoria'', however, the release was cancelled. The song was later include ...

". They have also collaborated on Pitbull's songs "Come 'n' Go" and "Tchu Tchu Tcha" off of his albums, ''

Planet Pit ''Planet Pit'' is the sixth studio album by American rapper Pitbull. It was released on June 17, 2011, through Polo Grounds Music, Mr. 305 Entertainment, Sony Music, and J Records. The production on the album was handled by a variety of pop an ...

'' (2011) and ''

Global Warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

'' (2012) respectively. The cover of the single was uploaded on Iglesias's official website on 8 January 2014.

Composition

"I'm a Freak" is a

dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre 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 radio. Developing from a ...

and

electro house Electro house is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by heavy bass and a tempo around 130 beats per minute. The term has been used to describe the music of many ''DJ Mag'' Top 100 DJs, including Benny Benassi, Skrillex, Steve Aoki ...

song. It was written by Iglesias, Pitbull, Rome Ramirez and Niles Hollowell-Dhar. The song was produced by

The Cataracs The Cataracs were an American hip hop record production project and duo formed in Berkeley, California, United States, consisting of David Benjamin Singer-Vine (born March 9, 1988) and Niles Hollowell-Dhar (born October 6, 1988). The duo starte ...

who also produced Iglesias's recent tracks "

Turn the Night Up "Turn the Night Up" is a song recorded by Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias, released as the lead single off Iglesias' tenth studio album '' Sex and Love''. It was written by Iglesias, Niles Hollowell-Dhar, Marty James and Rome Ramirez, and produc ...

" and "

Heart Attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

". ''Idolator'' described the single's music production as "Bouncy "electropop" and lyrics as "provocative". They stated that the song sounds more like something you’d hear during a particularly lively night out at a suburban P.F. Chang’s than it does like anything that captures an authentic piece of the Miami zeitgeist, it’ll probably be a crowd-pleaser.

Critical reception

"I'm a Freak" generally received positive reviews. Jake Hamilton gave the song an A−, stating that the song is a chart conquer for spring. AMPed Music described the song as another club-ready anthem and a decent track. They also stated that the song "still oozes enough party mojo that would get any party animal crazy on the dance floor." ReDigi described it as "an unsurprisingly pure party anthem featuring a typically hedonistic production from The Cataracs ...Despite its wave of EDM bleeps, pulsing beats and suggestive lyrics, the song is a little more melodic and a little less bombastic than recent club bangers 'Turn The Night Up' and 'Finally Found You.'" Haley Longman of OK! magazine gave a positive review and stated:

Nothing will ever compare to the catchiness of “I Like It” probably, but Enrique and Pitbull’s newest collab comes pretty darn close. When Enrique says “cause I’m a freAKK” in the chorus and his voice goes up like that…can’t handle. This song is so good. And it’s probably the 2014 version of “Timber,” so…

However

Direct Lyrics MRC II Distribution Company L.P., doing business as MRC (formerly Media Rights Capital), is an American film and television studio. Founded by Mordecai (Modi) Wiczyk and Asif Satchu, the company funds and produces film and television programming. ...

gave a negative review with 1.5/5 stars, stating that the song doesn't look too bright and that the lyrics of the song are decent but the beat is weak.

Chart performance

"I'm a Freak" was commercially successful and a hit in Europe. It became a top 10 hit in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Scotland, Finland, Belgium (Flanders), Poland, Serbia, top 20 hit in Czech Republic, Russia, Spain and top 40 hit in Bulgaria, and Austria. The single made a debut at No. 40 on ''Billboard''

Dance/Electronic Songs The Dance/Electronic Songs chart has been published weekly by ''Billboard'' since January 2013. It is the first chart to be published that ranks the most popular dance and electronic songs according to audience impressions, digital downloads, s ...

Music video

The official music video premiered on 31 January 2014 on Iglesias' official

Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...

account on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

. The music video is directed by

Colin Tilley Colin Tilley (born June 27, 1988) is an American filmmaker, music video director, and television commercial director. Tilley is the CEO and owner of Boy in the Castle Productions. He has directed more than 300 music videos. Tilley directed, pro ...

who has also directed Enrique's

music video. The video has been viewed 80 million times (Aug 2017).

Track listing

;Digital download #"I'm a Freak" – 3:39 ;Other versions *

Dave Aude Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...

Party Vocal – 5:30 * Dave Aude Party Dub – 5:30 * Dave Aude Club Vocal – 5:26 * 7th Heaven Club Mix – 7:04 * 7th Heaven Radio Edit – 3:46

Live performances

Iglesias was scheduled to perform the song at the ''Sports Illustrated'' Swimsuit event on 3 February 2014. He also performed the song at a private show on 14 January as well as in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and New York with Pitbull the day after. He performed the song on ''

The Voice UK ''The Voice UK'' is a British singing competition television series. Created by John de Mol, it premiered on BBC One during the spring television cycle on 24 March 2012. Based on the original ''The Voice of Holland'', and part of ''The Voice ...

'' on 29 March 2014. The song was also performed live on 21 June at Capital

Summertime Ball Capital's Summertime Ball is a mini-festival in London, held on either first or second Saturday or Sunday of June by the radio station Capital. The first ball was at Emirates Stadium in 2009, and it has since been held at Wembley Stadium. The ...

2014 at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control Enrique Iglesias songs Pitbull (rapper) songs 2014 singles 2014 songs Song recordings produced by the Cataracs Songs written by Enrique Iglesias Universal Republic Records singles Songs written by Marty James Songs written by Dr. Luke Songs written by Cirkut (record producer) Song recordings produced by Cirkut (record producer) Songs written by Rome Ramirez