Who's Laughing Now (Ava Max song)

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"Who's Laughing Now"
Max is seen posing topless in front of a red background covered in flames.
Single by Ava Max
from the album Heaven & Hell
ReleasedJuly 30, 2020 (2020-07-30)
GenreDance-pop
Length3:00
LabelAtlantic
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Ava Max singles chronology
"Kings & Queens"
(2020) 		"Who's Laughing Now"
(2020) 		"OMG What's Happening"
(2020)
Music video
"Who's Laughing Now" on YouTube

"Who's Laughing Now" is a song by American singer Ava Max, released on July 30, 2020, through Atlantic Records as the sixth single from her debut studio album, Heaven & Hell (2020). The song was written by Max, Madison Love, Måns Wredenberg, Noonie Bao, and producers Cirkut and Lotus IV. It is a dance-pop song with lyrics about a girl being gaslighted, serving as a continuation from Max's 2018 song "Sweet but Psycho". The Isaac Rentz-directed music video was released on July 30, 2020, and features Max seeking revenge on her boss and cheating boyfriend.

Background and development[]

Max first teased "Who's Laughing Now" on her social media accounts on May 28, 2020,[1] before officially announcing the single's initial June 2, 2020 release date, and cover art the next day.[2][3] The release date was subsequently postponed because it coincided with Blackout Tuesday.[4] She then announced that the song would be released on June 25, 2020,[5] but was also indefinitely delayed on June 17, 2020.[6] She eventually announced that it would be released on July 30, 2020.[7] The cover art depicts a topless Max positioned in front of a flaming background.[2] "Who's Laughing Now" was written by Max, Madison Love, Måns Wredenberg, Noonie Bao, Cirkut and Lotus IV, with the latter two handling production.[8]

Composition and critical reception[]

"Who's Laughing Now" is a dance-pop song,[4][9] which contains several minor chords.[10] Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic compared the song's island groove to artists such as Clean Bandit and Ace of Base.[11] It was written as a continuation from her 2018 song "Sweet but Psycho", as the lyrics both describe a misunderstood girl being gaslighted, and serve as an analogy to Max's own experiences being rejected in the music industry. She summarized the song as "basically telling everyone to just fuck off".[12] Max stated that "Who's Laughing Now" is targeted towards females who had bullied her throughout middle school, causing her to start home-school.[13] The song's title was envisioned after a self-discovery revelation by Max.[14]

Writing for Us Weekly, Nicholas Hautman praised the chorus of "Who's Laughing Now", indicating that it had the catchiest "don't cha" since the Pussycat Dolls song "Don't Cha" (2005).[15] However, Issy Sampson of The Guardian criticized the song for sounding similar to "Sweet but Psycho", which she described as an "irritating earworm". She added that the former used a "smug" horrible personality trait in place of "psychotic."[16]

Music video[]

The music video was directed by Isaac Rentz and released on July 30, 2020.[17] Max is depicted as a person seeking revenge after being fired by her boss and cheated on by her boyfriend. She is seen dancing in a destroyed office and breaking a car with a crowbar, before breaking free of a psychiatric hospital while strapped in a straitjacket.[18] Max wrote the video's plot, which she decided to incorporate several female characters into a corporate workforce dominated by men. One character portrayed by Max is gaslighted by a doctor into becoming "psycho", while another had musical instruments appearing from her head, which was parallel to her own negative experiences with music executives.[12] An interactive quiz was launched as a collaboration with Spotify prior to the release of Max's debut studio album Heaven & Hell (2020). It contains 10 questions asking about personality, resulting in the choice of one of four characters portrayed in the music video; Amanda, Torrence, Carmen, and Ava.[19]

Track listings[]

Personnel[]

Credits adapted from Tidal.[8]

Charts[]

Certifications[]

Certifications and sales for "Who's Laughing Now"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Norway (IFPI Norway)[62] Gold 30,000double-dagger
Poland (ZPAV)[63] 2× Platinum 40,000double-dagger

double-dagger Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history[]

Release dates and formats for "Who's Laughing Now"
Region Date Format(s) Version Label Ref.
Various July 30, 2020
Original Atlantic [64]
Russia August 10, 2020 Contemporary hit radio [28]
Various August 12, 2020
  • Digital download
  • streaming
 The Remixes[a] [21]
August 14, 2020 Streaming [23]
August 20, 2020
  • Digital download
  • streaming
 [22]
August 21, 2020 Streaming [24]
Italy September 18, 2020 Contemporary hit radio Original Warner [67]

References[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Two extended plays containing remixes of "Who's Laughing Now" were released on digital download and streaming formats. The version released on August 12, 2020, contained the Breathe Carolina and Cat Dealers remixes, while another version released on August 20, 2020, contained the KOLIDESCOPES, COASTR. and Jordan Jay remixes. Additionally two extended plays containing remixes were released on Spotify; the version released on August 14, 2020,[65] contained the same remixes as the extended play from August 12, 2020, with the original version appearing last in the track listing.[66] Another extended play was released on August 21, 2020, which contained every released remix and the original song.

Citations[]

  1. ^ "You think you know what's next ?". May 28, 2020. Archived from the original on September 17, 2020. Retrieved May 29, 2020 – via Instagram.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Francisco, Vitor (May 29, 2020). "Ava Max anuncia novo single, "Who's Laughing Now?", para próxima terça-feira (02)". PapelPop (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on June 9, 2020. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  3. ^ "WHO'S LAUGHING NOW?