[a quote from the 1995 motion picture Clueless expressing a snide disapproval of Iggy Azalea]…
[Video][Website]
[3.64]
Jonathan Bradley: I used to give Iggy Azalea the benefit of the doubt, but she continues to double down on ignorance. A few years back, some dickheads attracted Harry Connick Jr.’s opprobrium after they decided it was a good idea to perform in blackface on a revival of Hey Hey It’s Saturday no one ever needed. When it comes to idiot Australians abusing African American culture and claiming it to be homage, Azalea seems determined to live down to their example. I do not understand why audiences indulge her; if sales figures are any indication, her home country and her adopted one are both actively uninterested.
[0]
Scott Mildenhall: Two of the more distinctive voices in pop with an unfortunate lack of much to say. Azalea did a hugely impressive job of introducing herself on “Work”, but, two weaker hits later, she doesn’t sound like someone settled into the role of chart fixture. Her best line here consists of her spelling out her name, and on something so minimal that doesn’t suffice. Without Charli XCX in lip-curling “I Love It” mode it really would struggle; the “Tipsy” sample mostly serving as a far-off benchmark.
[5]
Alfred Soto: Please let Charli XCX continue this peremptory delivery, indebted to Gwen Stefani; her starchy timbre suggests a cheerleader who’s lost a few fights. But she boasts rather loudly for someone with no major hits: no offense, but I doubt she’s known in Tokyo, much less L.A. Notice I haven’t mentioned Azalea.
[6]
Cédric Le Merrer: Sorry Charli, but your synth riff is not good enough to support the beat by itself, and Iggy’s so annoying that rhymes can’t transcend it. It’s a shame because a reclamation of the Clueless aesthetic was long overdue, and Charli XCX could probably have done a much better job of it on her own.
[4]
Iain Mew: Did you know: Iggy Azalea has had more UK top 20 singles as lead artist than M.I.A. More than Lil Wayne. More than Drake! The bounds of the comparison are picked to suit her, but it still says something about the UK, or at least our singles buyers. Something which isn’t simply about race — her three hits are still a lot fewer than Flo Rida and Nicki Minaj have had, but look at which Nicki songs. The bigger point is that is seems rap can be a regular thing in the charts, but the UK doesn’t want to concentrate on the rapping in its rap songs too much. Better to have a recognisable time-filler between dance or pop elements, and as with previous singles Iggy is happy to give centre stage to the synth stabs and chorus here. So if anything stops this from being a hit in the UK, it won’t be Iggy Azalea’s obnoxious rapping, but rather that the chorus is a poor imitation of Charli XCX’s usual.
[3]
Will Adams: Iggy Azalea’s perpetual failure to convince anyone that she’s something worth caring about — beyond her eyebrow raising voice and even more eyebrow raising videos — is some sort of accomplishment, I suppose. But “Fancy” trumps that with a bigger one: making the usually lively Charli XCX sound this listless.
[3]
Anthony Easton: As much as I love Azalea’s flow, how Charli XCX sings that line about Tokyo might be one of the great pop pleasures of the year. That doesn’t mean that the beat under Charli’s voice doesn’t make the rockstar excesses sound weirdly new. This is the oldest kind of bragging, and it just sounds profoundly new.
[8]
Brad Shoup: Fancy they may be, but the production is store-brand Mustard. Iggy’s got pop ambitions but not the bars to match. Hell, her guest shows her up on that tip: Iggy hands you champagne to drink, Charli proffers gold. She might’ve referenced Breaking Bad too, but hey, so are a lot of people not named Big Boi. Basically, the song was built from the wrong end.
[5]
Crystal Leww: Iggy Azalea is not a good rapper. There is not a single line in this song that I feel compelled to return to for either her lyricism or her delivery, in a positive or negative way. This is just a bunch of cribbed hip hop tropes and deliveries. She doesn’t chase her liquor? She doesn’t shop at department stores? Uhhhhhh, okay? Who am I listening to? The end result is an anonymous mess that does her no favors. Iggy Azalea’s music just doesn’t stand out. On the other hand, Charli XCX does stand out as being particularly grating on this hook. I don’t know which has it worse here.
[3]
Patrick St. Michel: If this is what it takes to move Charli XCX up another tier in the pop-music world, so be it.
[4]
Katherine St Asaph: As useless as searching for meaning in a Pauly Shore movie.
[3]
Mallory O’Donnell: So, do you talk like this to draw attention away from the dull simplicity of the beat or is there just something functionally wrong with your mouth? Either way, the shit sounds forced, not fancy.
[2]
Andy Hutchins: Iggy gets a pity chuckle for “First things first, I’m the realest” before spitting yet another flow from Bankhead, not Brisbane, and Charli steals everything while doing an impression of Icona Pop’s impression of her. But the part that made me the happiest was the ascending drum pattern that reminds me strongly of “Tipsy,” because it got me to go listen to “Tipsy.”
[3]
Megan Harrington: I-G-G-Y / You ain’t got no alibi / this track is awful
[2]