What do you get when you mix the word "booty" with "delicious?" Bootylicious of course, first dropped on our collective conscious by Snoop Dogg in 1993 on the Dr. Dre track "Fuck Wit Dre Day." In Destiny's Child 2001 smash hit, the term is used as a symbol of female empowerment. [1] Whatever the context, it caught on and in 2004 was added to the Oxford English Dictionary. [2]
Etymology aside, there are some points worth discussing about the music. After listening and transcribing this song, there are a few curiosities in play. There are also many redeemable qualities one would expect from a no.1 hit, they just get there by a less traveled path.
August 4th - 11th, 2001: "Bootylicious" by Destiny's Child takes the no.1 position for 2 weeks!
The song begins with a one measure sample that runs throughout. The sampled guitar riff comes from Stevie Nick's "Edge of Seventeen," which sounds remarkably like "Eye of the Tiger," coincidentally by the band Survivor and the name of the Destiny's Child third record.
The intro builds the sample to include bass, drums and some spoken intros, which return later in the post chorus (PC).
The verses go through an interesting arc with verse 1 lasting 16 measures, split by Kelly Rowland and Beyoncé Knowles. The next verse, taken again by Kelly, is only 8 measures. The third verse, sang by Destiny's third child, Michelle Williams, is only 4 measures and blends into an 8 measure bridge. This shorter verse shares melodic similarities with Beyoncé's half of verse 1.
The tune ends with 3 repeats of the chorus. I don't believe we have seen that kind of repetition since 2009's "I Gotta Feeling." The final and extra measure features a melismatic take on the hook "my body's bootylicious..."
Chord Progressions
"Bootylicious" is in the key of Eb minor, though the original guitar sample was in E minor. The sample is one note, Eb, played as 16th notes:
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| Guitar |
The bass sheds more light on an actual key by providing this ostinato, more or less throughout the entire song. The use of Gb (minor 3rd) and Db (minor 7th) provide a minor feel:
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| Bass |
The strange thing about the tune is there aren't really any chords. We get the Eb minor feel from the bass line and vocal melody, but there is no sounding of the full Eb minor chord you would expect. In the chorus, there is a synth line that adds to the harmonic puzzle:
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| Synth - Chorus |
The part syncopates a Db (minor 7th) throughout and works through F-Gb-Ab-Gb in a lower voice (2nd, minor 3rd, 4th, minor 3rd). With the other elements, it clearly stays in the minor home key.
There is one moment during the bridge when the bass goes into sub range and gets so quiet that I missed it on the first few listens. It plays Eb (root) / A (b5) / B (b6) / Db (min 7th) A (b5) before throwing in some very low percussive tones. All of that continues over the Eb guitar riff. It's a cool moment of production that goes by too quickly.
Speaking of production, there are lots of percussive elements floating throughout the song. "Uhs" and "oohs" that blend with the drums, as well as some DJ scratching. The drums, which according the AllMusic liner notes appear to be programmed, lay down a funky groove that feels live tracked. In the verses, the beat ends up falling into some version of this:
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| Drum Groove |
It is surprising to me that "Bootylicious" is built over a single chord (Ebmin7) and there is never a traditional chordal instrument playing it. The fact that it hit no.1 tells me there must be something special happening in the melody....
Melody
Verse 1 starts with Kelly and introduces rhythmic and melodic motifs that will be used throughout the verses:
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| Verse 1 - m.1-8 |
Each phrase starts on the (1)+ of the measure and follows with fairly close syncopation. Pitches mimic the bass line, moving from Eb to Ab and Gb in the first measure and Eb and Db in the 2nd measure, following suit as the phrases develop.
The melody establishes an easy to follow pattern in the first 4 measure that gets flipped in measure 5. The motif starts to break up and get higher in the range. We also start to see further use of 16th-8th-16th syncopation introduced back in measure 4. In measures 7 and 8, we return to a similar patterns.
When Beyoncé comes in with the next 8 measures, things change significantly. The phrases now start somewhere near beat 4 of the preceding measure. She starts with two phrases that come in on Bb (5th), working down to Ab (4th) and land with the Eb to Db riff (Root/minor7). That is followed by repeated Ab's (4th) that eventually get down to Eb.
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| Verse 1 - m.9-16 |
In general, Beyoncé is more rhythmic than Kelly and favors phrases that play on 16th note upbeats. The last 2 measures are especially forceful when she sticks to more "on beat" rhythms. The last note above leads directly into the chorus:
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| Chorus |
This chorus is infectious. The hook of "I don't think you're ready for this jelly" gets stuck in my heard frequently. Rhythmically, it has syncopation as well as on beat rhythms that use words that are pleasant to speak in succession, albeit ridiculous. The pitches cover, essentially, 3 notes, Eb, F and Gb, root, second and minor third of the key. It also gets repeated a few times to drive the point home.
The secondary hook, "and my body's too bootylicious for ya babe," is another ear worm. Similar factors of rhythmic variance and words that sound good together may to be blame, as could be the pitches, Ab, Bb, Gb (4th, 5th and minor 3rd) leading to the familiar Eb and Db.
The four bar phrase repeats with added harmony. The harmony, up a 3rd, adds a great texture and helps to immediately identify the sound of Destiny's Child. When the harmony goes away, it helps to bring out the character and power of the solo statement of that secondary hook. The bulk of the melody sits in Eb minor pentatonic, a familiar sound to Western ears.
After this first chorus, we hear a 4 measure throwback to the intro, labeled "post chorus." This leads into verse 2.
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| post chorus |
Verse 2 is similar to the first half of verse one, replaying rhythmic and melodic motifs. Verse 3, sang by Michelle, is much different though. The pitches and rhythms are reminiscent of Beyoncé's first verse and the theme is repeated three times. The end of each phrase also features the ladies on a harmonized "hoo," the third of which gets very high in their range.
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| Verse 3 |
I love the last measure of this verse which features another contrived word, "vibealacious," led in with more harmony. This leads directly to an 8 measure section I have dubbed the bridge. It starts with spoken repetition, similar to the intro and post chorus. That flows into, perhaps, the most interesting part of the song.
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| Bridge |
The last 4 measures here are wildly different from anything else in the song. We hear brand new syncopation and some massive 3 part harmony. The scat singing style also gives it a brand new feel. Though the bass goes way out, the vocal melody keeps the ear in Eb minor but changes things around to provide a little break from the established parts, just like a good bridge should do.
After this bridge, we hear 3 repeats of the chorus. Each is filled with divaesque contributions from the ladies. These range from alterations on the hook to long melismas running over the other singers. The last statement of the song features more variation on the main hook theme:
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| Final Melodic Statement |
Most of the melismas in the song are based on Eb minor pentatonic. Occasionally, they lean on an F, or 2nd, but generally resolve to the root or 5th, by way of the minor 7th.
Musical Sticking Points
I'm still floored that here are no proper chords in the track. The guitar riff is the basis for the entire thing and then augmented with extra stuff. I do like how the song stays in one harmonic space the whole time and we never get bored. The varied rhythms and use of words that are fun to say help the situation, as does a killer bridge that gives the perfect length break to push the song through to the end.
The first minute of the tune has an interesting build. The intro begins with the guitar and then adds in drums and bass. The spoken intro comes in and introduces us to the singers, giving a little peak at the rhythmic nature of the song. When Kelly comes in with verse 1, she basically riffs off the bass line and slowly creeps in more complex figures. Beyoncé picks that ball up and runs, giving us longer phrases that are more syncopated and dense. Then the chorus hits. While it is filled with lots of rhythm, the melodic content is easy enough to latch onto and it repeats.
"Bootylicious" reminds me of several other songs analyzed, specifically "I Gotta Feeling (2009)," "Genie In A Bottle (1999)," and "The Boy Is Mine (1998)." Each of those songs features repeated chord progressions that use other elements to keep things interesting and moving forward. Destiny's Child is able to keep things going by establishing a few different melodic pallets to draw from and their use of vocal harmony. They mix and match these elements perfectly, making a song built on one note sound lush and full.
Lyrics
The lyrics are supposed to symbolize female empowerment. Here are a few that may get there:
You gotta do much better
If you're gonna dance with me tonight
Move, groove, prove you can hang with me
By the looks I got you shook up and scared of me
Buckle your seatbelt, it's time for takeoff
Slap my thighs, swing my hair
Squint my eyes
Lookin' hot, smellin' good
Groovin' like I'm from the hood
I can't help but wonder why
My vibe's too vibealacious for you babe
While I'm not a woman, these lyrics seem to be the most empowering and help me to conjure the image of these bad ass women strutting their stuff and making their presence known. I'm not sure I'm ready for that jelly.....
Common Threads
What musical elements are present in no.1 hit songs across the decades? That is exactly what I am trying to find out. Picking up where "Party Rock Anthem (2011)" left off, what common threads does "Bootylicious" add or subtract from the equation?
- Repetitive Melody - Yes, and on several fronts. The verse melodies repeat phrases and borrow elements from preceding verses. The chorus is comprised of three repeated phrases and a fourth phrase, repeated in harmony.
- Stepwise + pentatonic Motion Common in Melody - steps are certainly common in the melody, but so are 3rds, moving through the pentatonic scale. Take a long at the interval structure of the hooks, they are solely comprised of minor pentatonic scale riffage.
- Texture Changes - The song starts and returns to the solo guitar riff which is effective at changing the texture. The drums also come and go with various intensity. The bridge is an extreme example of texture change with stripped down drums keeping time, chimes, the non-diatonic bass and three part vocal harmony.
- New Material at the End - While there are no new sections that close out the song, there are new melodies that pop up as the singers diva-out during the last choruses.
- Hook that Uses Title of the Song - I think the chorus contains two hooks and one of them has the title.
Chord Count - 1 - wow.....
So it looks like selections from 2011 and 2001 have a ton of musical elements in common. Though the two songs are very different, it's cool to see so much musical crossover.
Final Takeaways
I could not have picked this one out of a police lineup prior to this analysis. I wasn't a huge fan at first, but it definitely grew on me. The hooks are really catchy. I firmly believe the word choice is as big a factor as the notes and rhythms. Some words just sound good together. When one of those words is a made up word that you can stake a claim to (sorry Snoop Dogg), it heightens the impact.
It has been interesting to see how different female singers approach their use of melisma. I have analyzed Christina, Lady Gaga, Fergie, Donna Summer, and Mariah, to name a few. Each has a slightly different feel for their ornaments and Destiny's Child is no different.
What do you think "Bootylicious?" Was I the only one oblivious to this tune? Have you checked out different versions and remixes? How do those stack up?? Leave me a comment!
Up next time, continuing with round 4, "on the 1's," we head all the way back to 1991. July 27th - September 7th 1991, an impressive 7 week run at no.1...Bryan Adams' "(Everything I Do) I Do it For You!"
[1]https://ew.com/article/2016/05/20/destinys-child-bootylicious-15th-anniversary/
[2]http://www.personal.psu.edu/ejp10/blogs/thinking/2008/04/how-bootylicious-got-into-the.html
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