Becky G, a 17-year-old Mexican-American artist who has been trying to break into the mainstream over the past year, may have found her golden ticket in the form of “Shower,” her maddeningly catchy new single. With its melodramatic strings, rattling bass and sticky-sweet melodies, “Shower” has us reconfiguring our summer playlists and wanting to know more about the plucky teen behind it.
Behold, 10 things you need to know Becky G’s delightful new single, “Shower”:
1. “Shower” was produced by Dr. Luke and Cirkut. Which makes sense, since Becky G is signed to Luke’s Kemosabe record label on Sony, as well as to RCA Records. As the legend goes, Dr. Luke — he of the many, many hits, including Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball,” Pitbull’s “Timber,” Britney Spears’ “Hold It Against Me” and Ke$ha’s “Die Young” — scooped up Becky G as a protege after seeing the Los Angeles teenager spit a cover of Jay Z and Kanye West’s “Otis” on YouTube in 2011. Luke also executive produced Becky G’s debut EP, “Play It Again,” last year.
2. “Shower” is not a rap song.
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Speaking of “Otis,” Becky G has previously been presented as a singer-rapper, spitting bars with a Brooke Candy-esque sincerity on her “Jenny From The Block” reworking “Becky From The Block” as well as on most of her “Play It Again” EP (the exception being the wistful finale “Lovin’ What You Do”). “Shower,” however, contains its hip-hop influence within its sing-song verses before blooming into a glossy pop chorus. It’s too early to declare Becky G a “Rappa Ternt Sanga,” as T-Pain might say, but “Shower” indicates that her upcoming music will focus as much on her singing voice as her ability to rhyme.
3. “Shower” sounds a little like Rihanna’s “Umbrella.”
Buzzfeed has already pointed out the similarity, but go ahead and sing the words “under my umbrella” instead of “singing in the shower” in the hook. You’ll see what we mean.
4. Yes, Becky G actually sings in the shower. “It didn’t come to me when I was singing in the shower, but I am a shower singer and someone was making me feel some type of way about it,” Becky G recently told Rolling Stone. Pop fans demanding authenticity should officially be satisfied.
5. The music video includes a cameo from rapper/Becky G pal T. Mills.
It also includes a whole lot of CoverGirl product placement — which makes sense, since Becky G has a modeling contract with the makeup giant. Since its release last Monday (June 30), the “Shower” music video has earned 1.3 million YouTube views — still small compared to “Becky From The Block’s” 13 million views, but darn impressive after a week.
6. “Shower” quickly follows a Latin hit for Becky G.
“Can’t Get Enough,” featuring Pitbull, hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Latin Rhythm Airplay chart at the end of May, marking the singer’s first chart-topper and producer Dr. Luke’s first No. 1 on any Latin ranking. The track, which was released on Becky G’s “Play It Again” EP last year, has sold 46,000 downloads to date, according to Nielsen SoundScan (“Shower” has sold 188,000 to date).
7. “Shower” is rapidly moving up the Hot 100. The single has jumped 10 spots or more each week it has appeared on the chart since debuting at No. 88 three weeks ago, and “Shower” now sits at No. 45. Meanwhile, the music video debut last week caused the song to surge in popularity and reach a highpoint of No. 3 on the Trending 140 chart. So, “Shower” is far from the Song of the Summer, but the momentum is real. (For more on “Shower’s” placement on the Billboard Twitter RealTime charts, click here to watch last week’s Real-Time Chart Rewind).
8. If you love Becky G and “Shower,” you might be a Beaster.
That’s the name of Becky G’s fan army, of course. “I feel like a little beast when I’m onstage, and I feel like my fans have that little beast inside of them, too, this hunger for life,” Becky G wrote back in 2012. Since “G-Unit” was already taken, “Beaster” more than suffices — and there are a lot of Beasters out there, since Becky G scored the ‘Best New Artist’ award at the Radio Disney Music Awards.
9. You can hear “Shower” this fall, when Becky G opens for Katy Perry. That’s right, Becky will briefly join the Prismatic tour in October, for two dates in Houston, one in Monterrey and one in Mexico City. She previously toured as an opener for Cody Simpson and Austin Mahone in the past year.
10. “Shower” previews Becky G’s first album. Since Becky G’s biggest hit to date was not featured on the “Play It Again” EP, the single will presumably lead the singer’s debut full-length, which has yet to receive a title or release date. A press release uses the word “finishing” to describe what Becky G is currently doing with her debut LP, so, that’s a great sign. In the meantime, don’t be afraid to belt that “la la di, la da da, la da da” refrain at the top of your lungs, in the shower or elsewhere.