"Million Dollar Baby" is a song by American singer Ava Max, released on September 1, 2022, through

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 ...

as the second single from her second studio album ''

Diamonds & Dancefloors ''Diamonds & Dancefloors'' is the second studio album by American singer Ava Max. It was released on January 27, 2023, through Atlantic Records. Recorded throughout 2021, the album is a dance-pop record much like Max's debut studio album '' Heav ...

'' (2023). The song was written by Max, Jessica Agombar, Michael Pollack,

Diane Warren Diane Eve Warren (born September 7, 1956) is an American songwriter. She has received several awards including a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, three ''Billboard'' Music Awards and an Honorary Academy Award. Wa ...

, Casey Smith, and the producers David Stewart, Cirkut and Lostboy. "Million Dollar Baby" is a

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

and

Eurodance Euro-Dance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG, Euro-electronica or Euro) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of hip hop, techno, Hi-NRG, house music, and Euro-Disco. This ...

song, with influences by music from the 2000s. It

interpolates In the mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a type of estimation, a method of constructing (finding) new data points based on the range of a discrete set of known data points. In engineering and science, one often has a n ...

LeAnn Rimes Margaret LeAnn Rimes Cibrian (born August 28, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She originally rose to success as a country music artist at age 13 with 1996's "Blue". She has since crossed over into pop, contemporary Chris ...

' 2000 song "

Can't Fight the Moonlight "Can't Fight the Moonlight" is a song written by Diane Warren and performed by American singer LeAnn Rimes. It is the theme song of the film '' Coyote Ugly''. Released as a single on August 22, 2000, the song reached the top 10 in 19 European cou ...

", with lyrics about empowerment. An accompanying music video was directed by Andrew Donoho and depicts Max witnessing herself perform at a nightclub.

Background and composition

In August 2022, Max announced the title of "Million Dollar Baby" on TikTok and confirmed that an accompanying music video was filmed. She stated that the song was recorded during a difficult time period, with the title and lyrics themed around "self-worth" and overcoming adversity. On August 26, 2022, Max and American singer

appeared on several TikTok videos to promote "Million Dollar Baby" by re-enacting a tabletop dance scene from the 2000

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

'' Coyote Ugly'', and performing the film's soundtrack song "

" (2000). The

cover art Cover art is a type of artwork presented as an illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product such as a book (often on a dust jacket), magazine, newspaper ( tabloid), comic book, video game (box art), music album (album art), ...

of "Million Dollar Baby" was revealed on Max's

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

account on August 27, 2022. "Million Dollar Baby" was released as the second single from Max's second studio album ''Diamonds & Dancefloors'' on September 1, 2022. The song was written by Max, Jessica Agombar, Michael Pollack,

, Casey Smith, and the producers David Stewart, Cirkut and Lostboy. Musically, "Million Dollar Baby" is a

and

song, inspired by music from the 2000s. It is performed in the key of

D minor D minor is a minor scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative major is F major and its parallel major is D major. The D natural minor scale is: Changes needed for t ...

with a tempo of 133 beats per minute, with Max's vocals ranging from A₃ to A₅. It

"Can't Fight the Moonlight" by LeAnn Rimes, which serves as the ''Coyote Ugly'' theme song. The song name-drops the 2004 film of the same name, while Lindsay Zoladz of '' The New York Times'' noticed similarities with Lady Gaga's 2009 song "

Bad Romance "Bad Romance" is a song by American singer Lady Gaga from her third extended play (EP), ''The Fame Monster'' (2009)—the reissue of her debut studio album, ''The Fame'' (2008). Gaga wrote and produced the song with RedOne. Following an illegal ...

" in the bridge. The lyrics are based on the theme of empowerment, which begins with grief and ends in emancipation.

Reception

KIIS-FM writer Rebekah Gonzalez described "Million Dollar Baby" as "dancefloor-ready" and considered it to be a "song of the summer", while Shaad D'Souza of '' Paper'' thought the song sounded "euphoric". Writing for '' Los Angeles'', Abigail Siatkowski opined that Max was inspired by Lady Gaga and developed "Million Dollar Baby" with her own "pop flare". Zoladz complimented the song's "sleek ndcalisthenic" production, but believed Max was a pop "practitioner" without a "distinct persona". Jenesaispop writer Jordi Bardají criticized "Million Dollar Baby" for containing a similar

melody A melody (from Greek language, Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a Linearity#Music, linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most liter ...

to "Can't Fight the Moonlight" and over-relying on interpolations, but stated that it is not "a bad song at all".

Promotion

An accompanying music video for "Million Dollar Baby" was first teased by Max on her social media accounts. The video was directed by Andrew Donoho, which was released alongside the song. Max sports brunette hair as she enters a nightclub named Diamonds & Dancefloors, which references her second studio album title. She witnesses a blonde version of herself perform onstage with a group of backup dancers. Both versions eventually combine into a single dark-haired entity with a glittering dress after the former follows the latter backstage, where Max then performs onstage and vanishes. Gonzalez considered the music video to be "stunning", while '' Uproxx'' staff writer Adrian Spinelli wrote that it was "opulent". Max performed "Million Dollar Baby" atop a large diamond stage at the

2022 MTV Europe Music Awards The 2022 MTV Europe Music Awards were held on 13 November 2022 at the PSD Bank Dome in Düsseldorf, Germany. This marks the sixth time the award show is hosted in Germany. The show aired live on MTV with an hour long pre-show leading up to the ...

on November 13, 2022. The song is included on the 2022 rhythm game ''

Just Dance 2023 Edition ''Just Dance 2023 Edition'' is a 2022 dance rhythm game developed and published by Ubisoft. It was unveiled on September 10, 2022 during the Ubisoft Forward September 2022 web presentation as the fourteenth main installment and the last installmen ...

'', with the choreography performed by Max herself as the coach.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal. * Amanda Ava Koci vocals, songwriting * Henry Walter songwriting, production, programming * David Stewart songwriting, production, programming * Lostboy songwriting, production * Jessica Agombar songwriting * Michael Pollack songwriting *

songwriting * Casey Smith songwriting * Tom Norris mixer * Chris Gehringer mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{Ava Max 2022 singles 2022 songs Ava Max songs Atlantic Records singles Song recordings produced by Cirkut Songs with feminist themes Songs written by Ava Max Songs written by Cirkut Songs written by Diane Warren Eurodance songs Songs written by Michael Pollack (musician)