"Ugly" is a song recorded by American singer

Fantasia Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...

for her fifth studio album, '' The Definition Of...'' (2016). It was released by

19 Recordings 19 Recordings Inc. (registered in the United Kingdom as 19 Recordings Ltd.) is a New York-based record label owned by 19 Entertainment. Founded in London by British entrepreneur Simon Fuller in 1999 as the music division of 19 Entertainment, the ...

and

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on April 7, 2016, as a

promotional single A promotional recording, or promo, or plug copy, is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as ...

from the album. Produced by

Ron Fair Ronald Fair is an American A&R executive, record producer, record executive, musical arranger, recording engineer and conductor. In a career that has spanned over 30 years at major record labels he has produced and arranged hits for several art ...

, the song was written by

Audra Mae Audra Mae (born February 20, 1984) is an American singer and songwriter from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She is the great-great-niece of Judy Garland, and a great granddaughter of Garland's sister Jimmie. Since arriving in California in 2007, she has ...

and

Nicolle Galyon Nicolle Anne Galyon (born July 22, 1984) is a singer, songwriter, producer, record label executive, & publishing executive from Sterling, Kansas. She has written songs for Lady A, Miranda Lambert, Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, Dan + Shay, Florida Ge ...

. A departure from the hip-hop and R&B sound of Fantasia's previous studio albums, the track is a

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and pop

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

revolving around body image and female empowerment. Media outlets had varying opinions of the song's genre and its content; Fantasia said that it was inspired by her childhood. "Ugly" received a mixed response from critics, who were divided over Fantasia's foray into country music. Fantasia performed part of it during the ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'' series finale, which earned positive reviews from media outlets. She also dedicated the song to her daughter Zion during a July 28, 2016, concert broadcast on

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...

Background and recording

While recording her fifth studio album '' The Definition Of...'' (2016),

sought to have more creative control over her music and image. Frustrated with the amount of

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

interference in the past, she described executives' plans to determine her sound and style as "prostituting the artist's gift," and wanted to avoid such influences on the album. She attributed her determination to reclaim her career to adjustments she made to her personal life following her 2014 performances in the

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musical ''After Midnight'', specifically her choice to spend seven months focusing on her personal well-being and her subsequent marriage to businessman Kendall Taylor. In an interview with

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, Fantasia said that she wanted to record a

song to experiment with different musical genres. During its production, ''The Definition Of...'' was initially titled ''Pot of Soup'' to reflect this choice to explore various styles of music. She included country music as part of "rock soul" a genre she introduced on her previous release ''

Side Effects of You ''Side Effects of You'' is the fourth studio album by American recording artist Fantasia Barrino, Fantasia. The album was released in the United States on April 23, 2013, by RCA Records after the disbanding of J Records in 2011. The album features ...

'' (2013). She defined rock soul as combining the musical styles of

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

, and

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

as well as including elements of "

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

, country,

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

, pop and, most important to her,

live instrumentation In music, live instrumentation is the use of acoustic instrument, acoustic and electronic instrument, electronic musical instruments in live music and Sound recording and reproduction, recording rather than DJing, sampling (music), sampling, and oth ...

". "Ugly' was written by

and

and produced by

. Fantasia's vocals were produced and arranged by Fair. They were also engineered by Fair and

Pat Thrall Patrick Thrall is an American rock guitarist. Thrall began his recording career in 1972. He played guitar, vocals, and percussion with the group Cookin' Mama, which had his brother, Preston Thrall, on percussion. They released the album ''New Day ...

at Faircraft Studios in Brentwood, California. The instrumental parts were also recorded and arranged by Fair. Paul Jackson Jr. played the

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

on the track, while the

string String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

s were recorded by Steve Genewick.

Composition and lyrics

Backed by a "soulful piano arrangement", "Ugly" is a departure from Fantasia's previous output of "bouncy hip-hop singles" and "groovy R&B slow burns". ''

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''s Amber McKynzie referred to the single as a "country-esque pop

", while ''

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s Alex Macpherson called it an "outright country moment". Chris Campbell of the ''

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'' said the track was a "piano-based melodrama"; ''

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'''s Chuck Arnold compared the composition to a

show tune A show tune is a song originally written as part of the score of a work of musical theatre or musical film, especially if the piece in question has become a standard, more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context. ...

. The single's lyrics cover a variety of issues, ranging from "body image,

class division Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differently ...

, an unhappy marriage and alcoholism". "Ugly" opens with Fantasia narrating a tragic story about a woman with a "picket fence, two-car garage and a man that she don't love". She advocates for

female empowerment Women's empowerment (or female empowerment) may be defined in several ways, including accepting women's viewpoints, making an effort to seek them and raising the status of women through education, awareness, literacy, and training.Kabeer, Naila ...

and explores expectations regarding beauty with lyrics like: "With dirt on my hands and scrapes on my knees/Feeling like nothing can wash it off clean/Tell your girls it's a beautiful thing/Just trust me/It's far from ugly." The lyrics also feature the importance of love, with Fantasia singing: "Thank you for that good good man who loves me." Alex Mcpherson interpreted Fantasia's delivery of the lyric "Give me good food that sticks to my bones" as incorporating gospel elements into the song. Music critics interpreted the lyrics as encompassing various meanings. Mike Wass wrote that Fantasia provides advice on life through "Ugly". Sarah Grant of ''

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 ...

'' found the single to be a reflection of past struggles - her attempted suicide, an affair with a married man, an abortion, and a battle with depression. Amber McKynzie compared its lyrical content to

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's 1999 single "

Unpretty "Unpretty" is a song by American group TLC, released on May 17, 1999, through LaFace and Arista Records as the second single from the band's third studio album, ''FanMail''. It was written by Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and the producer Dallas Austi ...

", and Lauren Craddock of ''Billboard'' interpreted the main theme as "embracing the beauty in individuality". When discussing the message behind "Ugly", Fantasia said that she wanted to help someone, and said: "My grandmother taught me that your test will help someone along the way." During an interview with ''People'', she explained that she intended for the track to reach "every young girl out there who's gonna go through everything I went through, and more" as well as older women. Connecting the lyrics with her own childhood, Fantasia said: "I was very insecure growing up, and even though I'm not that girl anymore, I think that the passion, that not feeling pretty and being insecure is where my soul came from. And from early childhood, I let it free onstage."

Release and promotion

"Ugly" was first released when Fantasia uploaded an audio-video to her official

Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...

account on April 6, 2017. The following day, she debuted the track live during the ''American Idol'' series finale, singing a portion of the single, which ''Billboard'''s Michele Amabile Angermiller called a "sneak peek". The song was made available through digital platforms on midnight of the same day.Alt URL
Along with "So Blue" (2016), it was one of two promotional singles made available prior to the album's release. Fantasia's performance on ''American Idol'' earned positive feedback from media outlets. ''Entertainment Weekly'''s Justin Kirkland wrote that Fantasia did an "unbelievable performance" of the track. Michael Slezak of

TVLine ''TVLine'' is a website devoted to information, news, and spoilers of television programs. History In late 2010, ''Entertainment Weekly''s Michael Ausiello announced that he would be leaving ''EW'' after nearly two years in their employ to est ...

praised her choice to sing a country song as showcasing her ability to be "absolutely transcendent in the genre". Fantasia also sang "Ugly" during a July 28, 2016, concert broadcast on

, (the first in a series of live concerts on the cable channel). During her performance, she dedicated the song to her daughter Zion.

Critical reception

Critical response was mixed. Alex Mcpherson cited "Ugly" as an example of 2016's R&B/country trend, and praised it for "captur ngthe emotional blood and guts at the core of both genres". Sarah Grant described the single as "one of the more evocative songs on the album", and Michael Slezak commended its

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...

as the catchiest in Fantasia's music catalog. ''Between the Lines''' Chris Azzopardi wrote that the song was a "welcome country detour", though

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

's Andy Kellman panned it as a "contemporary country number seemingly written by an algorithm". Wass panned the lyrics as "veer ngdangerously close to schmaltz", though he felt the hook had potential for strong

crossover appeal Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...

. He viewed it as an improvement over Fantasia's previous single " No Time for It" (2016).

Track listing

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

of ''The Definition Of... '', 19 Recordings, RCA. ;Management *Rock Soul Records/19 Recordings *Limited/RCA Records ;Recording locations *Music recording – Faircraft Studios ( Brentwood) ;Personnel *Arranged By, Arranged By trings Arranged By ocals Bass, Harmonica, Conductor, Conductor trings Percussion, Piano, Producer – Ron Fair *Backing Vocals, Vocals – Fantasia *Engineer ecordingnbsp;– Pat Thrall, Ron Fair *Guitar – Paul Jackson, Jr. *Recorded By tringsnbsp;– Steve Genewick *Written By – Audra Mae, Nicolle Galyon

Release history

References

External links

* {{Good article 2010s ballads 2016 songs Country ballads Fantasia Barrino songs Pop ballads RCA Records singles Songs with feminist themes Songs about heartache American country music songs