Beg for It (song)

"Beg for It"
A white-and-blue portrait of a blonde woman posing in a white outfit with a white jacket draped over her shoulder, and a white panther as her backdrop.
Single by Iggy Azalea featuring MØ
from the album Reclassified
ReleasedOctober 24, 2014
StudioRecord Plant (Los Angeles); Sarm West Studios, Grove Studios (London); Downtown Music Studios (New York City)
Genre
Length2:58
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Iggy Azalea singles chronology
"Booty"
(2014) 		"Beg for It"
(2014) 		"Trouble"
(2015)
MØ singles chronology
"One More"
(2014) 		"Beg for It"
(2014) 		"Lean On"
(2015)

"Beg for It" is a song by Australian rapper Iggy Azalea, featuring Danish singer MØ. It was written by Azalea and Charli XCX. The song was released on 24 October 2014 as the lead single from the reissue of Azalea's debut studio album The New Classic (2014), titled Reclassified (2014). An initial live preview of the song in September 2014 resulted in widespread media speculation that it featured XCX as the sequel to "Fancy", XCX's previous collaboration with Azalea. However, it was later revealed that XCX wrote the track's hook for MØ, who Azalea discovered on YouTube. A hip hop and trap song, "Beg for It" contains a percolating, booming stark beat and solicits a sinuous, minimalist feel. Its lyrical content comprises themes of girl power and prominently figures the phrase "pussy power".[citation needed]

The song garnered generally favourable reviews from music critics, many of whom commended its catchiness. Others were, however, ambivalent towards its similarities with Azalea's previous singles "Black Widow" and "Fancy". "Beg for It" became a top 30 hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and in Australia, where it peaked at number 27 and number 29 respectively. It was more successful on the U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart where it peaked at number eight for five consecutive weeks and became Azalea's fourth top 10 hit of 2014. It also peaked at number four in Germany and number nine in Flanders (Belgium). In May 2015, "Beg for It" was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

An accompanying music video for the song, directed by David LaChapelle, was cancelled due to scheduling conflicts and Azalea's conflicting tour schedule. Instead, an accompanying lyric video for the song was released on Azalea's Vevo page. Their first live performance of the song on Saturday Night Live was panned by many critics, who commented extensively on MØ's vocal latency and poor performance timing, with one deeming it "one of the most cringe-worthy live moments in recent history". MØ uploaded a handwritten apology in response to the criticism, in which she explained that she experienced technical difficulties with her microphone. The singer was absent from all of Azalea's subsequent live performances of "Beg for It" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the 41st People's Choice Awards and the 2014 American Music Awards.