Lopez recorded a Spanish-language version of the song titled "Ven a Bailar" (English: "Come Dance"), which includes additional lyrical contributions from Julio Reyes Copello and Jimena Romero.

The debut and release of "On the Floor" coincided with Lopez's appointment as a judge on the tenth season of US reality TV show American Idol, as well as several other product endorsement deals.

In the United States, it was Lopez's first single in four years to garner airplay, and has sold 3.8 million copies, earning a triple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Let's face it: With J.Lo, you have to go big or go home, to make a song that sounded right for Lopez [we] would need "dance, parties and her Latina heritage.

[4] During that time frame, under contract to Epic Records, Lopez released "Louboutins", a song written and produced by The-Dream and Tricky Stewart, as the project's lead single.

[7] Upon signing with The Island Def Jam Music Group, Lopez continued working with The-Dream and Tricky Stewart, in addition to collaborating with new producers such as RedOne.

[9] Subsequently, on January 16, 2011, an unfinished snippet of "On the Floor" leaked online, labelled as a RedOne production and featuring rap vocals from Pitbull.

[12] Lopez confirmed the single's title as "On the Floor" during the red carpet ceremony at The Golden Globes, before appearing the following day on the radio show On Air with Ryan Seacrest for the song's US premiere.

[13] "On the Floor" made its debut in the United Kingdom, on January 28, 2011 when it was played by DJ Scott Mills on his radio show, Ready for the Weekend.

"[17] Additionally, Lopez felt a strong connection to "On the Floor" because it captured both sides of her career, singing, and dancing, "The minute RedOne played it for me, I made him play it 20 times in a row, and I just sat there at the board and I kept listening to it and listening to it ... Because I really feel like, emotionally, I connected to it, but also because of how much I love to dance and how much that's always been such a big part of who I am since I started.

[2] On that topic, Pitbull starts the song with a rap introduction while the melody interpolates elements of the Los Kjarkas composition, "Llorando se fue", popularized by Kaoma's 1989 hit single "Lambada".

[12] Kennedy elaborated on the comparisons, stating that "listeners haven't heard this dance-electro-pop side of Lopez since 1999... much of her back catalog flirts with more gritty urban-pop sounds.

"[12] Editors for the New York Daily News made some comparisons between "On the Floor" and another RedOne production, Kat DeLuna's 2010 single, "Party O'Clock".

[26] The Houston Chronicle's Joey Guerra concurred with his following critics, nothing that "On the Floor" was one of the four standout moments on the album, typyifying the "aggressively sexual anthems that are likely to soundtrack the summer.

"[2] In his article for the Los Angeles Times, Gerrick Kennedy said the song is a "sweat-inducing, sticky dance floor track" which was "vintage J.Lo" and catchier than either of her previous releases, "Louboutins" or "Fresh Out the Oven".

[12] Although Kennedy praised the song's overall appeal, he commented that RedOne had produced more inventive "pop gems" with the likes of Lady Gaga and that Pitbull's appearance was a "throwaway verse.

"[12] In her review for AOL Music's Radio Blog, Nadine Cheung commented that Lopez "reinforces her renaissance woman status.

In his review of Love?, BBC Music's Alex Macpherson said that "On the Floor" was a predictable recording from Lopez as it was "not too dissimilar to the supreme millennial house of 'Waiting for Tonight' (1999)".

He went on to describe "On the Floor," and album track "Papi," as "apparent distillations of the trashy Miami house aesthetic that dominates pop these days.

"[46] The single's release was synchronized with the debut of the music video on season ten of American Idol, resulting in first week sales of 170,000 copies and a Hot Digital Songs chart position of number three.

[50] Keveney, attributed Lopez's commercial comeback to product endorsement deals with L'Oreal and Gillette, also noting her appointment as a judge on American Idol a contributing factor in the growth of her popularity.

[92] By the end of 2011, International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) noted that "On the Floor" had sold over 8.4 million copies worldwide, making it the best selling single by a female artist.

[96] Lopez later confirmed in an interview On Air with Ryan Seacrest, that the completed music video would premiere jointly on season ten of American Idol and on Vevo on March 3, 2011.

[103][105][106] Spliced in between these scenes, she is seen dressed in black harem pants and a bikini top, as she walks through the crowd to mount a circular stage on the Las Vegas-style dancefloor.

MTV's Kelly Carter and AOL's Khawlhring Sawmteii described the final scenes as Lopez "tearing up the floor," and "breaking it down 'fly-girl' style.

[107][108] Based on a preview of the video, Entertainment Weekly's Tanner Stransky said the clip brought together a flawless realness with an expensive set-up, things that are "very important elements in the pop music world and to the old Lopez that everyone knew and loved.

"[102] As a result of the video's premiere, the online traffic at Lopez's official Vevo account increased by 1000%,[110] and as of October 9, 2022, has received over 2 billion views on YouTube.

"[112] According to The Hollywood Reporter, Lopez pretaped the performance due to a perceived danger of flying shards of glass from the earlier part of the routine.

This performance maxed out what an artist can do in such a medium – awesome lighting, high-impact video footage, a strong feature from Pitbull, excellent staging, solid choreography, a bit of pyro, and a ton of warmth and personality.

[citation needed] Wearing a skin-tight catsuit, Lopez descended from the ceiling in an illuminated heart before proceeding to perform the song, which included her dropping to her knees during the chorus.