"Lala (Unlocked)" (stylized as "LALA (Unlocked)") is a song by American singer and songwriter

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

featuring American recording artist

Swae Lee Khalif Malik Ibn Shaman Brown (born June 7, 1993), known professionally as Swae Lee, is an American singer and rapper. Known for his wide vocal range and genre-bending, Swae Lee is one half of the hip hop duo Rae Sremmurd with his brother Slim J ...

. The song was written by Keys, Darryl Ellis, Khalif Brown, Michael L Williams II, Paul Richmond and Ruben Locke and produced by Keys and Mike Will Made It. It was released through

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

as the lead single from Keys' eighth studio album, '' Keys'' (2021) on September 9, 2021.

Background and release

Keys announced the song on social media on September 1, posting a snippet of the song and the single's cover art. A 30-second snippet of the song was posted on Keys's

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 ...

channel on September 4, 2021. In in interview on Apple Music 1 with

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...

, Keys explained the creative process of the collaboration:

Composition

"Lala" is an R&B song that samples "In the Mood" by

Tyrone Davis Tyrone Davis (born Tyrone D. Fettson or Tyrone D. Branch, October 3, 1937 – February 9, 2005) was an American blues and soul singer with a long list of hit records over more than 20 years. Davis had three number 1 hits on the '' Billboard'' ...

. Swae Lee sings on the track "Light the incense/ Not to mention/ Skin like whiskey/ She's cold like on the rocks". Keys sings "Feelings get lost in the lala".

Critical reception

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 ...

'' called the song "sultry" and wrote that Keys and Lee "trade flirtatious lines" on the song. ''

Rap-Up ''Rap-Up'' is a magazine launched in 2001 by founder Devin Lazerine. The publication was originally a website devoted to hip hop, until Lazerine decided to pitch the possibility of a magazine to several publishers. The magazine is focused on the ...

'' wrote that Keys and Lee "show off their chemistry as they trade love-drunk verses" on the "breezy" track. In his review of the album, Liam Inscoe-Jones from ''

The Line of Best Fit ''The Line of Best Fit'' is an independent online magazine based in London, concentrating on new music. It publishes independent music reviews, features, interview, and media. Founded by Richard Thane in February 2007 and currently edited by P ...

'' called the song “slick”, but opined that the song should have been on the Originals side of the album.

Live performances

Keys and Swae Lee performed the song at the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards on September 12, 2021. Their performance was broadcast from

Liberty State Park Liberty State Park (LSP) is a park in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located on Upper New York Bay in Jersey City, New Jersey, Jersey City opposite Liberty Island and Ellis Island. The park opened in 1976 to coincide with United States Bicentenn ...

. ''

'' wrote that Keys sang "sultry rendition" of the song while ''

Vibe ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down productio ...

'' commented that Keys' and Lee's "creative chemistry translated from the studio to the big stage". ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'' ranked the performance as the fifth best performance of the show while '' Paste'' named it one of the best performances, commenting that "Swae Lee sheavily autotuned vocals were quite a contrast to Keys’ effortlessly smooth singing". The performance "was pretty forgettable" according to ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

''.

Charts

References

{{Alicia Keys singles 2021 singles 2021 songs Alicia Keys songs RCA Records singles