"Juice" is a song recorded by American singer and rapper Lizzo. It was released on January 4, 2019, by Atlantic Records as the lead single from her third and debut major-label studio album, Cuz I Love You.[4] The single was written by Lizzo, Theron Thomas, Sam Sumser, Sean Small and Ricky Reed; the latter also handled the song's production. Musically, it is a retro-inspired funk and funk-pop song that is based on a throwback groove. Lyrically, the song discusses self-love, and has been described as a self-esteem anthem.
The song received widespread acclaim from critics, some of whom referred to the song as Lizzo's best. Commercially, the single entered component R&B charts in the United States, while also reaching the top twenty in Scotland. The track is certified Double Platinum in the US and Gold or Platinum in five additional countries. A music video was released alongside the single, which contains several 1980s pop culture references. To promote the single, Lizzo performed the song on several shows, including The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Today Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
"Juice" is a "bouncy",[9] retro-inspired funk,[10]funk-pop,[1] and hip hop[2] song with a heavy rap.[11] Lizzo's delivery of the song has been described as "witty" and "full of fire".[10] The single contains "midnight production" and a burnished throwback groove.[9][10] It also has reverb-heavy guitar and "smug" spoken word.[12] It contains "delightfully outrageous" lines such as "I be drippin' so much sauce / Got a bih lookin' like Ragu."[13] The song lyrically talks about self-love,[14] and has been described as a "self-esteem boosting anthem".[15]
It is composed in the key of D minor. It has a chord progression of Dm - Eb/F - F/C - Bb - C, with Lizzo's vocals ranging from C4 to D5.[16]
"Juice" received widespread acclaim from music critics upon release. Lollie King of Bustle wrote that the song "is sure to give you that much-needed confidence boost when you're feeling low."[14]Christian Hoard, writing for Rolling Stone, praised the song as the singer's "finest" single to date, and called it "a near-perfect retro-funk nugget that would have felt just right on a mirror-balled dance floor in 1982."[10] Joshua Bote, writing for NPR, stated that the song "continues [Lizzo's] winning streak of sing-songy, funk-heavy rap".[11] Michael Roffman of Consequence of Sound wrote that the song "doubles as a jam and one of those dusty workout tapes you've got lying around your house."[9]Pitchfork listed the song as the 53rd best of 2019.[17]Billboard magazine ranked "Juice" 46th on their Best Songs of 2019 list, calling it "irresistibly immediate and durably relistenable".[18]
The music video for "Juice" was released the same day as the single. The video, directed by Quinn Wilson, features the singer in an '80s-style workout program, late-night talk show, and selling products on an infomercial.[25] It also contains references to Soul Glo commercials and a reference to ASMR YouTuber Spirit Payton.[11] Taylor Bryant of Nylon magazine described the video as "just as fun as the song".[26] The 2020 video gameJust Dance 2021 has it as one of the dance songs.[27]
On October 18, 2019, singer CeCe Peniston accused Lizzo of plagiarizing the song's "Yeah-yeah" ad-lib from her 1990s single "Finally".[30][31] Lizzo's lawyer rejected the claim, describing it as "opportunistic" and "specious".[32]
^Rolling Stone Staff (December 6, 2019). "50 Best Songs of 2019". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 9, 2022. ...the Minneapolis singer-rapper seamlessly combined New Wave guitars à la Flock of Seagulls with enough swagger to make Bruno Mars look modest...