Bootylicious

“Bootylicious” is perhaps one of most feminist tracks of the early 2000’s. Released in May 2001, “Bootylicious” is an R&B track sung by Destiny’s Child, pushing the boundaries of female sexuality and what it means to be a powerful woman, encouraging women every to be proud of their bodies and themselves. “Bootylicious” is the third track on Destiny’s Child 2001 album “Survivor”.

The track was written by Charlie Skilling, Beyoncé Knowles, Faltone Moore and Stevie Nicks, with production done by Moore, Knowles and Rob Fusari. “Bootylicious” has many different origin stories according to various writers and producers of the song. According to Knowles, she was inspired to write the song while listening to the guitar riff of Stevie Nicks’ “Edge of Seventeen” while on a flight to either London or Japan. Knowles had claimed that the riff reminded Knowles of a “voluptuous woman”. However, according to co-proudcer Rob Fusari, he wanted to build a track from a sample of Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” song. However, Fusari was unable to locate the sample and settled on Nicks’ “Edge of Seventeen”. In a 2010 interview with Billboard, Fusari expressed his frustration for not getting sufficient credit for the song: “I remember watching Barbara Walters interview Beyoncé about ‘Bootylicious,’ and she told Barbara about how she came up with the idea for the track. I was like, ‘What?’ I called Mathew Knowles and said, “Mathew, like, why?“ He said, “People don’t want to hear about Rob Fusari, producer from Livingston, N.J. That’s not what sells records. What sells records is people believing that the artist is everything.” The song popularised the term “bootylicious”, although the term had been used previously by rapper Snoop Dogg. “Bootylicious” is also one of the few Destiny Child songs where member Kelly Rowland sang most of the main vocals.

The music video was released in May 2001 and took a few days to film, with filming being held from the 7th May – 9th 2001. Directed by Matthew Rolston, the video shows Destiny’s Child dancing in different costumes, all inspired by 90’s fashion and with revealing aspects, interloped with scenes of an all male dance troupe dancing around the group separately and together. Stevie Nicks makes an appearance at the beginning of the track, playing the famous guitar riff in which “Bootylicious” is inspired by. The music video was uploaded to Destiny Child’s YouTube channel in October 2009 and as of June 2020, has 88.1 million views and 314 thousand likes.

Release Date: 1st May 2001

Songwriter/s: Charlie Skilling, Beyoncé Knowles, Falonte Moore & Stevie Nicks

Producer/s: Rob Fusari, Beyoncé Knowles & Falonte Moore

Label: Columbia

Music Video Release Date: May 2001

Music Video Director: Matthew Rolston

Chart Rankings, Certifications & Accolades: In its year of release, “Bootylicious” charted at #4 in Australia, #23 in Austria, #9 and #7 on various charts in Belgium; #4 in Canada, #12 in Denmark, #11 in Finland, #14 in France, #16 in Germany, #5 in Ireland, #16 in Italy, #3 and #5 on various charts in the Netherlands; #4 in New Zealand, #5 in Norway, #4 in Scotland, #8 in Sweden, #11 in Switzerland, #2 on the UK Singles chart, #6 on the UK Dance charts, #1 on the UK R&B chart and the US Billboard Hot 100 chart; #13 on the US Billboard Dance Club Songs chart, #2 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, #29 on the US Billboard Latin Pop Songs chart, #6 on the US Billboard Mainstream Top 40, #10 on the US Billboard Rhythmic chart and #20 on the US Billboard Tropical Airplay chart. “Bootylicious” is certified Gold in the UK and Platinum in Australia. In September 2011, VH1 ranked “Bootylicious” at #19 on its list of “The 100 Greatest Songs of the 2000s”.

The lyrics to “Bootylicious” can be accessed here: LINK