Fancy (Iggy Azalea song)
"Fancy" is a song by Australian rapper Iggy Azalea featuring British singer Charli XCX, taken from the former's debut studio album, The New Classic (2014). It was released on 17 February 2014 by Def Jam Recordings as the fourth single from the album. "Fancy" was described as an electro-hop, electropop, and pop rap song. It was written by Azalea[1] and XCX, composed and produced by production team the Invisible Men, alongside additional producers the Arcade. It was leaked under the title "Leave It" in December 2013.
"Fancy" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming both Azalea's and XCX's first number-one on that chart. It held the spot for seven consecutive weeks. It also topped the charts in Canada and New Zealand and had general chart success around the world. It reached the top ten in several countries such as Azalea's native country Australia and the United Kingdom. It is XCX's second top-ten single, after her guest spot on Icona Pop's "I Love It" in 2013. "Fancy" was named Billboard's Song of the Summer for 2014, as well as the most-streamed song on Spotify and most-watched music video on Vevo in 2014. It won the Top Rap Song category at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards and was nominated for Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 57th Grammy Awards.[2] It is one of the best-selling singles worldwide, with combined sales and track-equivalent streams of 9.1 million units according to IFPI.[3] In 2017, Billboard named "Fancy" as the biggest hit by a female rapper in history.[4]
The accompanying music video for "Fancy" was directed by Director X and released in March 2014. The visuals are inspired by the 1995 American comedy film Clueless, with Azalea playing Beverly Hills socialite Cher Horowitz and XCX as Tai Frasier. The music video was nominated for four awards at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards, although it did not win any of them. The song was performed by Azalea and XCX on Good Morning America, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and the 2014 Billboard Music Awards. "Fancy" was also covered by many artists, such as Anna Kendrick on the 39th season of Saturday Night Live.
Composition[edit]
"Fancy" is a three-minute and 19-second electro-hop, electropop, and pop rap song,[5][6] which was written by Iggy Azalea and Charli XCX. The song was also composed and co-produced by the Invisible Men (Jason Pebworth, George Astasio and Jon Shave) and the Arcade (Kurtis Mckenzie).[7] The song is played in the key of C minor without any chord progression followed, and Charli XCX's vocals range from G3 to C5. It is in common time and is played at a tempo of 95 beats per minute.[8] The song features stabby synths and repeated hip hop chants of the word 'hey', which bear similarities to DJ Mustard's produced songs. Finger snaps are heard in the original mix.[5]
Release[edit]
On 5 December 2013, an unfinished song by Azalea, which surfaced with the title "Leave It", was leaked online.[9][10][11] Azalea later revealed the song was produced by the Invisible Men and the Arcade, whom she collaborated with on her entire album.[12] On 5 February 2014, Azalea announced that she would be releasing a new single titled "Fancy", featuring English singer-songwriter Charli XCX, later that week.[13] The song was premiered on BBC Radio 1 Xtra the evening of 6 February 2014. After the song's premiere, it was revealed "Fancy" was the song that had leaked titled "Leave It". On 17 February 2014, the song was serviced to urban contemporary radio in the United Kingdom as the album's fourth single.[14]
Music video[edit]
Background[edit]
The music video for the song was shot in February 2014 in Los Angeles and premiered on 4 March 2014, on Vevo.[51] Directed by Director X, the visuals are inspired by the famous 1990s coming-of-age comedy film Clueless, with Azalea playing Beverly Hills socialite Cher Horowitz and XCX as Tai Frasier. The cast also includes a redheaded rival filling in as Amber, and the brief character appearance of Dionne and Murray lookalikes, with Troy Bronson portraying Elton Tiscia, in a remake of the cult classic originally starring Alicia Silverstone, Stacey Dash, Elisa Donovan, Brittany Murphy, Paul Rudd, and Jeremy Sisto.[52][53] On 4 March, behind the scenes footage for "Fancy" was released shortly before the music video premiere.[54] Over 250 extras were individually styled, taking over two weeks to prepare the styling for the video.[55][56] The video shoot was the very first time Azalea and XCX met in person.[57]
Credits adapted from The New Classic liner notes.[116]
Locations
Personnel