The track was written and produced by her The Real Housewives of Atlanta castmate Kandi Burruss, with additional lyrical contributions from Zolciak, Brandon Joel Bowles, and Darnell Richard.

[6] In October 2009, Nielsen Soundscan reported that "Tardy for the Party" had sold approximately 29,000 digital downloads, while Mediabase revealed that the track had been played six times on radio stations.

[4] In September 2011, The Hollywood Reporter noted that the song had moved 101,000 copies since its premiere, with illegal downloads increasing ownership of the track to over one million individuals.

Dressed in black leggings and leather boots, Zolciak was accompanied by two female backup dancers, and encouraged her fellow housewives Leakes, Sheree Whitfield, and Lisa Wu-Hartwell to "c'mon bitches" in the midst of the performance.

[8] Donald Deane from The Huffington Post characterized the segment as an "assault to the senses",[9] while Brian Moylan from Gawker Media labeled it "the scariest thing to happen on television" since Britney Spears' performance of "Gimme More" at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards.