| "XXXO" | ||||
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| Single by M.I.A. | ||||
| from the album Maya | ||||
| Released | 11 May 2010 (digital) 12 July 2010 (physical) | |||
| Recorded | 2010 | |||
| Genre | Synth-pop | |||
| Length | 2:54 | |||
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| M.I.A singles chronology | ||||
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| Jay-Z singles chronology | ||||
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"XXXO" is a song by English recording artist M.I.A., released as the lead single from her third studio album, Maya (2010). The song was written by M.I.A., Charles "Blaqstarr" Smith and Cherry Byron-Withers, and produced by Blaqstarr and Rusko. "XXXO" was first released as a digital download following its world premiere on radio on 10 May 2010, and released in physical format in the United Kingdom on 28 June 2010. Two XXXO remix EPs were released alongside the single, featuring Jay-Z, SBTRKT, KickRaux amongst others on official remixes. The song's release followed the digital release of "Born Free", also from Maya.
An uptempo synth-pop song, "XXXO" exhibits a Tamil folk music-influenced melody with elements of techno and tribal music displayed. The song's instrumentation consists of marching band percussion, and backing vocals, drawing inspiration from pop music. "XXXO" is lyrically based on the theme of the creation of a sex symbol and romance in the digital age. Music critics praised the direction of the record, its playful lyrics and futuristic sound. An accompanying music video for the song was filmed by M.I.A. during the month of July 2010, who opted to direct herself having initially commissioned Hype Williams to direct. It features graphics interchange formats and animation of her album artwork, and depicts the singer singing seductively to the camera and scenes from her flip-cam, framed by stars, greeting card flower decorations and English words written in Arabic alphabet or A, B, Cs. The video features leopard imagery alongside references to social networking platforms such as MySpace and YouTube, with the singer singing "you want me be somebody who I'm really not" as the song's chorus. The video was nominated for the "Best Video" award at the 2011 UK Asian Music Awards. The "XXXO Burka" she wore to the 2010 Scream Awards was named by Time as the second top fashion statement of 2010.
Following the release of Maya, the song charted at number 26 in the United Kingdom and number 30 in Scotland, debuting at number two on the UK Indie Chart and number 12 on the UK R&B Chart. "XXXO" is M.I.A.'s second single to reach the UK top 40 and second most successful single in the UK after "Paper Planes" reached number 19 in 2009. The single debuted at number 74 in Australia, charted at number 39 in Spain, reached number 60 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, and the top ten on the Danish radio airplay chart and in Belgium. "XXXO" was danced to by contestants Robert Roldan and Courtney Galliano of So You Think You Can Dance in 2010 for their Jazz selection. M.I.A. performed the song live for the first time at the Toronto Sound Academy in 2010. Critically, "XXXO" was lauded as yet another departure for M.I.A.. The song was listed at number two on the NME's best tracks of 2010 and in October 2011, the publication placed it at number 70 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".