Flo Rida “Right Round” hit #1

Right Round Flo Rida with Ke$ha

Writer(s): Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald, Tramar Dillard, Peter Hernandez, Philip Lawrence, Justin Franks, Allan Grigg (see lyrics here) Released: January 27, 2009 First Charted: January 18, 2009 Peak: 16 US, 16 DG, 12 RR, 31 A40, 63 RB, 11 UK, 19 CN, 16 6 (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 7.5 US, 0.6 UK, 12.0 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.4 radio, 261.3 video, 490.81 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: “’Right Round’ was never supposed to be an artistic statement…’Right Round’ is a party song, and it’s not really supposed to do anything other than facilitate dancing and singing along. Its commercial success is proof of concept; the song did what it was intended to do.” SG The song sold 636,000 downloads WK the week of February 19, 2009, leaping from #58 to #1 WK and shattering the single-week record (418,000) set just a week earlier by “Crack a Bottle” by Eminem, Dr. Dre, and 50 Cent. WK “A year before ‘Right Round,’ the previously unknown Dade County rapper Flo Rida scored an out-of-nowhere monster hit with his club-rap jam ‘Low.’” SG “T-Pain’s unforgettable earworm of a hook was the real star.” SG Similarly, “Right Round” owed a great deal of its success to a sample of Dead or Alive’s “You Spin Me Round Like a Record” and production by the Smeezingtons. The production team was comprised of Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine, and a then-unknown Bruno Mars. Lawrence said the idea came about when he and Mars “were sitting in a car, listening to beats and ‘throwing out ’80s ideas.’” SG Songwriter and producer Dr. Luke also played a significant role. He “started off in the rap world” SG but got famous from “the glittering centrist pop baubles that he made with mentor Max Martin.” SG “When Dr. Luke worked with rappers, he didn’t really make rap songs. Instead, he crafted sleek, gleaming electronic pop tracks that crowded rappers’ voices over to the corners of the mix…When electro-pop took over the Hot 100, a savvy but personality-free rapper like Flo Rida could make a whole lot of money with a Dr. Luke beat.” SG “Over that beat, Flo Rida singsongs his boilerplate strip-club gibberish like an AI version of Nelly.” SG He said the song is “about a young lady, she might be in the strip club and she’s got my head spinning round.” WK “If you don’t listen to what he’s saying, Flo Rida’s ‘Right Round’ flow is pretty impressive…but…his lyrics don’t even make sense: ‘Lil mama, I owe you just like the flowers/ Girl, you the truth, with all of that goody power.’” SG The song also introduced pop singer Ke$ha, who “sings something like 10 words” SG on the song. Within the year, she would top the charts on her own with “Tik Tok.” She had signed a deal four years earlier with Dr. Luke’s Kemosabe label and wrote songs for other artists as well as providing backup vocals. On “Right Round” her “raspy, horny voice sounds cool on the song, and her interplay with Flo Rida turns it into more of a reciprocal oral-sex thing, but her whole personality doesn’t exactly shine through.” SG Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Flo Rida DMDB encyclopedia entry for Ke$ha SG Stereogum (5/17/2023). “The Number Ones” by Tom Breihan WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 7/28/2023.