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Body (Megan Thee Stallion song)

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"Body"
Joel Corry remix cover
Single by Megan Thee Stallion
from the album Good News
ReleasedNovember 20, 2020
Recorded2020
Genre
Length2:51
Label
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)
Producer(s)LilJuMadeDaBeat
Megan Thee Stallion singles chronology
"Thick" (remix)
(2020) 		"Body"
(2020) 		"34+35" (remix)
(2021)
Music video
"Body" on YouTube

"Body" is a song by American rapper Megan Thee Stallion, who wrote the song during the COVID-19 quarantine and was inspired by her own figure during the creative process, with additional concentration on sizes of waist and breasts. It was released on November 20, 2020, by 1501 Certified Entertainment and 300 Entertainment as the third single[1][2][3] from her debut studio album Good News (2020). It coincided with the release of the album and was supported by a music video featuring cameo appearances from Taraji P. Henson, Blac Chyna, and Jordyn Woods, among others.

"Body" received positive reviews from critics, who praised its lyrics for being body-positive and empowering for women. It peaked at number twelve on the US Billboard Hot 100 and topped the component Streaming Songs chart, where it made Megan Thee Stallion the first woman in history to achieve three number-one songs in a single year. A remix of the song by British DJ Joel Corry was released on January 29, 2021.

Composition and lyrics

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"Body" is an up-tempo "erotic" song, containing an "NSFW-like"[4] sample of a woman sexually moaning in an unknown pornographic film as well as "huge drums"[5] and "thick synth bass lines".[6] Lyrically, Megan brags about her desirability, being the envy of other women and the fantasy of their men. The chorus primarily features the rapper consistently repeating "body-ody-ody-ody".[7][8][9] The verses incorporate Megan Thee Stallion's signature "raunchy" lyrics containing sex appeal.[10] She stated that she was inspired to write "Body" while she was appreciating her body during the COVID-19 pandemic at the time of the song's release, stating, "I'm like walking around the living room, freestyling, and appreciating my quarantine body 'cause I feel like I got a little fluffy and thick, and I was like, 'Baby, I still look good'".[11] She revealed on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert that the song was aimed at celebrating body positivity in "all bodies".[12] The term body-ody-ody derives from Drag Race terminology.[13]

Critical reception

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Earmilk's Kalen Murphy called "Body" a "bawdy track where Megan reclaims full control of her sex appeal and sells temptation like none other".[4] Critics from Nylon described the track as "a crisp three minutes of bouncy beats and self-confident lyrics" which "embodies Meg's no-fucks-given attitude in the best way".[14] Carl Lamarre of Billboard wrote that Megan Thee Stallion "salutes curvy women on this body-positive record", while describing it as a "Twerk-worthy bop".[15] Brooklyn White of Essence also agreed that the rapper "continues her mission of empowering women of all different kinds to be confident in their own skin".[16]

Reviewing the song's parent album, Alexis Petridis of The Guardian praised Megan for her "lyrics teeming with sharp and funny lines" throughout the album while referring to a line from "Body": "all them bitches scary cats, I call them Carole Baskin".[17] In this line in particular, the rapper refers to Baskin, an animal rights activist famous for her appearance on the Netflix show Tiger King, who had previously criticised the use of big cats as props in her and rapper Cardi B's music video for "WAP".[18]

Commercial performance

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In the United States, "Body" debuted at number twelve on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated December 5, 2020. It debuted at number one on the component Streaming Songs chart with 22.5 million U.S. streams in the tracking week of November 20-26. It marked her third number-one single on the chart, following "Savage Remix" featuring Beyoncé and her feature on Cardi B's single “WAP,” both of which were released in 2020. With this, Megan Thee Stallion entered a six-way tie for the fifth-most leaders in Streaming Songs' history, alongside Ariana Grande, Cardi B, Juice Wrld, Lil Baby and Miley Cyrus. She also became the first woman and only the second artist after Drake to achieve three number-one singles in a calendar year.[19]

Elsewhere, the song had a moderate success, except in France, where it was a huge success in this country, reaching the top five (No.3), becoming the first song for a female rapper to reach top five since 'Starships' by Nicki Minaj in March 2012 and the first song of Thee Stallion to did this. It's also the third entry of the rapper in the country. The song debuted at number 196 in the week of November 21, 2020 and reach the top ten at its tenth week (January 30, 2021/February 6, 2021) then the top five at its fifteen week (February 27, 2021/March 6, 2021). Thee Stallion is then the fifth female rapper to having at least a top ten after Nicki Minaj, Iggy Azalea, Cardi B and Doja Cat in France.

Live performances

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Megan Thee Stallion performed "Body" for the first time at the 2020 American Music Awards.[20][21] She performed a medley of "Body" and "Savage Remix" on the 848th episode of The Late Late Show with James Corden in December 2020.[22][23]"Body was also performed at the 2021 GRAMMYS on March 14, 2021.

Before performing "Body" in her Glastonbury Festival 2022 set, Megan called out the U.S. Supreme Court for overturning Roe v. Wade and her home state of Texas for prohibiting abortion, before encouraging the audience to join her in chanting "My body, my motherfucking choice!"[24] Meghan Thee Stallion performed clean versions of "Body", "Girls in the Hood", "Mamushi", and "Savage", at a rally for 2024 United States presidential election candidate Kamala Harris on July 31, 2024. She also endorsed Harris by coining the phrase "Hotties for Harris".[25]

TikTok challenges

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Similar to her song "Savage" which gained popularity through a viral dance challenge on the video-sharing platform TikTok, Megan Thee Stallion chose to promote "Body" in the same way. Unlike the dance for "Savage" which was choreographed by TikTok user Keara Wilson, Megan Thee Stallion and choreographer JaQuel Knight self-originated the #BodyChallenge dance, which is also performed in the song's music video.[26][27][12][28] There was also a TikTok trend where a mashup of Adele's "Water Under the Bridge" and "Body" was used along with footage from her 2020 American Music Awards performance to create a dance, auditioning to be one of "Adele's backup dancers".[29] In a separate trend, TikTok users would also use the "Body" audio to exhibit their own bodies and promote body confidence.[30]

Music video

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Taraji P. Henson (left) and Blac Chyna (right) both make cameo appearances in the music video.

The music video for "Body" was directed by Colin Tilley and features choreography from both Megan Thee Stallion and choreographer JaQuel Knight.[31] It was released alongside both the song and album on November 20, 2020.[2] Megan Thee Stallion engaged in a livestream premiere for the song's music video as part of the YouTube Originals' Released series.[16] At the premiere, she told fans, "You're going to see all body shapes, a lot of strong women doing the damn thing. Just being confident and owning their bodies and their sexuality".[7] Celebrities who make cameo appearances in the music video for "Body" include Taraji P. Henson, Blac Chyna, Jordyn Woods, Maliibu Miitch, Asian Da Brat, and Tabria Majors.[11][32] Throughout the video, the women "confidently groove on a futuristic set and on a spotlit stage".[1] Various fashion publications praised the outfits worn in the video.[11][16][33] Megan Thee Stallion initially wears a black, mesh body suit which emphasizes her curves, as well as "an oversized coat with a bedazzled bodice with nothing underneath".[16][33]

The video later made an appearance in the music video for another one of Megan's songs, "Thot Shit".[34]

Charts

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Certifications

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Certifications for "Body"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[54] Platinum 40,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[55] 2× Platinum 160,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[56] Platinum 30,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[57] Silver 200,000‡
United States (RIAA)[58] Platinum 1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ a b Legaspi, Althea (November 20, 2020). "Megan Thee Stallion Celebrates 'Body' Positivity in New Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 21, 2020. The single appears on her debut studio album, Good News;
  2. ^ a b Gallagher, Alex (November 20, 2020). "Watch Megan Thee Stallion's striking new video for 'Body'". NME. Retrieved November 21, 2020. shared the video for new single 'Body', taken from debut album 'Good News'
  3. ^ Murphy, Chris (November 20, 2020). "Good News, Megan Thee Stallion's Debut Album Is Finally Here". Vulture. Retrieved November 21, 2020. Megan also dropped a music video for her single "Body"
  4. ^ a b Murphy, Kalen (November 20, 2020). "Album Review: Megan Thee Stallion — Good News". Earmilk. Archived from the original on November 20, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  5. ^ Thomas, Fred (November 21, 2020). "Megan Thee Stallion - Good News". AllMusic. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  6. ^ Hoffman, Tim (November 20, 2020). "Album Review: Megan Thee Stallion comes bearing 'Good News'". Riff Magazine. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  7. ^ a b Valentine, Claire (November 20, 2020). "Megan Thee Stallion And Taraji P. Henson Celebrate Their Curves In "Body" Video". Nylon. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  8. ^ Chang, Alisa (November 20, 2020). "Rapper Megan Thee Stallion's Year In Music". NPR. Retrieved November 21, 2020. Body-ody-ody-ody-ody-ody-ody-ody (ph), ody-ody-ody-ody-ody-ody-ody...
  9. ^ Cubit, Brea (November 20, 2020). "Everybody-ody-ody Needs to Watch Megan Thee Stallion's "Body" Music Video". PopSugar. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  10. ^ Thomas, Mona (November 20, 2020). "Megan Thee Stallion Recruits Taraji P. Henson, Blac Chyna and More For Steamy "Body" Music Video". E!. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  11. ^ a b c Gonzales, Erica (November 20, 2020). "See the Stars in Megan Thee Stallion's "Body" Video". Harper's Bazaar. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  12. ^ a b Shaffer, Claire (December 10, 2020). "Megan Thee Stallion Talks 'Body' Challenge on 'Late Show With Colbert'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  13. ^ "I-D".
  14. ^ Wang, Steffanee; Valentine, Claire; Bobila, Maria (November 20, 2020). "The 5 Must-Listen Tracks Off Megan Thee Stallion's 'Good News'". Nylon. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  15. ^ Lamarre, Carl (November 20, 2020). "Every Song Ranked on Megan Thee Stallion's 'Good News': Critic's Picks". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  16. ^ a b c d White, Brooklyn (November 20, 2020). "Megan Thee Stallion Enlists Taraji P. Henson, Jordyn Woods And More For 'Body' Video". Essence. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  17. ^ Petridis, Alexis (November 20, 2020). "Megan Thee Stallion: Good News review – galloping into greatness". The Guardian. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  18. ^ Iasimone, Ashley (August 8, 2020). "Carole Baskin Bashes Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion's 'Lurid' Music Video for 'WAP' & 'Big Cat Pimps'". Billboard. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  19. ^ "Megan Thee Stallion Becomes First Woman With Three Streaming Songs No. 1s in One Year". Billboard. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  20. ^ Daly, Rhian (November 23, 2020). "Watch Megan Thee Stallion give debut live performance of 'Body' at AMAs 2020". NME. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
  21. ^ Kiefer, Halle (November 22, 2020). "Your Knees Will Explode Just Watching Megan Thee Stallion's AMAs 'Body' Set". Vulture. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
  22. ^ Yoo, Noah (December 11, 2020). "Megan Thee Stallion Talks Musical Origins, Performs 'Savage Remix' and 'Body' on Corden". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  23. ^ Price, Joe (December 11, 2020). "Megan Thee Stallion Performs 'Body' and 'Savage' Medley on 'Late Late Show'". Complex. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  24. ^ Iasimone, Ashley (June 26, 2022). "Megan Thee Stallion Leads Crowd in 'My Body, My Motherf—ing Choice' Chant at Glastonbury". Billboard. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  25. ^ KiMi Robinson (August 2, 2024). "Megan Thee Stallion hits back at Kamala Harris rally performance critics: 'Fake Mad'". USA Today. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
  26. ^ Moore, Andria (November 23, 2020). "Megan Thee Stallion Already Knew Her "Body" Music Video Would Start A TikTok Trend". BuzzFeed. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  27. ^ Mendez, Marisa (November 25, 2020). "Megan Thee Stallion's #BodyOdyChallenge Brings Out Twerks On Twitter & TikTok". HipHopDX. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  28. ^ Vargas, Chanel (December 8, 2020). "She Did That! This Dancer Took On Megan Thee Stallion's "Body" Challenge and Nailed It". PopSugar. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  29. ^ Fu, Eddie (March 20, 2020). "Megan Thee Stallion's "Savage" Looks Poised To Be Her Next Hit Thanks To This Viral TikTok Challenge". Genius. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  30. ^ Haasch, Palmer (December 4, 2020). "Megan Thee Stallion's hit song 'Body' sparked a contentious body positivity challenge on TikTok". Insider.com. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  31. ^ JaQuel Knight [@JaQuelKnight] (November 20, 2020). "Y'all Seen The Choreo in #Body Yet?! @theestallion x #JaQuelKnight #GoodNewsMegan" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  32. ^ "Jordyn Woods and Megan Thee Stallion Reunite for 'Body' Video". Teen Vogue. November 20, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  33. ^ a b Messina, Victoria (November 20, 2020). "We Need to Discuss the Gold Puffer Coat in Megan Thee Stallion's "Body" Music Video". PopSugar. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  34. ^ "How Megan Thee Stallion's Extremely Daring "Thot Sh*t" Video Came to Be". Harper's BAZAAR. June 11, 2021. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  35. ^ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 7 December 2020". The ARIA Report. No. 1605. Australian Recording Industry Association. December 7, 2020. p. 4.
  36. ^ "Megan Thee Stallion Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  37. ^ "Megan Thee Stallion – " (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
  38. ^ "Megan Thee Stallion Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
  39. ^ "Official IFPI Charts – Digital Singles Chart (International) – Week: 47/2020". IFPI Greece. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  40. ^ "Official Irish Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  41. ^ "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. November 30, 2020. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  42. ^ "Top 100 de canciones de SGP, Abril 2021". Top 100 de canciones SGP (in Spanish). SGP. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  43. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  44. ^ "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  45. ^ "Megan Thee Stallion Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  46. ^ "Megan Thee Stallion Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  47. ^ "Megan Thee Stallion Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  48. ^ "Megan Thee Stallion Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  49. ^ "Megan Thee Stallion Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  50. ^ "Billboard Global 200 – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
  51. ^ "Hot 100 Songs – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  52. ^ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  53. ^ "Rhythmic Songs – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  54. ^ "Brazilian single certifications – Megan Thee Stallion – Body" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  55. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Megan Thee Stallion – Body". Music Canada. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  56. ^ "New Zealand single certifications – Megan Thee Stallion – Body". Radioscope. Retrieved December 25, 2024. Type Body in the "Search:" field.
  57. ^ "British single certifications – Megan Thee Stallion – Body". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  58. ^ "American single certifications – Megan Thee Stallion – Body". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
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