"Started" is a song recorded by Australian rapper Iggy Azalea for her second studio album ''

In My Defense ''In My Defense'' is the second studio album by Australian rapper Iggy Azalea. It was released independently on 19 July 2019, by Azalea’s label Bad Dreams Records and Empire Distribution serving as the follow-up to ''The New Classic'' (2014). ...

''. The song was written by Azalea alongside Ronny Wright and produced by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

record producer

J. White Did It Anthony Jermaine White (born December 17, 1984), known professionally as J. White Did It or simply J. White, is an American record producer, songwriter, and DJ from Leavenworth, Kansas. He is best known for producing Cardi B's chart-topping sing ...

. It was released by Bad Dreams and

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

on 3 May 2019 as the second single from the album. It has had over 95 million streams on Spotify becoming the first track from the album to do so. An accompanying music video for the track, directed by Colin Tilley, was shot the prior month in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

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and also premiered that day.

Composition

"Started" is a hip hop song, with a length of three minutes and six seconds. It was written by Azalea and Ronny Wright and produced by J. White Did It, who had also produced Azalea's previous single " Sally Walker". The track finds Azalea boasting, "I started from the bottom and now I'm rich... You started out hating, now you love my drip." It is described as an unapologetic "brag-heavy cut ..club banger about making your way to success after having nothing" and was noted to borrowing and twisting the

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

line "

started from the bottom "Started from the Bottom" is a song by Canadian hip hop recording artist Drake, released as the first single from his third studio album ''Nothing Was the Same''. The song was written by Drake, Michael Coleman, and Noah "40" Shebib, and it was pr ...

," by adding "and now I'm rich".

Music video

Background and release

A music video for the track was shot in April 2019 in a

mansion in

. It was directed by Colin Tilley, who also directed the music videos for Azalea's previous singles, "

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", "

Kream Kream (stylised as KREAM) is a Norwegian DJ and record producer duo consisting of brothers Daniel and Markus Slettebakken, from Bergen. Career 2016 - 2019 In 2017 KREAM signed with Atlantic Records / Big Beat Records and released the son ...

" and " Sally Walker". Azalea said she considered it her best yet by tweeting, "Started is the best video I've ever made." After changing her Twitter layout and unveiling the cover artwork, Azalea followed up her announcement tweet with: "Imagine NOT knowing an

Anna Nicole Smith Anna Nicole Smith (born Vickie Lynn Hogan; November 28, 1967 – February 8, 2007) was an American model, actress, and television personality. Smith started her career as a ''Playboy'' magazine centerfold in May 1992 and won the title of 1993 ...

quote when you see one. Can’t relate," and implied the visuals would reference Smith. She then regularly shared more stills from the video on social media, with the presence of a " sugar daddy" and flaunting a lavish lifestyle suggesting the main themes to be wealth and

gold digging Gold digging may refer to: * Gold digger, a person, usually female, who enters a relationship purely for monetary gain * Gold mining, the process of mining for gold ore * Gold panning Gold panning, or simply ''panning'', is a form of placer min ...

. She also posted pictures on set of the visuals with drag queen Trixie Mattel and tweeted: "I wrote a scene just for her in sallywalker but she was on tour so I HAD to write her into the story for started when I found out she’d be in town." Azalea confirmed the video would be dropping on the same day.

Synopsis

The video, which includes an appearance from Trixie Mattel in a skit, as well as

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(who previously made an appearance in the video for " Sally Walker"), features Azalea playing a

sugar baby Sugar dating, also called sugaring, is a relationship of an older wealthy person and a younger person who is in need of financial assistance. This sometimes achieves mutual benefits, but is often abused to take advantage of and coerce poor peop ...

after it opens with her marriage to an older man in a wheelchair, who uses an

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. Azalea is seen in a short white gown and donning many different looks throughout, including a diamond wig during a pool scene and a suit made out of hundred-dollar bills. Halfway through the video, Azalea starts to grow tired of him until another version of herself and Mattel appear in an

infomercial An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of dire ...

for Die Slow Cake Co., a poison cake mix to kill a sugar daddy, with the jingle: "If your name's in his will and you want your bread/ Call 1-833-DADDYS-DEAD." She then attempts to suffocate him with a cushion on their bed and he eventually dies during a feast. Azalea is left to enjoy her new life on her own by redecorating, with the help of Mateo, and hosting a lavish party afterwards to celebrate her wealth. In the context of the video, the song's lyrics reference how the sugar baby character's many naysayers believed she would not become rich, and has managed to prove them wrong.

Credits

* Iggy Azalea – Primary artist

Charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

* {{Iggy Azalea 2019 singles 2019 songs Iggy Azalea songs Music videos directed by Colin Tilley Song recordings produced by J. White Did It Songs written by Iggy Azalea Empire Distribution singles Australian hip hop songs