[1][2][3] On December 7, 2018, Lavigne revealed the final tracklist for her sixth studio album, Head Above Water, that included a solo song titled "Dumb Blonde" as track number five.
[4] On February 7, 2019, the album's track listing on Amazon was updated, confirming that the song features American rapper Nicki Minaj.
In fact, the song was 26 seconds longer than when it originally appeared on music platforms (3:08 to 3:34), which suggests that Minaj's verse was added in the last minute.
[5] That day, Lavigne teased the track by unveiling a nine-second-long snippet along with a statement detailing themes that inspired the concept.
On February 11, Chinese streaming service Xiami confirmed that the joint track is set to be released the following day as the album's third single.
[20][18] Lyrically, it's a "self-empowerment anthem"[18] and "a sassy clap-back to a man who underestimated her",[21] which deals with "the idea that people might think [Lavigne]'s not as smart as she is based on the way she looks".
Brittany Spanos from Rolling Stone complimented the song's "empowerment" theme and described it as "the power pop kiss-off" track.
"[24] Allison Bowsher from Much considered that the song is "the rock pop sensibilities of the early ’90s, with an infectious drum line backing and call and answer chorus that is begging to be blasted from every radio station."
He praised commercial and public appeal of the song, as well as Minaj's rap section: "Just because she's cute and sweet, doesn't mean she incompetent".
[28] Katherine Gillespie of Paper praised "Dumb Blonde" and added that "it somehow manages to combine every genre Lavigne has ever dabbled in over the course of a prolific pop-punk career.
[36] Mike Nied from Idolator made the observation that "Dumb Blonde" was one of the "sort of fiery banger that deserves plenty of radio play.
[39] Similarly, Callie Ahlgrim of Insider ranked "Dumb Blonde" among the worst songs of 2019, calling it "deeply uninspired" and criticizing Lavigne's decision to collaborate with Nicki Minaj.