"On the Floor" is a song by American recording artist Jennifer Lopez, taken from her upcoming seventh studio album Love? (2011). Written by Bilal Hajji, Kinda Hamid, Gonzalo G. Hermosa, Gonzalo U. Hermosa, Achraf Janussi, Armando Perez, Geraldo Sandell and co-written & produced by RedOne, the up-tempo dance-pop, electropop, house music song features vocals from American rapper Pitbull. Additionally, it incorporates Latin beats with a interpolates "Llorando Se Fue," popularized by Kaoma's 1989 hit single "Lambada." In production, it is similar to Lopez's debut single "If You Had My Love" (1999) and millennium hit single "Waiting for Tonight" (2000). Lopez recorded the song as it incorporated both the singing and dancing elements of her career. "On the Floor" serves as Lopez's debut release with Island Def Jam Music, after the singer ended her ten-year partnership with Epic Records. It is also the first single from Love?, and the second time that Lopez and Pitbull collaborated on a song; the first being Love?'s 2009 promotional single, "Fresh Out the Oven". The release of the single coincides with Lopez's appointment as a judge on season ten of American Idol. "On the Floor" premiered on January 18, 2011 On Air with Ryan Seacrest, where it was met with positive reception. The song was sent to both mainstream and rhythmic radio stations on February 8, 2011, and released as a digital download from February 11, 2011. Although critics criticized RedOne for being unimaginative with the song, they applauded the song for updating Lopez's traditional dance-pop sound with the right mix of Latin beats, as well as having a vintage Lopez sound. It has also been applauded as Lopez's best work in recent years, with a global appeal. However, both the song garnered some criticisms for allegedly copying elements of the lyrics from fellow Latina singer Kat DeLuna's 2010 single "Party O'Clock", also produced by RedOne. Following its release, "On the Floor" has become the singer's most successful single in eight years, reaching number one in eighteen countries and top-five in many others. An accompanying music video, directed by TAJ Stansberry and choreographed by Frank Gatson, was released on March 3, 2011. The final ending was selected by fans, who were opted to vote between three alternative endings. Scenes in the video depict an underground club culture and with the styling, choreography and fashion paying homage to the dance-beginnings of Lopez's career. It premiered simultaneously on American Idol and through Vevo. It received critical acclaim for showcasing the best of Lopez's abilities as a dancer and for its expensive high quality finish, that critics felt complemented the song which also received a warm reception.Jennifer Lopez - On The Floor ft. Pitbull
Lopez's seventh studio album, Love?, has been in conception since late 2007 and early 2008. Then, under contract to Epic Records, Lopez released "Louboutins", a song written and produced by The-Dream and Tricky Stewart, as the project's lead single. However, upon release the song failed to garner any airplay, despite topping the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart. Lopez subsequently left Epic Records, by mutual consent, citing that she had fulfilled her contractual obligations and now wished to release the Love? with a new label. Upon signing with Island Def Jam Music Group, Lopez worked further with The-Dream and Tricky Stewart, in addition to working with new collaborators such as RedOne. It wasn't until January 2011 that Lopez teased the media about the new lead single for Love? In a tweet on her official Twitter account, Lopez posted: "I see u @RedOne_Official! We're making BIG things happen 'On the Floor' this new year!!!". Subsequently on January 16, 2011, an unfinished snippet of "On the Floor" leaked online via Rap-Up.com. It was produced by RedOne and features a rap from Pitbull. It is the second time that Lopez and Pitbull have collaborated on, the first being "Fresh Out the Oven", the leaked 2009 club single which reached number one on the US Hot Dance Club Songs chart. According to the Los Angeles Times's Gerrick D. Kennedy, a full length unfinished version leaked online over the same weekend, just in time for Lopez's new L'Oreal commercial which premiered during the telecast of the 68th Golden Globe Awards ceremony in Los Angeles. The timing of the leak also coincides with Lopez's debut as a full-time member of the judging panel on season ten of American Idol. Lopez confirmed the single's title as "On the Floor" during the red carpet ceremony at The Golden Globes, before appearing On Air with Ryan Seacrest radio show the following day for the song's live world premiere. Following its premier, the official version of "On the Floor", along with the single cover, were uploaded to Ryanseacrest.com. The site's editor Sadao Turner, revealed that the final master of the song was different to the previously leaked and unfinished version. "On the Floor" made its debut in the United Kingdom, on January 28, 2011 when it was played by DJ Scott Mills on his radio show, Ready for the Weekend. Benji Eisen from AOL Music stated that Lopez had used "genius marketing and branding" by synchronising the digital release of "On the Floor" with the premiere of its music video on American Idol. It was added the B-playlist on the UK's biggest mainstream radio station, BBC Radio 1, on March 16, 2011.
"On the Floor" is an up-tempo dance song, deriving from dance-pop, electropop and electro-house, which was produced by RedOne. It also contains heavy synths and elements of Eurodance, latin and techno music. Fellow latin artist and rapper Pitbull starts the song with a rap introduction while the melody interpolates the Los Kjarkas song, "Llorando Se Fue", popularized by Kaoma's 1989 hit single "Lambada". "On the Floor" was written by Bilal Hajji, Kinda Hamid, Gonzalo Hermosa, Ulises Hermosa, Achraf Janussi, RedOne, Pitbull and Geraldo Sandell in the key of Eb minor. It is written in time signature of common time and a tempo of 130 beats per minute. Lopez sings in a vocal range from Ab3 minor to Bb4. It uses a simple chord progression of Eb—Cb major7—Gb—Bbm7. According to Idolator and Gerrick Kennedy from the Los Angeles Times, "On the Floor" is reminiscent of Lopez's hit millennium single, "Waiting for Tonight". About.com's Bill Lamb also compared the song to Lopez's debut single "If You Had My Love" (1999) and the exotic touch that "Stereo Love" (2010) by Edward Maya had. Idolator noted that the song mixes "Latin sounds with a heavy club beat", while Melinda Newman from Hitfix.com said it has a "retro spirit" and was less heavy than some of Lopez's previous efforts. Kennedy agreed stating that "listeners haven’t heard this dance-electro-pop side of Lopez since 1999... much of her back catalog flirts with more gritty urban-pop sounds." Idolator's Robbie Daw commented that the final mastered version of the single trimmed one minute off the original leaked song, making it more "radio-ready". However, comparisons were made between "On the Floor" and another RedOne production, Kat DeLuna's 2010 single, "Party O'Clock", which was also produced by RedOne. In "Party O'Clock" DeLuna sings "Party in Ibiza, Party in New York/All the way to Africa/Love in the Caribbean/On my way to Vegas" whereas Lopez sings the nearly identical line "Cuz London to Ibiza/Straight to L.A. New York/Vegas to Africa" in "On the Floor". When speaking of the "On the Floor," Lopez said that she wanted a song that would evolved her sound, "it feels like me today, which I like. It's not something that you hear and you're like, 'That's not her,' but you also go, 'Is that her? I like that. It's new,' and that's what I wanted. I wanted it to be very me, but I wanted it to be me not from my first album or my second album, but for today." Meanwhile, Lopez said she had to record "On the Floor" because it captured both sides of her career, singing and dancing. "The minute RedOne played it for me, I made him play it 20 times in a row, and I just sat there at the board and I kept listening to it and listening to it ... Because I really feel like, emotionally, I connected to it, but also because of how much I love to dance and how much that's always been such a big part of who I am since I started. Since I was a little girl, I just totally connected with the idea of getting out there.
The clip begins with Lopez arriving at a club in a black BMW, one example of the product placement used throughout the video. As the music begins, she is putting on a pair Swarovski crystal earrings as the camera switches to and descends from above, showing the club scene unfolding. Las Vegas-style crystal chandeliers hang from the ceiling. Choreographer Frank Gatson Jr. called the club, "the best dance party in town", with Lopez playing several different characters. The scenes and Lopez were both styled to pay homage to her background as a professional dancer. Lopez said the video as "introducing people to a new J.Lo-ration of party people". In one scene, she plays a dominant queen of the party who watches from above, on a balcony surrounded by servants. When portraying this character, Lopez is styled with "a big beehive bun, gold gladiator heels and a glittery gold gown with Gaga-esque detailing in its high collar and leaves (upper image)." The 'queen' character "dangles lazily on a couch" and "regally oversees a crowd of people getting down on the dancefloor." In another seen Lopez wears a silver crystal and lace skin-tight catsuit, designed by Zuhair Murad, as she dances against a "gold cardio barre". According to the Los Angeles Times, she shakes her "money maker." Spliced in between these scenes, Lopez it is seen dressed in black harem pants and a bikini top, Lopez walks through the crowd to mount a circular stage on the Las Vegas-style dancefloor. MTV's Kelly Carter and AOL's Khawlhring Sawmteii describe the final scenes as Lopez "tearing up the floor", and "breaking it down 'fly-girl' style" (lower image).