On the Floor is a song recorded by American entertainer Jennifer Lopez for her seventh studio album, Love? (2011). Featuring American rapper Pitbull, it was released by Island Records on February 8, 2011 as the lead single from the album. On the Floor was written by Kinda Kee Hamind, AJ Junior, Teddy Sky, Bilal The Chef, Armando C. Perez, Gonzalo Hermosa, Ulises Hermosa, along with the songs producer RedOne. It is an up-tempo electronic dance song with a common time with a tempo of 130 beats per minute. On the Floor incorporates elements of electro house and electropop and draws further musical influences from Eurodance, latin music and techno music. Its development was motivated by Lopezs Latin heritage and pays homage to her career-beginnings as a dancer. Interpolated within the song are recurrent elements of the 1982 composition Llorando se fue written by Gonzalo and Ulises Hermosa, a composition that gained notoriety when it was sampled by Kaoma in their 1989 single Lambada. Lopez described On the Floor as an evolution of her classic sound and as something which sounded very current. The debut and release of On the Floor coincided with Lopezs appointment as a judge on the tenth season of US reality TV show American Idol, as well as several other product endorsement deals. American Idol also provided a platform to debut the singles music video, as well as the stage for Lopezs first live performance of the song. On the Floor was met with a generally positive reception from music critics, with editors from BBC Music and Los Angeles Times drawing comparisons to Lopezs debut single, If You Had My Love (1999) and follow-up single Waiting for Tonight (1999). Commercially, On the Floor is Lopezs most successful single to date, topping more than twenty national single charts. In the United States, it was Lopezs first single in four years to garner airplay, and to date has sold over three million copies, earning a triple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It resulted in being one of the biggest hits of the year on the year-end charts; On the Floor finished in first place in Austria, Finland, Germany, Spain and Switzerland. A music video was directed by TAJ Stansberry and choreographed by Frank Gatson, Jr, with fans being given the chance to vote for their preferred ending for the video. The completed clip premiered simultaneously on Vevo and during the March 3, 2011 episode of American Idol. It depicts a Los Angeles underground club culture where Lopez portrays a queen of the nightclub, amongst other characters. The video received critical acclaim for its lavish production, the styling and choreography, that critics felt best highlighted Lopezs abilities as a dancer. As of October 2014, On the Floor is the third most viewed YouTube video of all time with over 784 million views. The single also spawned a Spanish version, Ven a Bailar, translating as Come to Dance.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Nov 2014 15:11:57 +0000