Because it seemed like a safe bet, it was placed in iHeartRadio's new "On the Verge" program. The song succeeded, though, because it was clearly identifiable as a hit: a popular style (hip-hop) made palatable for mainstream white audiences by an artist who was beginning to trend. People identify hit sounds and formulas, and then they hit them again and again.įor example, "Fancy" topped the charts, but it seemed many hated it.
![fame on fire iggy azalea black widow fame on fire iggy azalea black widow](https://assets.capitalfm.com/2014/03/-iggy-azalea-ti-and-rita-ora-1390561842-large-article-0.jpg)
But it isn't Azalea's fault to a large extent that's just how pop music works now. "Black Widow," featuring singer Rita Ora, was clearly released in the hope that it would skyrocket to the same "song of the summer"-level fame as Azalea's previous hit single, "Fancy." That song features British singer Charli XCX and held the number one spot on the Billboard charts for seven consecutive weeks. This is her first solo song since 'Fancy' became the hit song of the summer and it doesn't do much to define her as a unique artist."īut the song was never meant to be original.
![fame on fire iggy azalea black widow fame on fire iggy azalea black widow](https://zumic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/iggy-azalea-rita-ora-black-widow-official-music-video-6a.jpg)
As Aliza Abarbanel pointed out in Noisey, "Iggy should be careful with how much she imitates. The song is bad for a multitude of reasons, but it is especially offensive because it's almost identical in theme and sound to Katy Perry's megahit " Dark Horse." It also fits the model of Azalea's other hits so exactly that the music video is practically the same: Just as "Fancy" was modeled on Clueless, so too is "Black Widow" modeled on Kill Bill.