Boss (Fifth Harmony song)

"Boss"
Single by Fifth Harmony
from the album Reflection
Released July 7, 2014
Format Digital download
Recorded 2014
Genre
Length 2:51
Label
Writer(s)
Producer(s)
Fifth Harmony singles chronology
  • "Boss"
  • (2014)
Music video
"Boss" on YouTube

"Boss" (stylized as "BO$$") is a song recorded by American girl group Fifth Harmony. It was written by Eric Frederic, Joe Spargur, Daniel Kyriakides, Gamal "LunchMoney" Lewis, Jacob Kasher and Taylor Parks, and was produced by Ricky Reed, Joe London and Daylight. It was released on July 7, 2014 as the lead single from their debut studio album Reflection (2015). An R&B and dance-pop song, "Boss" is a female empowerment anthem in the vein of Destiny's Child's "Bills, Bills, Bills" and TLC's "No Scrubs".

The song garnered generally positive reviews from music critics, praising the production and vocals for showcasing a more mature image for the group. "Boss" nearly reached the top 40 in the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 43. It peaked at number 37 on the Pop Songs chart and reached number 75 on the Canadian Hot 100. It also reached the top 40 in countries like Scotland, Spain and the United Kingdom. The song was certified Platinum by the RIAA for selling over 1,000,000 digital copies.

An accompanying music video for the song, choreographed and directed by Fatima Robinson, was released on the band's Vevo page that showed the group performing with chairs and interacting at a photo shoot and an arm wrestling contest. They first performed the song live on the Today Show and would make later appearances at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards, the 2014 MTV Europe Music Awards, BET's 106 and Park and The X Factor UK.

Background

On May 30, 2014, Fifth Harmony played a teaser snippet of the track towards the end of their performance at the Kiss 108 FM Concert in Boston.[1] The song has been confirmed for their debut album, set to be released in fall 2014.[2] Speaking to MTV, Fifth Harmony stated that “the whole point of this song is for girls who are our age to turn it on and feel confident and empowered because at this age being insecure is such a common occurrence. So I think when you turn that song on, you feel sexy and feel good about yourself.”[3][4] On the Today Show where the girl group performed the single live for the first time in its entirety. After the performance they said; "We feel like so many people are competitive with one another and we want to bring everyone together and have people encourage one another. That's what it's all about".[5]

Reception

Critical response

Response to "Boss" was positive. Brie Hiramine of J-14 gave a positive review saying "Fifth Harmony's new single 'Boss' sounded pretty fierce when we heard a short snippet of the song last month, we can now confirm that the group has ramped up their fierceness levels. "Boss" is all about being an independent woman, we can definitely get behind that!"[3] James Dinh of SheKnows also gave the track a positive review saying: "Fifth Harmony is ready to show off their grown and sexy side or at least their record company is. Just like many girl groups that have come before them, the product of 2012's X Factor is back with their new single, 'Boss' and an image that is just a bit more feisty than when they released last year's Better Together EP."[6]

Carolyn Menyes of Music Times gave a positive review saying "Filled with urban music influences, 'Boss' shows a markedly more mature Fifth Harmony, with tribal beats swooping beneath the track's female-powered flare. Full of keen pop culture references (the song also name checks Kanye West, Kim Kardashian and Beats by Dre), "Boss" could very well become dated in future years but for now it's the sort of ballsy bossy music pop needs".[7] Christina Lee of Idolator was also complimentary of the song, stating that, "Boss proves to be a working girl anthem in the tradition of "Bills, Bills, Bills," Kelis' "Bossy" and TLC's "No Scrubs," though for an age of filming #NaeNae Vines at the White House. The X Factor mentor Simon Cowell was onto something – with songs like the savvy “Boss,” girl groups were bound to come back in style".[8]

Commercial performance

On July 17, 2014, "Boss" debuted at number 43 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart with first-week sales of 75,000, becoming the group's best week sales as well as highest-charting song at that time.[9] The song also debuted at number 14 on the US Digital Songs chart , becoming their highest debut on the chart. On October 30, 2014, the song was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shifting sales of 500,000.[10] In the United Kingdom, it debuted at number twenty-one on the UK Singles Chart for the week December 20, 2014, despite being at number 10 on the sales-only based version of the chart.[11]

Music video

The official music video was streamed online on MTV's website on July 7, 2014 and it was released on Fifth Harmony's official Vevo channel on July 8, 2014. Scenes in the video include chair choreography, a catwalk-strutting photo shoot and an arm wrestling contest.[12] The music video was directed and choreographed by Fatima Robinson.[4] A behind-the-scenes video was released on July 11, 2014.[13]

Live performances

On July 11, 2014, Fifth Harmony performed the song for the first time on The Today Show in New York City on the Rockefeller Plaza.[5] The group performed the song at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards on the red carpet, and at the 2014 MTV Europe Music Awards's pre-show on November 9, 2014. On September 22, 2014, they performed the song on BET's 106 and Park.[14] It was performed again on the The X Factor 11th season on December 7, 2014.[15] The girls performed the song on Pitbull's New Year's Revolution that aired on Fox on December 31, 2014. They also performed the song during their Reflection Tour (2015).

Track listing

  1. "Boss" – 2:51
  1. "Boss" – 2:51
  2. "Sledgehammer" – 3:52
  1. "Boss" (Radio Edit) - 2:51
  2. "Boss" (Album Version) - 2:51
  3. "Boss" (Instrumental) - 2:51

Charts and certifications

Charts

Chart (2014) Peak
position
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[18] 75
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[19] 39
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[20] 40
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[21] 37
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[22] 12
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[23] 21
US Billboard Hot 100[24] 43
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[25] 37

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
United States (RIAA)[10] Gold 500,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history

Country Date Format Label
Worldwide[16] July 7, 2014 Digital download
United Kingdom[17] December 7, 2014

References

  1. ↑ "WATCH—Fifth Harmony Tease New Song 'BO$$' At KISS 108 Concert". Popdust.com. May 31, 2014. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  2. ↑ Lipshutz, Jason (July 10, 2014). "Fifth Harmony Show Off Their Swagger In 'Bo$$' Video: Watch". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Hiramine, Brie (July 7, 2014). "LISTEN: Fifth Harmony's "Bo$$" Is Your New Empowerment Anthem". J-14. Bauer Media Group. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Garibaldi, Christina (July 8, 2014). "Fifth Harmony Prove They Are The ‘Bo$$’ In Sassy, Sexy Video". MTV News (Viacom International). Retrieved July 10, 2014.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "WATCH: Fifth Harmony Rock NYC with 'BO$$', 'Miss Movin' On' on 'TODAY' [VIDEOS]". Music Times. July 11, 2014. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  6. ↑ Dihn, James. "Music review: Fifth Harmony gets like Michelle Obama on "Bo$$"". Sheknows.com. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
  7. ↑ Menyes, Carolyn (July 7, 2014). "REVIEW: Fifth Harmony Prove They're The 'BO$$' in Sassy New Single [LISTEN]". Music Times. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
  8. ↑ Lee, Christina. "Fifth Harmony Channel Destiny’s Child In New Single "Bo$$": Listen". Idolator. Spin Media. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
  9. ↑ "The Hot 100 - July 26, 2014". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. July 26, 2014. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "American single certifications – Fifth Harmony – Bo$$". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
  11. ↑ http://www.freezepage.com/1418599891YXLUPXMRWS
  12. ↑ "Fifth Harmony Is All Grown Up In 'Bo$$' Music Video". The Huffington Post (AOL). July 8, 2014. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
  13. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIjvYzIN8PE
  14. ↑ http://www.epicrecords.com/news/fifth-harmony-perform-bo-bet-106th-park
  15. ↑ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2866669/Fifth-Harmony-invite-Cheryl-Fernandez-Versini-sixth-member.html
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "iTunes - Music - BO$$ - Single by Fifth Harmony". iTunes Store (US). Apple. July 7, 2014.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "iTunes - Music - BO$$ - Single by Fifth Harmony". iTunes Store (UK). Apple. December 7, 2014.
  18. ↑ "Fifth Harmony Album & Song Chart History" Canadian Hot 100 for Fifth Harmony.
  19. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201438 into search. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  20. ↑ "SNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201438 into search. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  21. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Fifth Harmony – BO$$" Canciones Top 50.
  22. ↑ "Archive Chart: December 20, 2014". Scottish Singles Top 40.
  23. ↑ "20, 2014/ Archive Chart: December 20, 2014" UK Singles Chart.
  24. ↑ "Fifth Harmony Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot 100 for Fifth Harmony.
  25. ↑ "Fifth Harmony Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Pop Songs for Fifth Harmony.

External links