I’ll admit I was a bit confused when I first heard that Britney Spears, the queen of sex pop music, was recording a song for The Smurfs 2 soundtrack. I figured the product would be some kind of half-assed attempt at a catchy, G-rated pop jam. Luckily, I was kind of right. “Ooh La La” is very much at its surface a catchy, G-rated pop jam. But just barely.
It’s also certainly not half-assed. Spears assembled an all-star team to help her make the track, including Bonnie Mckee (co-writer of half of Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream and just about every other pop song on the radio) and Dr. Luke (same as Mckee, only as a producer). Bonnie reportedly admitted in April that her intent was to write as many subtle sexual references as she could in “Ooh La La,” and for Britney Spears’ heaven’s sake, she certainly did her job. One need only switch out three or four words of the song to change it from G to R, and “Ooh La La” could have easily fit in as a B-side (or legit album track) to Spears’ last album Femme Fatale. The song vibes with an electro-dance-pop feel that pushes the verses into the laid-back, acoustic chorus (slightly similar to Marina & The Diamonds’ “Primadonna”), along with the ibiza-style, Icona-Pop-inspired pre-chorus that infuses some club appeal into the track. It’s definitely a summery track, perfectly crafted for outdoor dance parties and road trips.
But seriously, it doesn’t take much insight to see that this really isn’t a kid’s track:
“Take my hand, we can go all night, and spin me round’ just the way I like, it feels so good, I don’t wanna stop, so baby come with me and be my ooh la la.”
Damn Brit, way to be.