“Bootylicious” by Destiny’s Child
The primary purpose of this song appears to be encouraging “bootylicious” women, apparently like the vocalists themselves, to dance. It is never explained what being “bootylicious” actually entails. But based on the references to “jelly”, the implication would be that this classification points to a woman who is on the thick side, i.e. possessing noticeable body fat. And most simply put, such individuals in the house are being advised to shake what their mama gave them.
Even though this song also sports some sexual innuendos, it isn’t really amorous in nature. Or if anything, beyond the dance element, it is sort of taunting men who may be intimidated by a voluptuous woman.
All in all, this song is a celebration of voluptuous women in social as well as romantic settings.
Beyoncé talks about the song
According to Beyoncé, this song was birthed from comments about her gaining weight. She therefore wrote this song as an ode to being voluptuous.
When was “Bootylicious” released?
The official release date of “Bootylicious” was on May 22nd, 2001. It was single number 3 from Destiny’s Child’s third album, “Survivor”. Destiny’s Child’s global hit “Independent Women Part I” also appears as a single from this album.
Writing Credits
“Bootylicious” was written by various songwriters, including:
- Beyoncé Knowles
- Falonte Moore
- Stevie Nicks
FYI: The reason Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac fame is one of this song’s co-writers is simply because her song “Edge of Seventeen” is generously sampled in “Bootylicious”. “Edge of Seventeen” was released by Nicks in 1982.
Chart Success
Destiny’s Child gained a US number 1 hit with “Bootylicious”. The group also achieved a UK Top 10 hit with this song. It actually hit number 2 in the UK.
In addition to the aforementioned countries, this song also experienced immense success in the following places:
- Australia (#4)
- Belgium (#7)
- Canada (#4)
- Ireland (#5)
- Netherlands (#3)
- New Zealand (#4)
- Norway (#5)
- Scotland (#4)
- Sweden (#8)
NOTE: As of 2022, “Bootylicious” has sold more than 1 million units in America.
Are there any popular covers of “Bootylicious”?
British band Keane performed a combination of “Bootylicious” and Christina Aguilera’s “Dirrty”. The track (which was titled “Dirrtylicious”) was part of Radio 1’s Live Lounge: Volume 2 on 22 October 2007.
Notable Media Appearances
“Bootylicious” was used on the American musical comedy-drama TV series Glee. It appeared on the 11th Episode of the 1st Season of the show.
It has also been used in the following:
- American reality competition RuPaul’s Drag Race (Season 11 Episode 14)
- 2015 American musical comedy movie Pitch Perfect 2
- The video game Candy Crush Jelly Saga in 2016
The term “bootylicious”
The word “bootylicious” is actually a slang or informal word. It is actually an adjective that is used to describe a woman that is voluptuous and sexy. The term was made globally famous by Destiny’s Child.
Contrary to popular belief, Destiny’s Child wasn’t the first to use the term in a song. It was actually used by Snoop Dogg in the 1992 Dr. Dre classic “Dre Day“.
