"Sex Rules" is a song by American singer

Sky Ferreira Sky Tonia Ferreira (born July 8, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, model, and actress. As a teenager, Ferreira began uploading videos on Myspace of herself singing songs she had written, which led to her discovery by producers Bloodsh ...

from her debut

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

(EP), '' As If!'' (2011). It was released on March 1, 2011, by

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

as the lead single from the EP. The song was written by Ferreira,

Greg Kurstin Gregory Allen Kurstin (born May 14, 1969) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2017 and 2018, and written and produced four songs t ...

Billy Steinberg William Endfield Steinberg (born February 26, 1950) is an American songwriter. He achieved his greatest success in the 1980s with songwriting partner Tom Kelly; together they wrote or co-wrote the No. 1 hits " Like a Virgin" by Madonna (1984), ...

, and Daniel Lutrell, while production was handled by Kurstin. Looking to transition from the

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

music elements seen in her earlier single "17", Ferreira explored

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a re ...

and

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

styles with "Sex Rules". In the track, Ferreira frankly declares her infatuation for sexual intercourse. Contemporary music critics commended "Sex Rules" in their reviews, and expressed a particular appreciation for its experimental production. However, the track failed to impact any national

record charts A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include rec ...

. Furthermore, an accompanying music video for the song was never released.

Background and composition

After releasing the tracks "17", "

One 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

", and " Obsession", Ferreira announced that her debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

would be released on January 11, 2011. However, it was instead replaced by her first extended play (EP) '' As If!'', which was made available on March 22. In anticipation of its release,

commissioned "Sex Rules" as the lead single from the project; it was released through the

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

on March 1, 2011. The track, and Ferreira herself, were featured in a commercial for the American fashion house

Calvin Klein Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc., in 1968. In addition to clothing, he also has given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and ...

; she believed that the publicity she received from her projects in the fashion industry was beneficial to her aspirations in the music industry, and specifically credited her first collaboration with Calvin Klein with " akinga lot of different audiences, both in fashion and music, aware of my work." "Sex Rules", in addition to the remaining four tracks featured on ''As If!'', was co-written by Ferreira.

, and Daniel Lutrell provided songwriting contributions during its creation, while Kurstin was solely responsible for overseeing its production. The track prominently explores

and

musical styles, particularly showcasing trends popularized with

1980s music __NOTOC__ Year 198 (CXCVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sergius and Gallus (or, less frequently, year 951 ''Ab u ...

. It represents a stylistic departure from Ferreira's previous tracks and her later projects; "17" was noted for its blending of

components, while tracks on her second extended play ''

Ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

'' (2012) and debut studio album ''

Night Time, My Time ''Night Time, My Time'' is the debut studio album by American singer Sky Ferreira, released on October 29, 2013, by Capitol Records. The album was originally set to be released in 2011, following the singles "17", " One", and " Obsession". Howev ...

'' (2013) experimented with elements more commonly associated with

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...

. In "Sex Rules", Ferreira verbalizes her appreciation for

sexual intercourse Sexual intercourse (or coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion and thrusting of the penis into the vagina for sexual pleasure or reproduction.Sexual intercourse most commonly means penile–vaginal penetrat ...

; during the chorus, she sings "Sex rules, use your god-given tools / Sex rules, I pity the fools who realize too late / Love, sex, and god are great / Oh oh, oh oh, sex rules."

Critical reception

"Sex Rules" received generally favorable reviews from contemporary music critics. Writing for

MTV Buzzworthy MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a d ...

, Nicole James complimented the track for its successful blending of "super early

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

" and "

21st-century The 21st (twenty-first) century is the current century in the ''Anno Domini'' era or Common Era, under the Gregorian calendar. It began on 1 January 2001 ( MMI) and will end on 31 December 2100 ( MMC). Marking the beginning of the 21st centur ...

synthpop", and drew similarities to the music of artists such as

Chromeo Chromeo is a Canadian electro-funk duo from Montreal, formed in 2002 by musicians David "Dave 1" Macklovitch and Patrick "P-Thugg" Gemayel. Their sound draws from blue-eyed soul, dance music, rock, synth-pop, disco and funk. , the band has rele ...

La Roux La Roux ( ) is an English synthpop act formed in 2008 by singer Elly Jackson and record producer Ben Langmaid. The act's debut album ''La Roux'' (2009) was a critical and commercial success, winning a Grammy Award and producing hit singles suc ...

, and

Robyn Robin Miriam Carlsson (born 12 June 1979), known as Robyn (), is a Swedish pop singer, songwriter, record producer, and DJ. She arrived on the music scene with her 1995 debut album, ''Robyn Is Here'', which produced two Billboard Hot 100, ''Bil ...

. She concluded her commentary by describing the song as "fun ndsexy". Bradley Stern from MuuMuse spoke favorably of "Sex Rules" in his review for ''As If!''; he directed his praise towards its "blippy, skittering

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...

beats and a big fat slapping

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

", while additionally noting its apparent inspiration by pop singer

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...

. A writer for ''Idolator'' expressed excitement that Ferreira continued pursuing her musical endeavors after her earlier

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of "

Animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...

" by

Miike Snow Miike Snow (pronounced "Mike Snow") is a Swedish indie pop band formed in 2007. The band consists of producing team Bloodshy & Avant and American singer Andrew Wyatt. The band is often represented by a silhouette image of a jackalope. In their ca ...

. They commended Ferreira and Steinberg for developing a "hard-to-resist tune" that merged 1980s inspiration with the artistic individuality that Ferreira had become associated with, and thought that the track would help her establish prominence in mainstream culture. Writing for ''

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 ...

'', Colleen Nika was confident that "Sex Rules" introduced a "spiky" sound that could become popular in the evolving

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...

market. However, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

Jon Caramanica Jon Caramanica (born 1975) is an American journalist and pop music critic who writes for ''The New York Times''. He is also known for writing about hip hop music. Biography Born in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York, Caramanica received his ba ...

opined that the "dry" vocal performance made it difficult for Ferreira to meaningfully deliver the lyrics.

Track listing

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2011 singles 2011 songs Capitol Records singles Sky Ferreira songs Songs written by Greg Kurstin Songs written by Sky Ferreira