Birthday (Selena Gomez song)

"Birthday" is a song recorded by American singer Selena Gomez for her solo debut studio album Stars Dance (2013).

The song's instrumentation is created by blending purring, synthesized bass, snappy beats, handclaps, "oxygen-sucking" sub-bass, and trap snares with sexual moans and elements of hip hop music.

Sparse drum beats and vocal chants are woven throughout the song's composition, which has been described by critics as club-ready electropunk, with trap and dubstep elements.

"Birthday" was written by Crista Russo, with additional writing by Mike Del Rio and Jacob Kasher Hindlin, under his stage name "J. Kash".

[3][5] Sparse drum beats and vocal chants are woven throughout the song's composition, which according to Christina Drill of Popdust, is reminiscent of Gwen Stefani's debut solo album, Love.

[3][10][12] Julia Rubin of Headlines and Global News described the song as a "candy-coated, clap-happy club anthem with plenty of girl power and sex appeal, much like a bubblegum version of Rihanna's "Cockiness (Love It)",[9] while Jim Farber of New York Daily News said that "Birthday" "has the bratty sense of entitlement, flagrant delivery and braying hook of Icona Pop’s smash “I Love It.”[10] "Birthday" received generally favorable reviews from music critics.

[12] Christina Drill of Popdust gave the song a highly positive 4.5 out of 5 review, declaring it "super fun" and catchy, while later going on to say "Birthday" is "the weirdest and greatest thing Selena's ever done".

[15] In the video, a "smiley" Gomez is seen in a black crop top and shorts with a flannel shirt around her waist, and is shown singing the song with her friends in a dark room.