The single later received a digital commercial release in December 2009 and peaked on the US Billboard Dance Club Songs chart at number 16.

The song itself is about fantasizing over someone who is already in a relationship (somewhat similar to "Tippy Toe" from 2004's Exodus).

It features repetition of the title, as though "dirty desire" is the only thing that can be thought of when thinking of said person.

In a review of This Is the One, Adam Benjamin Irby of Bleu Magazine called "Dirty Desire" his favourite song from the album, partly due to its "in-your-face sexual departure from her past work", and going on to say the song is "pure pop perfection".

[1] Not all reception was positive, as Daniel Robson of The Japan Times stated that the song is almost X-rated, particularly on the line "During my 9 to 5 / I'm thinking six and nine".