"Experience" is a song recorded by American singers

Victoria Monét Victoria Monét McCants (born May 1, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. First gaining recognition for her songwriting work, Monét pursued a recording career with the release of a series of extended plays (EPs); her fifth, ''Jaguar'' (2020) ...

and

Khalid Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal". It also appears as a surname.

and British record producer

SG Lewis Samuel George Lewis (born 9 July 1994) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. He is mostly known for collaborating with many artists from Tove Lo, Robyn, Dua Lipa, Nelly Furtado, Mabel, Victoria Monét, Lucky Daye, J ...

. It was released as the third single from the former's fifth extended play ''

Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...

'' on June 19, 2020 through Tribe Records. It is a

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

breakup song A breakup song is a song describing the breakup of an intimate relationship, with associated emotions of sadness, frustration, anger, and sometimes of acceptance, relief, or even liberation. As one source states (discussing the upbeat breakup son ...

written by all three artists with Kyla Moscovich and produced by Moscovich and Lewis.

Background

A collaboration between Monét and Khalid was first teased a week before the release of "Experience" in a tweet by Khalid which tagged Monét and read, "can't wait." On June 16, 2020, in a statement written by Monét posted to both her and Khalid's

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

accounts, they announced that their then untitled song would be released on June 19. In the joint statement, they explained that, despite going "back and forth" about it due to the "disgusting and confusing state of the world", they were releasing the song in the midst of the

George Floyd protests The George Floyd protests were a series of protests, riots, and demonstrations against police brutality that began in Minneapolis in the United States on May 26, 2020. The protests and civil unrest began in Minneapolis as Reactions to the mu ...

as a "form of escapism from troubling things", writing, "It’s important to us to highlight and celebrate Black joy and love in the middle of so much pain and trauma."

Composition

"Experience" is a "retro"

song, written as a

duet A duet (italian language, Italian: ''duo'') is a musical composition for two Performing arts, performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a har ...

, which incorporates

electro-funk Electro (also known as electro-funk, and sometimes referred to as electro-pop)
Gl ...

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

, and R&B influences, and features drums, synthesizers, and trumpets played by Kyla Moscovich. The song begins with a verse and chorus from Monét, while the second verse is sung by Khalid, with both singing together in the song's latter half. In the song's lyrics, Monét and Khalid express their hopes that an unfaithful ex-lover has grown from experience post-breakup. The song was called a "chugging groove" by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''s Alim Kheraj, who remarked that it was "indebted" to ''

Off the Wall ''Off the Wall'' is the fifth studio album by the American singer Michael Jackson, released on August 10, 1979, by Epic Records. It was Jackson's first album released through Epic Records, and the first produced by Quincy Jones, whom he met ...

''-era

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, and bandleader. Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received List of awards and nominations re ...

, and that the production by SG Lewis was "plush". ''

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 noted that the song had a "pulsating groove", while Wongo Okon of ''

Uproxx Uproxx Studios (stylized as ''UPROXX'') is an American music, entertainment and popular culture website and content studio. It was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater. The website was acquired in 2014 by Woven Digital (which later ...

'' referred to the song as "upbeat and groovy".

Critical reception

Robin Murray of '' Clash'' called "Experience" "a stunning party-starting favourite that blasts apart the rigours of the lockdown process" and "sheer joy from start to finish". ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

''s Brittny Pierre referred to the track as a "shiny mirrorball of a collaboration". Dani Blum of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' praised Monét's performance on the song, writing that she "makes the song a celebration" and "claim the spotlight, dazzling and dancing all the way", while calling Khalid's performance on the song "palatable" and "anonymous-sounding". Blum added that "Like the rest of 'Jaguar'' the track functions as both a triumph and a declaration." Kheraj of ''The Guardian'' noted that the song "brush dup against 2020's appetite for disco nostalgia", calling Lewis's vocal production of the song "a bold, beautiful choice".

Music video

A lyric video for "Experience" was released on June 30, 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Experience (Victoria Monet, Khalid and SG Lewis song) 2020 singles 2020 songs Victoria Monét songs Khalid (singer) songs SG Lewis songs Songs written by Khalid (singer) Songs written by Victoria Monét Song recordings produced by SG Lewis Songs written by SG Lewis