| "Cat Daddy" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Single byThe Rej3ctz | |
| from the album TheFUNKtion vs theKICKback | |
| Released | February 16, 2011 (2011-02-16) June 27, 2011 (2011-6-27) (re-release) |
| Recorded | 2010 |
| Genre | Hyphy |
| Length | 3:20 |
| Label | The Aurelius Group |
| Songwriter(s) | Warren Baker, Leroy Barnes, Jovan Clayton, Jeremy Hawkins, Tevin Rivers |
| Producer(s) | JHawk |
"Cat Daddy" is a 2011 song by Americanhip hop groupThe Rej3ctz. It is based on a dance of the same name and is from the 2010mixtapeTheFUNKtion vs theKICKback. "Cat Daddy" was aMTV Jams "Jam Of The Week" in January 2011. It was released fordigital download on February 16, 2011, oniTunes and subsequently charted on severalBillboard charts, including theHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, where it spent fourteen weeks and eventually peaked at number 77, after being re-released on June 27, 2011. In 2018, the song wascertified platinum by theRecording Industry Association of America.
Chris Brown performed the Cat Daddy dance during the106 & Park 10th Anniversary special in October 2010. Brown was the featured dance performer on the song's official video, which as of November 24, 2018[update] has about 109 millionYouTube views. A Cat Daddy 2.0 video byMario Van Peebles preceded the re-release of the song and was associated with the movieWe the Party. Several notable celebrities have been filmed doing the dance, includingJustin Bieber andSelena Gomez. The dance is described as a combination of buckling a seatbelt and rolling a wheelchair.
The song and dance became aviral video in May 2012 when then-currentSports Illustrated Swimsuit Issuecover modelKate Upton posted a video of herbikini-clad rendition of the dance on YouTube, causing YouTube to temporarily ban the video. The propriety of the YouTube ban was hotly debated with articles in many top-tier publications including theLos Angeles Times,The Washington Post and theDaily News as well as leading news services such asABC News andFox News. The video of Upton performing the dance video has about 28.4 million YouTube views, as of October 17, 2023[update].
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 Behind the scenes video production onYouTube fromVenice Beach posted August 27, 2010 | |
| Official video onYouTube byThe Rej3ctz withChris Brown (uncredited) posted December 2, 2010 | |
| Cat Daddy 2.0 video onYouTube byThe Rej3ctz withMario Van Peebles posted April 12, 2011 |
The "Cat Daddy" dance was originated byThe Rej3ctz group member Reject Sam Awolope (DJ Major League) before the group linked it to the song.[1] The song came from a 2010 mixtape entitledTheFUNKtion vs theKICKback,[1] which is sometimes just referred to asThe FUNKtion.[2] In late 2010 and 2011, Chris Brown popularized the Cat Daddy dance after performing it in the official video.[3] On October 6, 2010, Brown performed the Cat Daddy on106 & Park for their 10-year anniversary show.[4][5] Then, the Rej3ctz released a video of the song, featuring Brown dancing, that was produced atVenice Beach on or before August 2010.[6]
The song was released February 16, 2011 as amusic download oniTunes.[7] According to Thomas Clayton ofThe Daily Rind, the song had 14,000 downloads on iTunes in its first week and the video had 9 million pageviews at the time.[8] By April 20, 2011, the official video had 21 million pageviews.[1] As of October 17, 2023[update] the original December 2, 2010 upload of the official video has over 89.7 million YouTube views,[9] while an alternate March 9, 2011 upload of the video has 29 million plus views.[10]
In April 2011,Mario Van Peebles produced a "Cat Daddy 2.0" video that included appearances of several artist playing parody roles of themselves like actor and singerQuincy, rapperYG and entertainerCarlos Olivero. The video was associated with the release of Van Peebles' movieWe the Party and the story behind The Rej3ctz' audition for it.[11] The video shows how The Rej3ctz anticipated succeeding in their auditions, but realized that the competition was stiffer than expected. They were rejected until Van Peebles' kids got Mario to ask them to perform their song and dance. The video was Van Peebles' first music video.[12] The song was re-released oniTunes on June 27, 2011.[13]
Billboard described the song as a "low-slung".[14] MostlyJunkFood.com described the song and video as "another one of those weak on lyrical content, but making up for it with a bangin beat and some standard Chris Breezy dancin’ abouts".[15] In January 2011, the song was recognized byMTV Jams as the "Jam Of The Week".[2] Although the song only spent one week on theBillboard Hot 100, peaking at number 97 on June 18, 2011, it spent fourteen weeks on theHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart peaking at 77 on July 16, 2011, and was listed on theTop Heatseekers list for eleven weeks, peaking at number 12 on June 18, 2011.[16]
The original video was directed by Alex Nazari.[11]TheFUNKtion vs theKICKback mixtape that included "Cat Daddy" was produced byJHawk.[2]
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| External videos | |
|---|---|
| Kate Upton doing the Cat Daddy onYouTube posted on May 1, 2012 | |
| Cat Daddy highlights onYouTube ofJustin Bieber |
Kate Upton, who in February 2012 was the cover model for theSports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, recorded a video of theDougie that wentviral and garnered over 5 million hits in April 2011.[17][18][19] She announced her intention to release a video performance of the Cat Daddy when she served asgrand marshal for the2012 Daytona 500.[20] The video of Upton dancing on a break between photo shots was posted online on April 30 by photographerTerry Richardson, without Upton's consent.[21]
After garnering close to 1 million hits in the first 24 hours,[17] YouTube banned Kate Upton's version of the dance from their site for being too risqué.[22] After some deliberation about whether it "violated the website’s rules on nudity and sexual content" the video was restored to their website.[23] Upton's Cat Daddy video clip was a part ofTerry Richardson'svlog.[23] Richardson has a reputation for "raunchy" artwork.[24] According to theLos Angeles Times the video was removed on May 1, 2012, while theDaily News reported its removal was May 2.[17][21]
Both agree that the video was restored late on May 2,[17][21] although Fox News reports that it was initially restored with an age restriction.[25] During the YouTube ban, Upton's Cat Daddy gained exposure atVimeo when Richardson uploaded it there in response to the ban.[17][26] As of November 24, 2018[update], her version of the dance has received about 27.25 million YouTube views.[27]
Following Upton's April 30 rendition, The Rej3ctz were impressed enough with Upton that they attempted to contact her regarding future collaboration(s).[3] On the edition of June 21, 2012 ofLate Night with Jimmy Fallon she performed a fully clothed rendition of the "Cat Daddy" alongsideFallon.[28] Prior to performing the dance she described the movements of the dance as buckling a seatbelt and rolling a wheelchair.[29] YouTube now hosts videos of numerous celebrities doing the Cat Daddy includingSelena Gomez andJustin Bieber.[25]
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USBillboard Hot 100[16] | 97 |
| USBillboardR&B/Hip-Hop Songs[16] | 77 |
| USBillboardHeatseekers Songs[16] | 12 |
| Country | Date | Format(s) | Label | Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | February 16, 2011 | Digital download | The Aurelius Group | Explicit version[30] |
| Clean version[31] | ||||
| Extended play[32] | ||||
| Canada | Explicit version[33] | |||
| Extended play[34] | ||||
| United States | June 27, 2011 | Explicit version re-release[13] | ||
| Canada | Explicit version re-release[35] |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[36] | Platinum | 1,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
She really could have turned things up a notch had she decided to dance. Last year, a video of Upton dancing the 'Dougie' at a Los Angeles Clippers game went viral and increased her popularity. 'I learned a new one, the 'Cat Daddy,'' Upton told The Associated Press. 'I can't wait to throw that one out. I did it the other day on a shoot in my cover bikini, so who knows.'(subscription required)
Upton's "Cat Daddy" video, directed by the notoriously raunchy photographer Terry Richardson, was so provocative that YouTube took it down, claiming it violates their policy on nudity or sexual content.'(subscription required)
