"Fireball" is a song by American singer

Willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

featuring Trinidadian-born rapper

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...

. Produced by Stoopid Boots, it was released on October 6, 2011.

Background and release

The song premiered on October 4, 2011 on

Hot 97 WQHT (97.1 FM, ''Hot 97'') is a commercial radio station, licensed to New York, New York, which broadcasts an urban contemporary music format. The station is owned by Mediaco Holding, a subsidiary of the Standard General hedge fund. WQHT's st ...

Angie Martinez Angela "Angie" Martinez (born January 9, 1971) is an American radio personality, podcaster, singer, former rapper and actress. Dubbed "The Voice of New York", Martinez is widely known for her 28-year run at New York City station WQHT, Hot 97 ( ...

Show. Willow Smith Returns With 'Fireball' Feat. Nicki Minaj: Listen
/ref> It was released on

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

two days later and was released to U.S. urban radio on October 18, 2011. In the song, Minaj says: "Ok, I'm the street fighter, call me Chun-Li" making a reference to the character

Chun-Li Chun-Li (; Japanese: , Hepburn: ) is a character in Capcom's ''Street Fighter'' video game series. She first appeared in '' Street Fighter II: The World Warrior'' in 1991 and is the first female playable character to appear in a fighting game t ...

from the video game franchise

Street Fighter is a Media mix, Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting games developed and published by Capcom. Street Fighter 1, The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by List of Street Fighter video games, six other ma ...

and for who she ironically released a song of the same name as the character in 2018.

Live performances

Willow performed the song on the U.S. edition of

The X-Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

on November 10, 2011.

Music video

The music video for the song was released on December 9, 2011 and features Smith singing the song around the city streets constantly stating that she is the "Fireball" of the party and she is eventually joined by Minaj.

Charts

Awards and nominations

The song was nominated for the BTM Award (Best Teen Music) at the MP3 Music Awards in 2012.MP3 Music Awards 2012 nominations
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References

{{authority control 2011 singles 2011 songs Willow Smith songs Nicki Minaj songs Songs written by Nicki Minaj Songs written by Marc Kinchen Columbia Records singles Roc Nation singles