Buttons (The Pussycat Dolls song)

"Buttons" was written by Sean Garrett, Jamal Jones, Jason Perry and Nicole Scherzinger and produced by the former two alongside Ron Fair, Tal Herzberg and Young Smoke.[1] Jon and Garrett wrote the song in a short amount of time, with Nicole Scherzinger in mind saying, "[she] is very sexy so the concept of loosening up her buttons,—every guy would want that and women wouldn't have a problem with guys loosening up their buttons."[2] The vocal production of "Buttons" was completed by Fair while engineering was handled by J.D. Andrew, Mike "Angry" Eleopoulos and Pro Tools by Tal Herzberg and Young Smoke.[1] It was mixed by Dave Pensado at Larabee Studios in Burbank, California.[1]

On December 19, 2005, the Pussycat Dolls performed at the 2005 Radio Music Awards a "racy rendition" of "Santa Baby" where Snoop Dogg joined them dressed up as Santa Claus.[3] Following their performance, Interscope Records asked Snoop Dogg to be part of the song adding two verses.[4] In February 2006 at the Grammy Style Studio event, Scherzinger announced that Snoop Dogg would be a guest in the remix exclaiming, "It's the D-O-double-G, baby!"[3]

"Buttons" lasts three minutes and fifty-two seconds.[1] It was written in the key of D minor with a time signature in common time, with a moderate groove of 102 beats per minute. The group's vocal range spans from the low note of G₃ to the high note of A₄,[5] with Scherzinger adopting breathy vocals.[6] The group takes a submissive stance towards Snoop Dogg who "seems to be as the object of affection for the girls, who ask him to 'loosen up [our] buttons' and to not 'leave [us] asking for more'."[7][8] A writer for Complex magazine wrote that "it's lyrics right into the burlesque strip tease performances that PCD actually originated from".[9] A writer for Vibe magazine noted that the song's production is reminiscent to earlier works by Timbaland.[10]

Sputnikmusic's Nick Butler in a review for PCD wrote that "Buttons" along with "Bite the Dust" and "Flirt" don't "work as well as the singles." However he did later write that "they're enjoyable enough."[11] Spence D. of IGN wrote that "it's familiar and funky, but it doesn't present anything new to the realm of female soul pop."[12] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine described "Buttons" and "Beep" as "degrading material" while noted that "[they] are a bit easier to swallow thanks, in part, to the group's cartoonish image."[13] Miriam Zendle of Digital Spy described the song as "horrible" and "horrible" as "Don't Cha" awarding it 1 out 5 stars.[7]

On the contrary, Vibe magazine listed it as the 28th best song of the year, describing it as song that "oozes sexuality."[6] Rolling Stone ranked "Buttons" at number 91 on their "100 Best Songs of the Year" list for its "snaky synths, hot chorus, [and] Snoop cameo," from "a horny-girl-group."[14] In 2008, at the BMI Pop Awards "Buttons" recognized it as one of the "Award Winning Songs" and at the 24th ASCAP Pop Music Awards, it was recognized as one of the "Most Performed Songs" of 2005–06.[15][16] On the occasion of Snoop Dogg's 40th birthday, Erika Ramirez of Billboard included "Buttons" at number 4 on the list of "Snoop Dogg's Top 10 Billboard Hits".[17]

In the United States, the song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number seventy-one on the issue dated May 27, 2006, earning the highest debut of the week.[18] In its tenth week, "Buttons" entered the top ten at number seven, and began to steadily climb up the chart.[19] It eventually reached a peak of three on September 16, 2006.[20] "Buttons" spent a total of 11 weeks inside the top ten of the Hot 100 and 30 weeks on the chart in total.[19] The track's Dave Audé remix topped the US Hot Dance Club Songs chart, while the album version peaked at number twenty on the same component chart.[21] On the Pop Songs the song peaked at number one for two weeks.[22] According to Nielsen Soundscan, by January 24, 2010, the Pussycat Dolls became the first female group in digital history to have three singles— along with "Don't Cha" and "When I Grow Up"—surpass 2 million digital downloads.[23] The song was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for shipment of a million copies of the single.[24] In June 2007, the song received a BDS Certified Spin Award for receiving 300,000 radio spins in the United States.[25]

On July 3, 2006, "Buttons" debuted on the New Zealand Singles Chart at number thirty-eight based on airplay alone.[26] In its third week the song jumped thirty-one places to number one, earning the group's fourth consecutive number one.[27] Along with "Don't Cha", "Stickwitu", "Beep" and "Buttons", the Pussycat Dolls logged their twelfth week at the top.[27] The song also displaced Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" from number one, which had spent the previous seven weeks atop the chart.[27] On November 13, 2006, "Buttons" has received a gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ), denoting sales of 7,500 copies. "Buttons" entered the UK Singles Chart at number eleven on the week of June 25, 2006.[28]

The music video for "Buttons" was directed by Francis Lawrence over a period of three days.[29] Speaking about the video Kimberly Wyatt said, "we decided to turn in up a notch; it was time to see what we're really about."[4] Carmit Bachar added "it's pretty much an ode to where we've come from."[29] The choreography was done by Tovaris Wilson. Behind-the-scenes footage was included on The Pussycat Dolls live album Live from London (2006).[29]

On December 31, 2004, The Pussycat Dolls performed an early demo version of "Buttons" on New Year's Eve with Carson Daly[37] At that point, the Pussycat Dolls were still recording their album PCD, and the group featured troupe members who remained after the re-casting process, such as Robin Antin, Cyia Batten, and Kasey Campbell. Kimberly Wyatt is also featured as a dancer prior to becoming a backing vocalist in the group. On June 30, 2006, the Pussycat Dolls appeared on Good Morning America as part of its Summer Concert Series performing "Don't Cha", "Buttons" and "Stickwitu".[38] On September 8, 2006 they performed "Buttons" at the Fashion Rocks where they were joined by rapper Jibbs.[39] At the 2006 American Music Awards they performed "Buttons" wearing "sparkly sequined mini dress[es]."[40] Corey Moss of MTV wrote that their performance "had the auditorium bumping."[41]

The Pussycat Dolls performed "Buttons" and "When I Grow Up" at the opening of the 2008 MTV Asia Awards.[42] The song was also included in the set list of their Doll Domination Tour (2009), being the sixth track performed.[43] Colene McKessick of Press and Journal said that, "hits such as 'When I Grow Up', 'I Hate This Part' and 'Buttons', [set] the crowd into a frenzy."[44] Nicole Scherzinger performed it as part of a Pussycat Dolls medley included during the concerts of her first solo tour in support of her debut studio album, Killer Love (2011).[45]

On November 26, 2019, they performed "Buttons" in a medley on The X Factor: Celebrity with "When I Grow Up", "Don't Cha" & "React" to promote their 2020 reunion tour.

On February 22, 2020, they performed "Buttons" on Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway in a medley with "Beep", "Don't Cha" & "React". Later on that night, they also performed it in their G-A-Y performance.

Credits adapted from the liner notes of PCD.[1]

Mixing

• Mixed at Larrabee North (North Hollywood, Los Angeles).

Personnel

• List of number-one dance singles of 2006 (U.S.)