"21st Century Girl" is a song performed by American recording artist Willow Smith. Following her breakout worldwide song, "Whip My Hair", "21st Century Girl" serves as the second single from Smith's upcoming debut studio album.
Background
editSmith premiered the song on February 28, 2011 on On Air with Ryan Seacrest.[1]
Composition
edit"21st Century Girl" is an uptempo electropop and dance-pop song.[1] It integrates influences of techno pop.[2] Chris Ryan of MTV Buzzworthy noted that while "Whip My Hair" had an "electro-hip-hop swagger", her second single shows off her "pop side."[2] Alex Chapman of MTV News commented that the song had a "hyper-dancey beat."[1] Scott Shelter of AOL Radio Blog said the song was "club-ready" and at times channels Rihanna.[3] While Chapman said the song Smith sounded like a fusion of Rihanna and Kesha on the track,[1] Ryan compared Smith to a "tamer, more well-groomed version" of the latter.[2]
Smith sings about the makings of a "21st Century Girl" in the song, in lines such as "Give me an inch, I promise I'll take a mile / Danger is beauty, I'll face it with a smile / Don't second guess myself, I'm born to be wild."[3]
Critical reception
editChris Ryan of MTV News said "There is something kind of new and unique about Smith; her retro-futuro style and her preternatural calm. It's her century; we're just living in it."[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Chapman, Alex (2011-02-28). "Willow Smith 'Living Life' On Rebellious '21st Century Girl'". MTV News. MTV Networks (Viacom).
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|work=(help); Text "accessdate-2011-03-03" ignored (help) - ^ a b c d Ryan, Chris (2011-02-28). "http://buzzworthy.mtv.com/2011/02/28/willow-smith-21st-century-girl/". MTV Buzzworthy. MTV Networks (Viacom). Retrieved 2011-03-03.
{{cite web}}: External link in|title=|work=(help) - ^ a b Shelter, Scott (2011-03-01). "Willow Smith, '21st Century Girl' -- New Song". AOL Radio Blog. AOL, Inc. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|work=(help)