"Swalla" is a song by American singer

Jason Derulo Jason Joel Desrouleaux (born September 21, 1989), known professionally as Jason Derulo (; formerly stylized as Derülo), is an American singer and songwriter.

featuring

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accent ...

and

Ty Dolla $ign Tyrone William Griffin Jr. (born April 13, 1982), known professionally as Ty Dolla Sign (stylized as Ty Dolla $ign or Ty$), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He first gained major recognition in 2010 for his feature on Ameri ...

, released on February 24, 2017, by

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

. The song was written by the artists alongside

LunchMoney Lewis Gamal Kosh Lewis (born January 11, 1988), better known as LunchMoney Lewis, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his 2015 single " Bills", which topped the charts in Australia and peaked within t ...

, Robert Diggs, Jacob Kasher Hindlin, Russell Jones. and producer

Ricky Reed Eric Burton Frederic (born July 23, 1982), known professionally as Ricky Reed, is an American artist, music producer, singer, songwriter, and founder of Nice Life Recording Company. From 2005 to 2014, Reed was also known as Wallpaper. Early w ...

. The song was originally intended to be the first single from Derulo's fifth studio album, then titled ''777''.

Background and release

Derulo previewed "Swalla" in a video posted in August 2016. He officially announced it as a single on January 2, 2017. "Swalla" premiered on February 23, 2017, and was released for download on

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 ...

the next day. While talking about the song on the red carpet of the

59th Grammy Awards The 59th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on February 12, 2017. The CBS network broadcast the show live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The ceremony recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, ...

, Derulo said:

"I never believe in forcing a collaboration. You know, I’m a fan of both of theirs and I thought that they fit the track perfectly. It’s one of those ones that’ll get you up and doing your thing. I feel like it’s gonna stick out on the radio. There’s nothing that sounds like it."

Parts of the chorus are created as an interpolation of

ODB ODB may refer to: People * Ol' Dirty Bastard (1968–2004), American rapper and founding member of the Wu-Tang Clan * ODB (wrestler) (born 1978), Stage name of American professional wrestler Jessica Kresa * Original David Baker (born 1972), a monik ...

's song "

Shimmy Shimmy Ya "Shimmy Shimmy Ya" is the second single by Ol' Dirty Bastard, from the album '' Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version'' (1995). It was produced by fellow Wu-Tang Clan member RZA. The song was ranked number 59 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of ...

". On May 12, 2017, the trio released "Swalla (After Dark Remix)", a slow-paced acoustic remix of the original song. In an interview with ''

The Fader ''The Fader'' (stylized as ''FADER'') is a magazine based in New York City that was launched in 1999 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. It was the first print publication to be released on iTunes. It is o ...

'', Derulo said about the remix: "It was so nice we had to do it twice! The original version is the ultimate club track, so the idea was to give people the flip side of the song. The subject matter and melody is so sexy, but you might miss the 'sexy' in all the fun of 'Swalla'. So, 'After Dark' is on the opposite side of the spectrum and is SURE to set the mood."

Critical reception

Justin Ivey from '' XXL'' wrote that Minaj "comes through to close out the track with bars that steal the show". Joshua Espinoza of ''

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

'' wrote that "Jason and Ty handle their verses nicely, but Nicki is definitely the star", also saying that the song "definitely has potential". ''

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 ...

'' also praised Minaj's verse saying that she "anchors the track with a third and final verse that many will likely assume is another thinly-veiled jab at

Remy Ma Reminisce Mackie ( Smith; born May 30, 1980), known professionally as Remy Ma, is an American rapper. Discovered by Big Pun, she came to prominence for her work as a member of Fat Joe's group, Terror Squad. In 2006, she released her debut stud ...

". Hilary Hughes from

MTV News MTV News is the news production division of MTV. The service is available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network. In February 2016, MTV Networks confirmed it would refresh the MTV News brand in 2016, to compete with the likes ...

wrote that this is a "steamy number that has all three chiming in over a wobbly beat that would feel right at home on the floor of a beach club in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

Music video

On February 24, 2017, the official

lyric video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

for "Swalla", directed by Alex Lockett, was uploaded to Derulo'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. The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

premiered on March 17, 2017. As of June 2021, the music video has received over 1.6 billion views on

Live performances

Derulo and Ty Dolla $ign performed the song live on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh incar ...

'' on April 6, 2017. Derulo and Nicki Minaj performed the song at the

Billboard Music Awards The ''Billboard'' Music Awards are honors given out annually by '' Billboard'', a publication covering the music business and a music popularity chart. The ''Billboard'' Music Awards show has been held annually since 1990, with the exception of ...

on May 21, 2017. Derulo performed the song at the

Opening Ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

of Pakistan Super League 2018 on February 22, 2018. On April 12, 2018, Derulo performed the song live during a medley with " Tip Toe" and "

Colors Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associa ...

" at the German

Echo Music Prize Echo Music Prize (stylised as ECHO, ) was an accolade by the , an association of recording companies of Germany to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. The first ECHO Awards ceremony was held in 1992, and it was set up to hono ...

Other appearance

This song is featured in

Blackpink Blackpink (, commonly stylized in all caps or as BLɅϽKPIИK) is a South Korean girl group formed by YG Entertainment, consisting of members Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa. The group debuted in August 2016 with their single album ''Square ...

In Your Area World Tour The In Your Area World Tour (also known as Blackpink World Tour n Your Area'') was the first worldwide concert tour and the second overall by South Korean girl group Blackpink. The tour began on November 10, 2018, in Seoul, South Korea, and ende ...

as the group member

Lisa Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer * Lisa Komine (born 1978), J ...

's solo dance number in Asia, North America and Europe setlist. It is announced that this song will appear in ''

Produce X 101 ''Produce X 101'' () is a 2019 South Korean boy group survival reality show on Mnet and the fourth season of the ''Produce 101'' franchise. The public, referred to as "national producers", "produces" a boy band by choosing 11 members among the ...

'' as one of the dance evaluation songs along with " Believer" by

Imagine Dragons Imagine Dragons is an American pop rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, consisting of lead singer Dan Reynolds, guitarist Wayne Sermon, bassist Ben McKee and drummer Daniel Platzman. The band first gained exposure with the release of their sing ...

and "

Finesse In contract bridge and similar games, a finesse is a type of card play technique which will enable a player to win an additional trick or tricks should there be a favorable position of one or more cards in the hands of the opponents. The player a ...

" by

Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for his stage performances, retro showmanship, and for performing in a wide range of musical s ...

and

Cardi B Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar Cephus (, ; born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper and songwriter. She first gained popularity as an influencer on Vine and Instagram. From 2015 to early 2017, she appeared as ...

Track listing

*Digital download #"Swalla" (featuring

and

Ty Dolla Sign Tyrone William Griffin Jr. (born April 13, 1982), known professionally as Ty Dolla Sign (stylized as Ty Dolla $ign or Ty$), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He first gained major recognition in 2010 for his feature on Ameri ...

) – 3:36 *Digital download #"Swalla" (

Wideboys The Wideboys are an English electronic music duo known for club remixes and for their own song "Sambuca", featuring Dennis G on vocals, which reached number 15 in the UK in October 2001. Another top 40 single, "Daddy-O" featuring Shaznay Lewis, ...

Remix) (featuring Nicki Minaj and Ty Dolla Sign) – 3:16 *Digital download #"Swalla" (After Dark Remix) (featuring Nicki Minaj and Ty Dolla Sign) – 4:32

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2017 songs 2017 singles Jason Derulo songs Nicki Minaj songs Ty Dolla Sign songs Warner Records singles Dancehall songs Songs written by Jason Derulo Songs written by Nicki Minaj Songs written by Ty Dolla Sign Songs written by Ricky Reed Songs written by Jacob Kasher Songs written by LunchMoney Lewis Songs written by Ol' Dirty Bastard Songs written by RZA Number-one singles in Israel