# Black Widow (Iggy Azalea song)
"Black Widow" is a 2014 song by the Australian rapper [Iggy Azalea](https://www.edgepedia.org/iggy-azalea) featuring the British singer [Rita Ora](https://www.edgepedia.org/rita-ora), released as the fifth single from Azalea's debut studio album *The New Classic* and reaching number 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100[1](https://readdork.com/track/iggy-azalea-black-widow-2014).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Artist and album | Iggy Azalea featuring Rita Ora, track 10 on *The New Classic* (2014), duration 3:29[2](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/song/11197-black-widow/) |
| Writers | Azalea, Katy Perry, Sarah Hudson, Benny Blanco, Tor Erik Hermansen, and Mikkel S. Eriksen; produced by Stargate[3](https://music.apple.com/us/song/1776699179) |
| Release | Fifth single from *The New Classic*, on mainstream US radio in July 2014 through Def Jam Recordings[1](https://readdork.com/track/iggy-azalea-black-widow-2014) |
| US peak | Number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100; the first Hot 100 top 10 for guest vocalist Rita Ora[4](https://manuals.plus/m/402efcb29ba65f5221c6025830b9d92a95246a714d088442f8ce84e7b5105770.pdf) |
| UK peak | Number 4 on the Official Singles Chart (13 September 2014); 27 weeks in the Top 100[5](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/iggy-azalea-ft-rita-ora-black-widow/) |
| Music video | Directed by Director X, a *Kill Bill* homage released 13 August 2014[6](https://www.complex.com/music/a/zach-frydenlund/iggy-azalea-black-widow-f-rita-ora) |
| Lyrics theme | Romantic obsession framed as a predator-prey dynamic[1](https://readdork.com/track/iggy-azalea-black-widow-2014) |
## Writing and origin
The song was written for [Katy Perry](https://www.edgepedia.org/katy-perry)'s album *[Prism](https://www.edgepedia.org/prism-katy-perry-album)* but did not make the final track list[7](https://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/ttabvue-98199106-EXA-4.pdf). According to a 2017 account, the trap-pop track was supposed to be a Katy Perry song featuring Iggy Azalea, but Azalea wanted the song for herself and asked Perry for it; Azalea recalled telling her, "Hey, Katy, why don't you let me take this and do something for it?"[8](https://www.mic.com/articles/179054/6-hit-songs-you-didnt-know-katy-perry-passed-up).
The credited songwriters are Amethyst Kelly (Azalea's legal name), Katy Perry, Sarah Hudson, Benny Blanco (Benjamin Levin), and Stargate's Tor Erik Hermansen and Mikkel S. Eriksen, with Stargate producing[3](https://music.apple.com/us/song/1776699179). Azalea initially wanted Perry to sing the hook, but Perry was unavailable because of time constraints; Azalea said she needed "someone who could really sing" and that "Rita's a great fit. Her voice can blow people away."[9](https://www.thissideofsanity.com/music/songs/bl/blackwidow.php) Azalea and Ora began recording the song in November 2013, after the [MTV Europe Music Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/mtv-europe-music-awards), and completed it in January 2014, working at Record Plant and Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles and Jungle City Studios in New York[9](https://www.thissideofsanity.com/music/songs/bl/blackwidow.php).
## Release
The full song leaked online on 17 April 2014, five days before *The New Classic* was released on 22 April[9](https://www.thissideofsanity.com/music/songs/bl/blackwidow.php). Azalea confirmed it as the album's fifth single in an interview with HotNewHipHop on 3 June 2014[9](https://www.thissideofsanity.com/music/songs/bl/blackwidow.php), and it arrived on mainstream US radio in July 2014 through [Def Jam Recordings](https://www.edgepedia.org/def-jam-recordings)[1](https://readdork.com/track/iggy-azalea-black-widow-2014).
## Chart performance
Billboard reported that it was Rita Ora's first Hot 100 top 10[4](https://manuals.plus/m/402efcb29ba65f5221c6025830b9d92a95246a714d088442f8ce84e7b5105770.pdf), and it gave Azalea her second Hot 100 top 10 as a lead artist[4](https://manuals.plus/m/402efcb29ba65f5221c6025830b9d92a95246a714d088442f8ce84e7b5105770.pdf). On Billboard's Mainstream Top 40 chart it rose 2-1, making Azalea only the fourth artist in the chart's 21-year history to send three maiden chart entries to number 1[10](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2014/BB-2014-42-11-01.pdf).
In the United Kingdom the song peaked at number 4 on the Official Singles Chart on 13 September 2014 and spent 27 weeks within the Top 100[5](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/iggy-azalea-ft-rita-ora-black-widow/). It also reached number 1 on the Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart, spending 4 weeks at the top[5](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/iggy-azalea-ft-rita-ora-black-widow/). Elsewhere it charted in Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, and Finland[11](https://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?cat=s&interpret=Iggy+Azalea+feat.+Rita+Ora&titel=Black+Widow) • [12](https://www.charts.nz/showitem.asp?cat=s&interpret=Iggy+Azalea+feat.+Rita+Ora&titel=Black+Widow) • [13](https://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?cat=s&interpret=Iggy+Azalea+feat.+Rita+Ora&titel=Black+Widow), and it finished at number 30 on Billboard's 2014 year-end Hot 100[14](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2014/BB-2014-49-12-20--Double-Issue.pdf).
## Music video
The official video was released on 13 August 2014 and was credited to [Director X](https://www.edgepedia.org/director-x) as director[15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3u22OYqFGo). Complex described it as inspired by [Quentin Tarantino](https://www.edgepedia.org/quentin-tarantino)'s *Kill Bill*, with a cameo from [Michael Madsen](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-madsen) and samurai-sword combat between Azalea and Ora[6](https://www.complex.com/music/a/zach-frydenlund/iggy-azalea-black-widow-f-rita-ora).
Glamour described the scenario in more detail: Azalea plays a waitress at "Big Wanda's Killer Burgers", the villain is played by Michael Madsen, Paul Sorvino makes a cameo, and T.I. also appears, with the two singers wielding swords in skin-tight catsuits[16](https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/rita-ora-and-iggy-azalea-black-widow-music-video). In the video, published on Azalea's official YouTube channel on 13 August 2014, it has drawn more than 703 million views[15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3u22OYqFGo).
## Live performances
Azalea and Ora performed the song at the 2014 [MTV Video Music Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/mtv-video-music-awards) on 24 August 2014[17](https://time.com/3145900/vmas-2014-performances-what-to-expect/). Time's recap noted that while the pair performed "Black Widow" on stage, the camera cut to [Charli XCX](https://www.edgepedia.org/charli-xcx) singing along to every word[18](https://time.com/3169492/vmas-2014-recap-best-moments-highlights/).
## Critical reception
Reviews were mixed. Some writers praised the song's commercial design: Rory Cashin of Entertainment.ie called it a darker alternative to "Dark Horse" and lauded Ora's sing-along chorus, while others such as Erin Lowers of *Exclaim!* wrote that it "falls by the wayside with little personality"[9](https://www.thissideofsanity.com/music/songs/bl/blackwidow.php).
Several critics focused on the song's resemblance to Katy Perry's "Dark Horse", which many publications pointed out when the track surfaced in April 2014[19](https://www.gigwise.com/news/90313/). Time's year-end list put "Black Widow" at number 207 of 2014 pop songs by its own ranking, calling it "lazy and derivative" and noting its similarity to Perry's "Dark Horse"[20](https://time.com/collections/top-10-everything-of-2014/3613535/black-widow-iggy-azalea-feat-rita-ora/), and a Time review of *The New Classic* had already characterized the song as a "Dark Horse" sequel on which Azalea outsources melody to Rita Ora[21](https://time.com/69751/iggy-azalea-new-classic-review/). On the other side of the ledger, Billboard's December 2014 bracket battle acknowledged that the song "began life as a Katy Perry song and, as such, is designed almost entirely to buttress its titanic hook"[22](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/bsbb-round-1-iggy-azalea-150055848.html).
## Legacy
Azalea has said that "Black Widow" is her son's favorite song of hers; he made her a birthday cake with a spider on it and likes the samurai sword fighting in the video[23](https://www.wired.com/video/watch/google-autocomplete-interviews-iggy-azalea-answers-the-web-most-searched-questions).
## References
1. [Black Widow (2014), track profile, Dork](https://readdork.com/track/iggy-azalea-black-widow-2014)
2. [Black Widow song ratings, Album of The Year](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/song/11197-black-widow/)
3. [Black Widow (feat. Rita Ora) [Clean Edit], Apple Music credits](https://music.apple.com/us/song/1776699179)
4. [Billboard Magazine, 30 August 2014](https://manuals.plus/m/402efcb29ba65f5221c6025830b9d92a95246a714d088442f8ce84e7b5105770.pdf)
5. [Black Widow chart history, Official Charts Company](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/iggy-azalea-ft-rita-ora-black-widow/)
6. [Watch Iggy Azalea's "Black Widow" Video f/ Rita Ora, Complex](https://www.complex.com/music/a/zach-frydenlund/iggy-azalea-black-widow-f-rita-ora)
7. [Request for Reconsideration Denied, USPTO TTAB (98199106)](https://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/ttabvue-98199106-EXA-4.pdf)
8. [6 hit songs you didn't know Katy Perry passed up, Mic](https://www.mic.com/articles/179054/6-hit-songs-you-didnt-know-katy-perry-passed-up)
9. [Song: "Black Widow" by Iggy Azalea featuring Rita Ora, This Side of Sanity](https://www.thissideofsanity.com/music/songs/bl/blackwidow.php)
10. [Billboard chart page and sidebar article, 11 January 2014 issue](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2014/BB-2014-42-11-01.pdf)
11. [Iggy Azalea feat. Rita Ora - Black Widow, australian-charts.com](https://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?cat=s&interpret=Iggy+Azalea+feat.+Rita+Ora&titel=Black+Widow)
12. [Iggy Azalea feat. Rita Ora - Black Widow, charts.org.nz](https://www.charts.nz/showitem.asp?cat=s&interpret=Iggy+Azalea+feat.+Rita+Ora&titel=Black+Widow)
13. [Iggy Azalea feat. Rita Ora - Black Widow, swedishcharts.com](https://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?cat=s&interpret=Iggy+Azalea+feat.+Rita+Ora&titel=Black+Widow)
14. [2014 Charts Hot 100, Billboard, 20 December 2014 double issue](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2014/BB-2014-49-12-20--Double-Issue.pdf)
15. [Iggy Azalea - Black Widow ft. Rita Ora, official YouTube video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3u22OYqFGo)
16. [Watch: Rita Ora & Iggy Azalea's 'Kill Bill' new video, Glamour UK](https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/rita-ora-and-iggy-azalea-black-widow-music-video)
17. [VMAs 2014: What to Expect, Time](https://time.com/3145900/vmas-2014-performances-what-to-expect/)
18. [The 2014 VMAs: The Good, the Bad, the Beyoncé, Time](https://time.com/3169492/vmas-2014-recap-best-moments-highlights/)
19. [Listen: Iggy Azalea and Rita Ora reveal new song 'Black Widow', Gigwise](https://www.gigwise.com/news/90313/)
20. ["Black Widow," Iggy Azalea feat. Rita Ora, Time Top 10 Everything of 2014](https://time.com/collections/top-10-everything-of-2014/3613535/black-widow-iggy-azalea-feat-rita-ora/)
21. [REVIEW: Iggy Azalea Falls Short of a New Classic, Time](https://time.com/69751/iggy-azalea-new-classic-review/)
22. [BSBB Round 1: Iggy Azalea feat. Rita Ora, "Black Widow" vs. Bobby Shmurda, "Hot Boy", Billboard via Yahoo Entertainment](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/bsbb-round-1-iggy-azalea-150055848.html)
23. [Iggy Azalea Answers The Web's Most Searched Questions, WIRED](https://www.wired.com/video/watch/google-autocomplete-interviews-iggy-azalea-answers-the-web-most-searched-questions)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Compositions and songs › Pop, rock, and metal songs › Hip-hop songs › 2010s hip-hop songs*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license