"Slow Down" is a song recorded by American singer Selena Gomez from her debut solo studio album, Stars Dance (2013). It was made available for instant digital download along with the pre-order of the album on June 3, 2013. Hollywood Records later sent the song to mainstream radio as the second and final single from the album on August 13, 2013. The song was produced by The Cataracs and David Kuncio, and infuses EDM elements in its instrumentation. Lyrically, the song speaks of slowing down time and living in one magical moment on the dance floor.
Music critics gave a favorable reception to the song, with some praising its catchiness and fun production. Slow Down has achieved moderate success, reaching number 2 in Flanders and peaking inside the top 20 in The Czech Republic, Russia, and South Korea. In the United States, the song peaked at number 27 on the Billboard Hot 100, reached number-one on Billboards Hot Dance Club Songs chart, and it has been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling over 1,000,000 units of the single in the country. On the Mainstream Top 40 airplay chart, it reached the position of number 7.
The accompanying music video for "Slow Down" was directed by Philip Andelman and filmed in Paris, France. It features Gomez singing along to the track inside of a car, partying in a nightclub, and strutting down the streets of the city. Gomez has performed "Slow Down" in a number of live appearances, including on Good Morning America, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Show with David Letterman, and UK TV show Surprise, Surprise. It was also performed as the encore of her Stars Dance Tour.
Background and composition
On June 3, 2013, during a live chat on her YouTube channel, Gomez revealed that her debut solo studio album would be titled Stars Dance, and also revealed the album's track listing and cover art. During the same chat, the singer announced she would release "Slow Down" as the second single from the album, after "Come & Get It", and that fans would be able to download the song right after pre-ordering the album on iTunes. On August 13, the song was sent to mainstream radio in the United States, while a digital remixes EP was released the following week on Amazon.com. On September 6, a digital EP with "Lover in Me", "I Like It That Way" and the Cosmic Dawn remix of "Come & Get It" as b-sides, was released through iTunes in some countries including Brazil, Norway, and Vietnam. The EP was released in the United Kingdom on December 8.
The song was written by Lindy Robbins, Julia Michaels, Niles Hollowell-Dhar, David Kuncio and Freddy Wexler and was produced by both Hollowell-Dhar, under the production team pseudonym The Cataracs, and Dave Kuncio. "Slow Down" is a high-octane, uptempo dance-pop and EDM song, that has been described as "wobbly club thumper" by Robert Copsey of Digital Spy. It features a dubstep pre-chorus, funk guitars, a four on the floor beat, and a spoken word outro. Lyrically, the song speaks of not wanting a night to end, with Gomez singing, "Can we take it nice and slow, slow / Break it down and drop it low, low / Cause I just wanna party all night in the neon lights 'til you can't let me go." It is written in the key of C# minor. Gomez's vocals span from the low note of B3 to the high note of C5.
Critical reception
Andrew Hampp of Billboard called the song "harmless, frothy fun", while complimenting its "pseudo-dubstep pre-chorus breakdown, stretched-out staccato vocal loops and not-too-naughty-for Disney lyrics ("You know I'm good with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation")". Caryn Ganz of Rolling Stone noted that Gomez's producers "finally [gave] her tighter tunes" like "Slow Down", adding that it is "ripe for remixing." Writing for the Los Angeles Times, August Brown thought the production "Slow Down" is "rooted in today's pop-EDM default mode, but as that stuff goes, [the song] is pretty capable." PopDust contributor Christina Drill was critical towards the song, considering it "adequate-but-forgettable", and further stating: "the only thing that separates it from the faceless EDM masses? Selena cooing, 'You know I'm good with mouth to mouth resuscitation' in a way that's almost believable. A total whatever." Matthew Horton of Virgin Media deemed it "charmless". Joseph Atilano of the Philippine Daily Inquirer stated that "some of the lyrics are a bit suggestive but there is nothing in them that would turn off any of her loyal fans."