"Va Va Voom" is a song by rapper Nicki Minaj from the deluxe and United Kingdom / Japan limited editions of her second studio album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded. It was released on September 12, 2012 by Young Money, Cash Money, and Universal Republic as the fifth single from the album.
The song was written by Minaj, Lukasz Gottwald, Allan Grigg, Max Martin, and Henry Walter, and it was produced by Dr. Luke, Kool Kojak, and Cirkut. Being released as the fifth single, it was sent to UK radio stations on September 15, 2012 and later sent to Top 40 mainstream radio on October 23, 2012. It was planned to serve as the lead single, but its release was postponed at the last minute in favor of "Starships". It was included on the deluxe edition of Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, and was later included in the album's reissue Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded – The Re-Up.
"Va Va Voom" is a dance-pop and electropop song with lyrics about sexual activity towards a male. Upon its release, the song received positive reviews from critics, who found it catchy and radio-friendly. Commercially, the song entered the top twenty in countries including Ireland, Slovakia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. An accompanying music video was shot in December 2011, but was initially shelved after Minaj decided not to release "Va Va Voom" as the album's lead single, because she was not happy with the video's end result.
Background
"Va Va Voom" was written by Minaj, Lukasz Gottwald, Allan Grigg, Max Martin and Henry Walter, with production by Dr. Luke, Kool Kojak and Cirkut. It was intended to be the lead single from Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded. It was to be solicited to rhythmic contemporary radio stations on February 7, 2012. It was later postponed a week to February 14, 2012, with a release to contemporary hit radio scheduled for the same date. However, Minaj announced that "Starships" would instead be released as the lead single.
On May 24, 2012, a poll was posted on Minaj's website, asking fans to help select the next singles, the poll is divided into three categories, the third category asks to choose the second worldwide pop single, the choices were: "Pound the Alarm", "Whip It", and "Va Va Voom". "Va Va Voom" had the most votes and won the poll. "Whip It" came in second place and "Pound The Alarm" came in third. However, after several radio stations in the UK, France, and Australia started heavily playing "Pound the Alarm", Minaj announced on June 6, 2012, that "Pound The Alarm" has been chosen instead. "Va Va Voom" was eventually solicited to contemporary hit radio in the United States on October 23, 2012.
Composition
Musically, "Va Va Voom" was described as "a sultry, electro-pop thumper" by Digital Spy. Lyrically, the song talks about "seduction finds Minaj playing the temptress atop some delicious dub-lite pulsations." It contains the lyrics "I know that he got a wife at home, but I need just one night alone." The verses of the song are rapped, while the bridge and chorus are sung. "Va Va Voom" is set in common time with a tempo of 127 beats per minute. Written in the key of C minor, it follows the chord progression Cm–E–B–A; Minaj's voice spans from A3 to B4.
Reception
According to MTV's Kara Klenk, "Va Va Voom" remains a "stand out track" on the album, along with "Beautiful Sinner," "Come on a Cone" and "Beez in the Trap." Sarah Crafford of The Sun Chronicle recommended the song to listeners who favored Minaj's Pop tracks, complimenting the song as a "catchy, sing-along and soon-to-be hit!." Comparing the song to that of "Super Bass," Alexander Miller of Quinnipiac University's Quad News stated that "Va Va Voom" could find itself as the hit bonus single of the album. Bradley Stern from MuuMuse was very positive saying the song was "insanely infectious" and compared the song to Britney Spears' song "Seal It With a Kiss". He also said "Throw in a very 'You da One'-esque breakdown (again, Dr. Luke), and you’ve got an unbelievably sickening (in the good way!) pop tune."
David Jeffries from Allmusic chose "Va Va Voom" as a standout track on the album. He compared the song to "some Black Eyed Peas-styled flash." Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine described the song as "the most obvious successor to Minaj's crossover hit [Super Bass.] David Asante of the Urban entertainment website That Grape Juice gave it a positive review and christened the song "SuperBass 2.0"."