"Feel This Moment" received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who praised Aguilera's appearance and the "Take On Me" interpolation used on the song, and some of whom compared the song's theme to songs by Ludacris, David Guetta, Usher and Kesha. "Feel This Moment" was a commercial success, peaking at number eight on the US Billboard Hot 100 and was certified quadruple platinum in October 2020. Outside of the United States, "Feel This Moment" peaked within the top ten of the charts in many countries including Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. It garnered multiple certifications in many regions, including by the Australian Recording Industry Association and the British Phonographic Industry.
An accompanying music video for "Feel This Moment" was directed by David Rousseau and was released on March 15, 2013. The video was shot in a black and white scene, featuring several shots from Pitbull's Planet Pit World Tour and Aguilera with big curly hair. The clip garnered positive feedback, who praised Aguilera's new figure in it. At the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, the video was nominated for Best Collaboration. The duo performed "Feel This Moment" on a number of occasions, including at the 2012 American Music Awards, 2013 Kids' Choice Awards, and the 2013 Billboard Music Awards; in this last, Harket was featured as a guest star.
Background
On October 16, 2012, Pitbull's official website gave a list of possible collaborators who were expected to appear on the album, with Christina Aguilera being one of them.[3][4] A 1-minute, 37-second snippet of the track, leaked online on October 23, 2012,[4] while the full track leaked on November 13, 2012.[5] Pitbull spoke about the collaboration with Aguilera in an interview, stating:[6]
"'Feel This Moment' is a special record, and to work with Christina Aguilera is an honor, a blessing, someone that I highly respected, as far as her talent, her voice, her range that she can take it, and I think 'Feel This Moment' is gonna be a great record, because it's got a very powerful sample and everybody's gonna dance too. On top of that, when I say 'Feel this Moment' is basically, 'feel life, don't live life for a moment, live life for life, that is your moment.'"
The song is a dance-pop song about stopping to take a moment to appreciate life.[1][5] Set to a thumping club beat, the rapper spits, "Let's stop time and enjoy this moment,"[5] followed by Aguilera belting, "One day when my light is glowing, I'll be in my castle golden; But until the gates are open, I just wanna feel this moment."[4] Pitbull makes reference to E.L. James's best-selling erotic novel, 50 Shades of Grey, when he raps, "She read books, especially about red rooms and tie-ups."[4] According to Jason Lipshut of Billboard, "Feel This Moment" is structured much like Pitbull's "Get It Started," which in turn featured Shakira.[10] With the chord progression of Am—D—G—C—G/B, the song is written in the key of G major.[11] According to the sheet music at musicnotes.com, the song is written in common time with a tempo of 136 beats per minute.
Critical reception
"Feel This Moment" received generally positive reviews from music critics. David Jeffries of AllMusic picked the song as one of the album's standout tracks, calling it a "glorious disco explosion."[9]Entertainment Weekly's journalist Ray Rahman thought that "Feel This Moment" was "the best song on the album," writing that "it whisks a 'Take On Me' sample to places it's never been before."[12] Sarah Godfrey of The Washington Post agreed, recommending the track, as one of the three best tracks on the album.[13] Mikael Wood of Los Angeles Times wrote that "it turns A-ha's '80s synth-pop curio 'Take On Me' into the stuff of a Las Vegas bachelorette bash."[14] Jeremy Thomas of 411 Mania praised Aguilera's appearance, writing that she "adds some musical substance to Pitbull's style and makes for a track that, if not necessarily good, at least is very listenable."[15]
Sam Lanksy of Idolator called it a "doozy," praising Aguilera's part, calling it a "memorable chorus," adding that the song "fares better than her yowling on Chris Mann's cover of 'The Blower's Daughter.'"[4] Jason Lipshut of Billboard also praised her vocals, calling it "gorgeous pipes."[10] Rick Florino of Artistdirect also praised her part, writing that "Aguilera delivers a shimmering refrain as Pitbull's flow drives the verses smoothly."[16] Nicolle Weeks of 4Music also enjoyed, writing: "This is actually quite a catchy tune to dance to and it boasts a sick hook. It doesn't feature any misogyny, which is nice."[17]
Julianne Escobedo Shepherd of Spin wrote a mixed review, stating that "the Christina Aguilera collab should be a major crossover situation — she chips in a slightly cheesy, Selena-alluding diva vocal combined with Miami-worthy sub-bass, but a-ha's 'Take On Me' hook played on a handsy techno synth overrides both vocalists."[18] But an editorial writer from Popjustice was negative towards both "Feel This Moment" and will.i.am's song "Scream & Shout" (2012), stating that what the "two songs represent is pop music writhing around in its own shit."[19]
Chart performance
"Feel This Moment" made its first chart appearance on December 15, 2012, debuting at number 169 on the French Singles Chart. The following week, the song did a climb to number 63. In its third week charting, the single jumped to number 35, becoming Pitbull's 13th top-40 single on the chart and Aguilera's 16th.[20] The song kept fluctuating on the chart for the next two weeks, until it climbed to number 26 on January 19, 2013. In its seventh week, the song peaked at number 23.[20] In Austria, "Feel This Moment" debuted at number 29 on the Austrian Singles Chart on November 30, 2012. Later, the single climbed to number 27 and remained two further weeks before dropping out of the chart.[21] On January 25, 2013, the song re-entered at number 11, while in its sixth week, it jumped to number seven, becoming Pitbull's 13th and Aguilera's tenth top-ten single.[21] On March 15, 2013, the song peaked at number two on the chart.[21]
In Switzerland, "Feel This Moment" debuted at number 40 on the Swiss Singles Chart on December 2, 2012.[22] It peaked at number seven on April 21, 2013, and stayed there for two weeks.[22] On the Swedish Singles Chart, the song gained moderate success, peaking at number 22 on the chart.[23] Despite that, the single was certified platinum by the Swedish Recording Industry Association.[24] In Germany, the song peaked at number nine on March 25, 2013, on the German Singles Chart.[25] Thanks to the chart success, it was certified platinum by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie.[26] In Norway, "Feel This Moment" debuted at number 17 on the Norwegian Singles Chart on January 26, 2013. In its eighth week on chart, the song peaked at number six. In the United Kingdom, the single peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Pitbull's tenth top-ten hit in the country and Aguilera's 17th.[27] It was also a success on the dance market in the country, peaking at number one on the UK Dance Chart. "Feel This Moment" was a commercial success throughout Europe, peaking at number five on the Euro Digital Songs chart.[28]
In Australia, "Feel This Moment" debuted at number 12 on the Australian Singles Chart on March 13, 2013.[29] On March 17, 2013, the song peaked at number six and stayed there for two weeks, becoming Pitbull's tenth top-ten hit in Australia and Aguilera's 17th.[29] Due to the chart success, the single was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) thanks to the digital sales of 70,000 copies.[30] On the New Zealand Singles Chart, the song debuted at number 17 on February 25, 2013.[31] On April 8, 2013, it peaked at number 12 and remained for 3 weeks.[31]
Before release as an official single, "Feel This Moment" debuted on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 at number 24 due to strong airplay and streaming.[32] After several weeks, the song peaked at number eight on the US Billboard Hot 100.[33] The single marks Pitbull's eighth US top ten hit and Aguilera's tenth.[33] It also peaked at number four on the Canadian Singles Chart, becoming Pitbull's and Aguilera's thirteenth top ten single on the chart.[34] As of July 2013, the song has sold over two million copies in the US.[35] On October 16, 2020, the single was certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and streaming equivalent units of over four million units in the United States.[36]
Use in media
"Feel This Moment" was used as a fanfare to welcome the Singapore Armed Forces Parachute Team (better known as the Red Lions) during the National Day Celebrations of 2013 in Singapore. It was also used for the opening of Schools Spectacular and was performed by the all artists during the ending of RCTI's 25th Anniversary on August 23, 2014.
"Feel This Moment" was used in the promos for Australian reality show So You Think You Can Dance Australia, for Chilean reality show Salta si puedes. It was also used in the first trailer for The LEGO Movie which was released on February 7, 2014, a couple of scenes in the 2017 animated movie, The Emoji Movie[37] and was used in trailers for Go Jetters on CBeebies in 2020.
Hannah Hart, Grace Helbig and Mamrie Hart wrote and performed a satirical version, "I Just Want To Film This Moment" as the opening of their #NoFilterShow performance.
The music video was first released onto Pitbull's official VEVO channel on March 15, 2013. It was directed by David Rousseau.[40] It was shot in black and white scene.[41] The video is centered on the rapper's 2012 Planet Pit World Tour. In the video, the tour hit several big cities including Paris, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Los Angeles and Miami.[42] Aguilera is also featured in the video, with big curly hair and black outfit.[40] The video has received over 749 million views on YouTube, making it 5x Vevo certified.[43]
The video for "Feel This Moment" received mainly positive reviews. Rap-Up wrote, "Mr. Worldwide [Pitbull] reflects on his journey to the top, performing shows across the globe, while the pop diva looks gorgeous as she vamps for the camera in the black-and-white clip."[41] Trent Fitzgerald from PopCrush wrote that "Aguilera is looking rather svelte in her all-black leather outfit as she flirts for the camera."[42]
Aguilera and Pitbull performed the song live during the 2013 Billboard Music Awards, which ended with a surprise appearance from Morten Harket of A-ha, who then performed a portion of "Take On Me".[47] Pitbull and Aguilera performed the song at the season finale of the fourth season of the talent show The Voice on June 18, 2013.
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. † Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 201315 into search. Retrieved April 20, 2013.
