Hot Tottie

The song was leaked onto the internet during late July 2010 along with the track "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love".[1] It was originally reported to feature R&B singer Ciara.[2] However, when the official mix of the song appeared online, Ester Dean, who sung vocals on the demo of the track, was singing the female vocal interludes.[2] The song was released from Versus as the EP's urban single, whereas the latter track was released as the mainstream single.[3] "Hot Tottie" is an R&B song that includes hip hop, which is over "strobing, electronic beats" with Usher's vocals Auto-Tuned in parts.[1] In an interview with MTV News at his World Leadership Awards in Atlanta, Usher called the song, which was already receiving rotation on radio due to a leak, "incredible", and confirmed that the song would be on his upcoming release of Versus.[4] On August 31, 2010 a remix of the song, which features Lil' Kim, was released online.[5] Usher performed the song on an untelevised portion of his appearance on The Early Show on September 3, 2010, and is performing it on his OMG Tour.[6] The original version of "Hot Tottie" with Ciara was leaked on July 15, 2011, with Jay-Z's verse omitted.[7]

Jay-Z contributed vocals to the song.

Coining the track as "sleazed-up," Andy Kellman of AllMusic noted the track as a standout from Versus.[8] Sarah Rodman of the Boston Globe called "Hot Tottie" the essential track on the EP, and said that Jay-Z "bumps up the fun factor" on the "burbling" track.[9] Mark Edward Nero of About.com gave the song a positive review, saying that it was "a rock-solid tour de force featuring Usher vocalizing how smooth he is."[10] Nero also commended Jay-Z's verse but said the only negative to the song was Ester Dean's vocals which were similar to those of Rihanna.[10] Mikael Wood of Entertainment Weekly stated that the song is "nasty in all the right ways",[11] Jeff Weiss of the Los Angeles Times says that Usher remains on the "R&B's A-list" with tracks like the song, calling it "as intoxicating as its namesake".[12]

Based on airplay only, the song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 100.[13] In its second week it rose to number eighty-eight.[13] In its third week, due to the release of Versus, the song's sales elevated to number twenty-five after selling 52,000 digital downloads, and collected greatest gainer recognitions.[14] It later peaked at number twenty-one on the chart, while reaching number seventeen on the Hot 100 Airplay and twenty-one on the Hot Digital Songs chart.[13] The song reached number nine on the US R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart,[15] and number twenty-seven on the US Pop Songs chart.[16] Internationally, "Hot Tottie" peaked at number sixty-two on the Canadian Hot 100.[17] Although it was not released officially as a single in the UK, the song reached number 104 on the UK Singles Chart and number twenty-seven on the UK R&B Chart due to sales after the release of Versus only.[18]

Recording locations

• Vocal recording – Studio at the Palms, Paradise, Nevada
• Mixing – No Excuses Studio, Santa Monica, California

Personnel

• Songwriting – Usher Raymond IV, Ester Dean, Shawn Corey Carter, Polow da Don
• Production – Polow da Don
• Recording – Jeremy "Jay" Stevenson
• Mixing – Jeremy "Jay" Stevenson

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Versus.[19]

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics