An accompanying music video for the song was directed by Joseph Kahn and features Hilson portraying an array of mostly African American female icons of the past, including Josephine Baker, Dorothy Dandridge, The Andrews Sisters, The Supremes, Donna Summer, Janet Jackson and T-Boz of the R&B girl group TLC.

[9] The official remix, featuring Kanye West, premiered online on November 23, 2010,[10] and was later included on No Boys Allowed as the thirteenth track.

[3] An extended play, featuring three additional remixes produced by dance group Cahill, were released for digital download in the United Kingdom on January 9, 2011.

"[17] According to Georgette Cline from The Boombox, the song is a "self-love anthem" that showcases Hilson's "attempt at uniting women over their shared beauty rather than the jealousy that drives them apart.

Andy Kellman of Allmusic, Mikael Wood of Entertainment Weekly and editors of USA Today, all considered it to be the stand out track from No Boys Allowed.

[21][22][23] Eric Henderson of Slant Magazine wrote that the song, "comes on like a cat fight, but it eventually reveals itself to be a tough-loving 'love yourself' anthem, a stately but danceable approximation of Dove's campaign for 'real beauty'".

[26] Glenn Gamboa of Newsday wrote that, "Though Ne-Yo gives 'Pretty Girl Rock' an addictive sheen, it's the remix featuring some memorable verses from Kanye West that gets the point across best.

"[27] Kyle Anderson of MTV Newsroom praised Hilson's "confidence and sweetness" on the song, and described the beat as "funky and sick.

"[29] Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone called "Pretty Girl Rock" one of the "high points" on No Boys Allowed, describing the track as "a lighter-than-air jump-rope rhyme about how hot [Keri] is.

"[30] Ben Ratliff of The New York Times wrote that "Pretty Girl Rock" was one of the tracks on the album that was "good enough to stop the overthinking comparisons" with Rihanna.

[32] Chad Grischow of IGN Music wrote that, "there are plenty of reasons to despise 'Pretty Girl Rock', but the twinkling girl-power jam is too charming and catchy to stay mad.

[37] On June 7, 2011, "Pretty Girl Rock" was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling over 1,000,000 digital copies.

[52] The video then switches to color and Hilson is shown portraying lead singer Patty from the singing group The Andrews Sisters.

[52] She is then seen channeling Diana Ross as lead singer of The Supremes, before switching to Donna Summer while wearing a blue sequined mini-dress.

[52] Lastly, she is shown as singer T-Boz of the R&B girl group TLC, wearing light blue silk pajamas from their "Creep" music video.

"[54] Nicole James from MTV Buzzworthy gave Hilson 100 bonus points for the authenticity of the wig she wore portraying T-Boz.

[13] Becky Bain from Idolator was unsure if the video "was [a] nice homage to the women in music who have come before her," or if Hilson was "just playing a hilarious game of dress up.

[61] She took to the stage dressed in a gold bustier with high-waisted pants and a fringe-laden jacket to perform the song in front of an audience that included members of the US Armed Forces.

"[61] The promotion of the song continued on December 7, when she performed a remixed version of "Pretty Girl Rock" on Lopez Tonight, dressed in a silver and black leotard.

[62] Hilson later performed "Pretty Girl Rock" on December 14 on the Today Show, mixing the track with James Blunt's single "You're Beautiful".

[63] A day before the release of No Boys Allowed, Hilson performed the song at Billboard's first live Tastemakers event in New York City on December 20.

[64] On January 4, 2011, Hilson gave a Motown-themed performance of "Pretty Girl Rock" on the Late Show with David Letterman, by paying tribute to Diana Ross and The Supremes with her two female back-up singers.

"[67] In April 2011, Hilson performed "Pretty Girl Rock" during her set at the Supafest Festival in Australia, dressed in a denim jacket, black bra and cutoff shorts.

[69] The song was added to Hilson's set list on Lil Wayne's I Am Still Music Tour in North America in July 2011, in which she served as an opening act.