Naked (Ava Max song)

"Naked" was written by Max, Bonnie McKee, Eden xo, Parrish Warrington, Diederik van Elsas, and producer Cirkut. Trackside was also involved in the song's production.[1] It is a pop,[2] dance-pop[3] and synth-pop song.[4] The song was described to be "bass-driven",[5] while also including a hint of being a power ballad.[3] Retro synthesizers are used in the anthemic chorus as Max belts the lyric "You can take off all my clothes and never see me naked". She stated that "Naked" was about "the real emotions we go through",[6] and that her greatest vulnerabilities are kept to herself.[7]

Bailey Slater of Wonderland wrote that "Naked" is "pop at its most shimmery and divine, not too serious, but equally quite deep and effortlessly catchy", favorably comparing the song to a strong B-side by Carly Rae Jepsen.[2] Jason Lipshutz of Billboard stated that the song had one of the best chorus introductions in 2020,[8] while Michael Cragg of The Guardian commented that it shared the "wistful, baked-in nostalgia" used in Katy Perry's 2010 song "Teenage Dream" as Max channeled Ariana Grande's "controlled yearning".[9] Justin Curto of Vulture noted that while the lyrics resembled "vague Instagram captions", he praised the melody and production. He singled out the final bridge and chorus as Max's best attempt at channeling Mariah Carey, and was her "best vocal performance".[10] However, Nicholas Hautman of Us Weekly criticized "Naked" for containing cliché lyrics about "stripping away clothes".[11]

The music video was directed by American music video director Hannah Lux Davis, and released on September 18, 2020.[6][12] The futuristic video depicts Max as an alien with "scant clothes and orange hair", who was compared to Milla Jovovich's character from the 1997 science fiction film The Fifth Element.[13][14]

Credits adapted from Tidal.[1]

• Amanda Ava Koci – vocals, songwriting
• Henry Walter – production, songwriting
• Trackside – production
• Bonnie McKee – songwriting
• Diederik van Elsas – songwriting
• Jessie Eden Malakouti – songwriting
• Parrish Warrington – songwriting
• Chris Gehringer – mastering
• Serban Ghenea – mixing
• John Hanes – engineering