Rocket (Beyoncé song)
[5] The singer elaborated the concept behind the song during an album documentary filmed for Beyoncé, titled "Honesty", saying, "Now I'm in my 30s, and those children that grew up listening to me have grown up, and I always felt like it was my responsibility to be aware of kids and their parents and all these generation".[9] Jon Pareles of The New York Times noted that the seductive track harks back to Prince's music with "harmonies blossom[ing] all around Beyoncé's cooing lead vocal".[13][14][24] It opens with Beyoncé expressing feelings of lust in the first line, "Let me sit this assssss [sic] on ya"[14] for which she adopts a soft and sultry vocal style.[12][34] She also incorporates similar double entendres and euphemisms in the lyrics, "Reach right into the bottom of my fountain / dip me under to where you can feel my river flow / Rock it till water falls".[39] John Kennedy from Vibe magazine opined it was impossible for a sexually active person not to feel an urge to invite their partner over upon hearing "Rocket".[13] Andy Kellman from AllMusic called "Rocket" the second best song on Beyoncé, deeming it an "amusing mix of metaphorical and explicit come-ons" with an "elegant" opening line.[11] Similarly, Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone provided a positive review for the "squishy" tune where Beyoncé "hits nasty highs", further praising the first line as a nice song-opener.[30] Commenting it was "a primer on what sex with Beyoncé is like", Chris Bosman from the website Consequence of Sound concluded the track "beats R. Kelly at his own game of pairing hyper-specific, 'so ridiculous they're incredible' bedroom euphemisms with the most classic of soul vibes".[46] Writing for Idolator, Mike Wass likened the song to material on B'Day (2006), and complemented it as a "vocal tour de force with eye-popping, quotable lyrics".[27] Tim Finney of the same publication highlighted "Rocket" as a "relatively classicist... sex romp slow jam" and concluded, "[it] gradually disintegrates into a loosely interwoven patchwork of faux-improvised exclamations and exhalations as Beyoncé determinedly roots out every possible voluptuous vocal angle on the song's preoccupations".[51] Although describing it as a "pitch-perfect rehash" of "Untitled" and noting that it succeeded in turning Beyoncé's "sex life into topography", Fact's Chris Kelly felt "Rocket" was unnecessary on the album.[59] Neal Farinah, who worked as a stylist for the singer, elaborated that the team wanted to keep her hair long and wavy in order to portray sexuality and femininity.[60] The video features various close-up shots of the singer throughout; she is seen writhing on a bed dressed in lingerie, eating strawberries, having a shower inside a bathtub, playing on a piano.[61] Billie Cohen from the magazine Condé Nast Traveler noted that "maybe one of the most memorable image" from the visual album was when the singer was seen falling on a king-size bed in "Rocket"."[63] Jody Rosen of The New York Times opined that the video featured mostly slow-motion pictures of "billowing silk sheets and water droplets tumbling onto Beyoncé's bare midriff".[65] Writing for the Italian edition of Vogue, Valentina Veneziano concluded that the video showcased Beyoncé's positive attitude portrayed through her laugh in "Rocket".[66] Meghan O'Keefe from VH1 argued that the video was the first to focus on Beyoncé's "voluptuous curve, toned muscle, raised goosebumps and bleached strands of bed head".[68] Vanity Fair reviewer Michelle Collins opined that the video opened with shots of Beyoncé on a bed to slightly change the overall feeling present on the album.[71] On December 21, 2013, eight days following the release of the video for "Rocket", CTV News reported that the hotel where the clip was filmed would earn profit from the exposure in the album.[55] "Rocket" was performed live for the first time by Beyoncé during the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards on August 25, as part of a medley consisting of songs from her self-titled album.
BeyoncéStudioJungle City StudiosOven StudiosNew York CityNeo soulParkwoodColumbiaComposer(s)Beyoncé KnowlesMiguel Jontel PimentelTimothy MosleyLyricist(s)Justin TimberlakeProducer(s)YouTubeMiguelTimbalandJerome "J-Roc" HarmonsexualityD'AngeloUntitled (How Does It Feel)slowtempoPrincemetaphoricalfemale sexualitysexual innuendosmusic videoThe Standard, High Lineblack-and-whiteslow motion2014 MTV Video Music AwardsThe Formation World Tourself-titled fifth studio albumengineeringmixingmasteringSterling Soundbackground vocalsiTunes Radioslow temposoul musicHouston ChronicleEntertainment WeeklyJon ParelesThe New York TimesComplexfacsimileVarietyThe QuietusBody PartyR. KellyBlack Pantiesstripteasedouble entendreseuphemismsThe A.V. ClubDrunk in LoveAllMusicRob SheffieldRolling StoneVultureJody RosenMTV NewsBillboardprimerConsequence of SoundGreg KotChicago TribuneLos Angeles TimesprofiteroleUnder the RadarmusicOMHWhen I Get You AloneRobin ThickeIdolatorThe Irish TimesThe Daily BeastMotownThe Star-LedgerStereogumExclaim!topographyHipHopDXThe 20/20 ExperienceThe Daily TelegraphPazz and JopManhattaniTunes StoreAgent ProvocateurfemininityE! OnlineCTV NewsexorcistCondé Nast TravelerThe FaderItalian edition of VogueTime OutMadonnaEroticaVanity FairHitFixPartitionThe Wall Street Journalliner notesWritingJerome HarmonJames FauntleroyProductionAudio mixingAudio masteringDirectorsDirectors of photographyProduction companiesParkwood EntertainmentStylistsBrand managerColor correctionVisual effectsCertified unitsPro-Música BrasilColumbia RecordsABC NewsRap-UpPhiladelphia Media NetworkRosen, Jody