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"He Like That" is a song recorded by American group Fifth Harmony for their self-titled third studio album. The song was written by its producers Ammo, DallasK and Ester Dean and contains a portion of the song "Pumps and a Bump" performed by rapper MC Hammer. The song was released to US Contemporary Hit radio as the album's second single on September 19, 2017. On October 20, 2017, a remix of the song featuring rapper French Montana was released. The music video for the single premiered on August 25, 2017, during a Vevo Watch Party live stream celebrating the release of the group's album.

Background and release
Written and produced by Ammo, DallasK and Ester Dean, the song was initially offered to Fifth Harmony when their A&R executive, Chris, played a demo during the recording sessions for the album. After reading the lyrics for the first time, Fifth Harmony responded positively to it. In interview with Billboard, Dinah Jane said she played the song to her mother who had a surprising reaction: "I didn’t know where 'Pumps and a Bump' came from. I didn’t know what it meant, and then I told my mom about it and she was like, ‘Girl, you don’t know nothing about this. This is from my time -- "Pumps and a Bump"!'". According to Jane, the fact it was written by Ester Dean was one of the reasons why the record was so special:

Ester Dean wrote the song as well, and it made the song even more special to me because I’m a huge fan of hers. She just flavored it up, and we couldn’t help but take the chance on it. Once we all tried out the song, we were like, ‘This is the one we’re going to ride with for this next album.’ It just shows — it’s different.

The vocals were recorded and produced by Chris "TEK" O'Ryan. Phill Tan mixed the track, while Josh Cadwin was the audio engineer. Michelle Mancini mastered the audio. "He Like That" was released to US contemporary hit radio on September 19, 2017.

Composition
"He Like That" fuses reggae with elements of urban contemporary genres such as R&B, dub music and old-school hip-hop sampling "Pumps and a Bump" performed by MC Hammer as foundation of its production and lyrical content. Its danceable, uptempo groove is resulted of a combination of a bass surf guitar and a programmed drum kit. Raisa Brune of Time praised its production noting that the track "turns into a catchy, almost tropical hip-hop tune that lets each member of the foursome stretch her voice." Entertainment Weekly’s Marc Snetiker wrote "He Like That" flits along with "a strident tropical bounce."

Lyrically, the song is written from a female perspective who praises an attractive male figure describing his characteristics. The song opens with a low-key bass while Dinah Jane starts appreciating the physicality of her love interest: “You got that good boy attitude, and yeah I kinda like it. You got the tats on your arm, got a bad girl excited.” Kordei then appears on the pre-chorus using an interpolation of "Pumps and a Bump". Mike Wass of Idolator, who described the song as a "sexy earworm" commented that it finds the group in a "seriously loved-up mood." The chorus performed by Lauren Jauregui exhibits Dean's writing characteristics using repetitive words in the end of each line: "He like that bang, bang, bang, he like that bomb, bomb, bomb / He like that love, love, love, / I’m like that drug, drug, drug." For the second verse, Ally Brooke continues singing about the atractive man: ”He got that rough neck swaggy, but he know how to hide it/He got that dope boy cash, but he get it nine to five-ing."

Reception
Mike Nied from Idolator cited "He Like That" as one of the best tracks on the album Fifth Harmony. According to him, the song "oozes confidence and sex appeal" in a way that their previous single “Down” failed to achieve. Spin’s Katherine St. Asaph said that "He Like That" envokes the songs performed by Barbadian singer Rihanna, especifically those written by Ester Dean. She further felt that the use of guitar in the song suggests a version of Britney Spears’ “Make Me...” (2016) "without G-Eazy". Variety's editor Cris Willman believed that "He Like That" as well as another Fifth Harmony song "Sauced Up" became "deep pleasures".

Sabrina Boderick of The Daily Nebraskan for example, considered it as a "step down" from their previous single "Down", she criticized the lyrical part for telling "less of a story and for being "basically just words to a beat", which for her, was made for a "boring listen." In a review for The Daily Mississippian, Hannah Willis criticized its repetitive hook. Cameron Cook of website Pitchfork appreciated its "sensual groove" but like Eillis, Cook was not enthusiasmatic over the repetitivement present in the chorus, the editor felt that the MC Hammer's interpolation "convey playground fumbles" rather than the raw sexuality they were clearly going for.

Commercially, "He Like That" did not appeared on Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States but managed to debut at number one on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 after its full-tracking week, a component chart listing the top singles which have not yet charted on the Hot 100. It became the first single off an album released by Fifth Harmony to do not visit the Hot 100, as all of their singles since "Boss" entered the main component chart. "He Like That" additionally charted and peaked at 33 on the Mainstream Top 40. It also debuted at number 95 in Portugal, 75 in Canada and 53 in the Philippines.

Development and synopsis
The music video for "He Like That" was directed by James Larese who had previously directed the video of "Down", parts of the video were captured in an old club located in Los Angeles, California. Fifth Harmony's long-time collaborator Sean Bankhead served as the choreographer for the video. Similar to the music video for "Down", the visual of "He Like That" is colorful, with neon lights illumination and a balance of intense colors. The scenery is reminiscent of hip hop block parties of the 1990s and dancehall clubs. The video begins with a vinyl record that serves as an introduction for the video's title and presentation. Close up shots of each girl is shown, drenched in neon lights while shifting to the scene where Dinah Jane, sporting a long pink skirt, is seen performing a choreographed dance routine with a male dancer. The video then cuts with a particular scene of Kordei, who dances a sensual and intimate choreography with a back-up dancer; the singer wears a red latex top with pants. During the chorus, the group is shown with several men and women who are lying on a couch caressing each other.



As the second verse begins, Brooke appears dancing with another male dancer. Kordei then keeps performing another dance routine, now with two men, backed by the same scene where she performed earlier. As the second chorus is introduced, the members are shown using different outfits performing on the center of the dance floor, backed with male dancers, intercepted with scenes of the members lying in the couch surrounded by several men. Jauregui is then seen performing her specified choreography with a backing dancer. The scene is cut with a shot where Hansen and Kordei are leaning against a wall and dancing with their partners, interspersed with scenes of the group still grinding in the club. The clip ends with a shot of Kordei and Hansen, sensually lying on their dance partners' backs who are doing push up exercises.

Reception
Alexandra Holterman from Billboard described the video as "sweaty, confident, and unapologetically sexy." Deepa Lakshmin of MTV News blog viewed the video as "hotter" than their video for "Work from Home" and praised the group's coordination. The video received comparisons to that for "I'm a Slave 4 U" (2000) performed by American singer Britney Spears due to their similar location and choreography. Allison Bowsher of Much.com pointed out that the group offered a "little something for all viewers" as they play with the male and female cast. As she opined, Fifth Harmony have never been shy about "turning up the sexy factor" in their videos, exemplifying the visuals for “Work From Home” and “All In My Head (Flex)", but in “He Like That,” they look more like women who know "what they want, and what they want is to rule the charts" rather than "young girls trying on their older sister’s outfits." Jeniffer Drysdale of website Entertainment Tonight who described it as a "sizzling music video", felt that the group's fashion matched the song's suggestive lyrics, as they showed "plenty of skin."

Live performances and remix
Fifth Harmony performed "He Like That" during the self-titled release parties in Los Angeles, California. The tevelised first live performance of "He Like That" was during the Good Morning America on August 29th, 2017. To Mike Nied of Idolator, the performed was a little "stripped back" with their vocals shining over the simple staging. On September 2, 2017, Fifth Harmony appeared as the main performers on RocksCorps event at Makuhari Messe in Tokyo, Japan, where they performed "He Like That" along with other songs in front of 4,000 people. At the TIDAL X benefit concert on October 17, 2017, the group performed "Down" and "He Like That" wearing pink latex boots and bodysuits. They were backed by a live drummer, guitarist and keyboardist for the performance, Ryan Reed of Rolling Stone praised the "flashed colorful static" on the performance and said that the live band gave some "extra muscles" for the performance. On September 12, 2017, Fifth Harmony recreated the set of the music video for their performance on the The Late Late Show with James Corden. They also played a game called “Flinch,” in which each singer stood behind a pane of glass and attempted not to spill a martini glass while being pelted with liquified fruit. On October 27, 2017, the group performed "He Like That" live during their appearance on MTV's reboot of Total Request Live alongside "Don't Say You Love Me" on October 27, 2017. The performance marked a change of scenery for TRL live performances, with the group singing in the studio instead of on a stage set up in Times Square, which was where the bulk of performers were situated in the first week. Billboard's Caitlin Kelley wrote positively about their vocal performance and synchronized harmonization, similarly, Mike Wass of Idolator felt that their vocals were "on point".

An official remix featuring rapper French Montana was released on digital plataforms on October 20, 2017. In the remix, Montana sings the second verse - originally sung by Brooke - around the song's bubbling bass line with double-time bars while pays homage to The Notorious B.I.G.’s “One More Chance / Stay With Me (Remix)."(1995): "Montana, you know what it is when you hear that haaa/ Bang, bang, bang, bang/ Hold up, rang rang, go watch chain gang/ My story change lanes (skrrt skrrt)/ Bring four girls, I'm up for a challenge (skrrt skrrt)/ French vanilla, keep your balance/ I lost my check and time, my flight lands at nine/ Your flight lands at eight, my game just rewind." Gil Kaufman of Billboard felt that the rapper did not "disappointed". Aron A. from HotNewHipHop website noted that although the song inevitably coming from the perspective of women, Montana brings "another outlook." The writer further said the chemistry between Fifth Harmony and Montana worked "well on wax". MTV News' Deepa Lukshmin commented that the remix fits "perfectly" with the dancehall-inspired music video.

Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from Fifth Harmony's liner notes.

Recording
 * Recorded at Westlake Studios, Los Angeles, California and Sole Studios, London, England.
 * Mixed at Callanwolde Fine Arts Center, Atlanta, California.
 * Mastered at Larrebe Studios North Hollywood, California.

Management
 * Published by Each Note Counts/Prescription Songs (ASCAP) all rights administered by Kobalt Songs Music Publishing (ASCAP) // Dallas K Music (ASCAP) // Songs Of Universal, Inc. / Fox Film Music Corporation (BMI) // Radric Davis Publishing LLC (ASCAP) all rights o/b/o itself and Radric Davis Publishing LLC administered by WB Music Corporation.
 * Management – Larry Rudolph, Dan Dymtrow and Tayra Beikae / Maverick Management
 * Gucci Mane appears courtesy of Atlantic Records Corporation

Personnel


 * Vocals – Ally Brooke Hernandez, Dinah Jane Hansen, Lauren Jauregui, Normani Kordei Hamilton and Radric Delantic Davis
 * Songwriting – Joshua Coleman, Dallas Koehlke, Claire Remotest and Radric Davis.
 * Production – Ammo and DallasK
 * Programming and Keyboards – Ammo and DallasK
 * Vocal Engineering – Andrew Bolooki
 * Vocal Engineering Assistant – Desi Aguilar
 * Engineer – Ammo
 * Production Coordination – Andrew Luftman and Sarah Shelton

Background
In 2016, Fifth Harmony released their second studio album titled 7/27, it debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 earning 74,000 equivalent album units. The album spawned three singles, its lead single "Work from Home" reached number four on US Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming the first top-five single in the country by a girl group in ten years. To promote the album, they embarked on the 7/27 Tour. During a backstage interview with radio host Elvis Duran after a iHeartRadio Jingle Ball concert, the group revealed that they were working in a new album. However, on December 18, 2016, they announced that Camila Cabello has left the group in a message posted on social media and signed by its members. Following the repercussion of Cabello's departure and speculations about the group's future, the members published other statement where they explained, "we have spent the past year and a half (since her initial solo endeavor) trying to communicate to her and her team all of the reasons why we felt Fifth Harmony deserved at least one more album of her time, we are excited for our future, and we can't wait for what the new year brings." In January 2017, they reunited and re-signed with Epic Records as a quartet, the same month, the group announced the Asian leg of the 7/27 tour and also made their first appearance as a four-piece at the 43rd People's Choice Awards on January 17. During the show, they performed an edited version of "Work from Home", and went on to win the award for "Favorite Group" for the second consecutive year.

The Asian leg of the 7/27 Tour ran from March 23, 2017 to April 8. During an interview with Billboard, member Ally Brooke stated that the group for the first time was having "a lot of creative control and input" and that is something "they are so excited about." On April 12, 2017, the quartet appeared on the cover for Galore magazine where they discussed the concept and sonority present on their third album, "we've been creating sounds that we've been wanting to touch base on. Some R&B tones, some rhythmic tones. It's been amazing to create with one another because we're so different when it comes to music," Dinah Jane said. "We love different genres. So to vibe together and create this Fifth Harmony sound is what makes it so special."

Development
The recording sessions for the album began in January, 2017. During the creative process the members had more involvement co-writing a majority of the songs, choosing which ones to produce and sharing ideas during the production. The group collaborated with several record producers and songwriters, including The Stereotypes, Skrillex, Poo Bear, The Monsters and the Strangerz, Ester Dean, Ammo and DallasK, Dreamlab, Harmony Samuels, Tommy Brown. According to the member Lauren Jauregui, those collaborators created a “safe spaces,” where they could try ideas without "fear of judgment." In an interview with Official Charts Company, Dinah Jane also commented about working with those producers, stating that they knew what the group was going to and respected their ideas and decisions. "We’re all in an environment where we can creatively open up to each other and not be afraid. There are no boundaries, and that comes through in the music. We’ve taken risks."

During the process the group worked in pairs, each pair stayed in a room with a specified producer and songwriter, in the room they could listen to the process of the songs and team brainstorm ideas for the lyrics. Concerning the writing process with the group, the producer Leah Haywood of production team Dreamlab told Billboard, “It’s not like they came in at the end and started riffing, we sat and wrote verses together, because they’re empowered women who want to be pushing the agenda.” The group first hinted at the studio with Skrillex and Poo Bear in March 2017, according to him, they were "hungry and excited and seemed like they had a serious new point to prove.” The album was recorded in seven weeks at Windmark Recording Studios.

Composition
In terms of music, Fifth Harmony consists mostly of R&B and pop songs that exhibits elements of tropical and hip hop music on its beats and productions. The melody presents in the album is diverse, exploring uptempo songs in contrast with emotional ballads. It explores a diversity of music genres including trap music, Rnbass, dancehall and reggae. Matt Collar from AllMusic noted that the album that picks up on the "slick, electronic vibe of 7/27 with a focus on songs for grown-ups." The lyrical content has been described as most "genuine" and "authentic" in comparison to their previous works which the group felt a lack of creative fulfillment. Although the album talk about themes also explored in their previous albums like love, womanhood and sexual empowerment, it dives into a emotional and personal zone, with the group also singing about heartbreak and fragility. In an interview for Zach Sang, the member Lauren Jauregui commented: "This music, we’re much more connected to because we were able to be part of it. All of the songs that we didn’t particularly write ourselves, we curated, we chose for this project." The album contains 10 tracks and has a length of thirty-three minutes, a reduced number in comparison to their Reflection and 7/27 albums which comprised more tracks and an additional deluxe edition.

The two initial tracks "Down" and "He Like That" demonstrates the presence of the tropical sonority in the album. "Down" is a dancehall-influenced song that uses snare drums, synthesizers and percussion. The song song contains an additional rapped verse by Gucci Mane during the bridge, it's the only track presents in the album that contains a guest appearance. Although "Down" regards a romantic relationship, Normani Kordei explained that with the song the group "kind of connect with each other because we've been through so much and we've always held each other 'Down'." Time editor Raisa Bruner called it a "party anthem" that gives "each singer a chance to stretch her voice over a spare and addictive beat." "He Like That" is built on a bass guitar groove. It contains a danceable beat that exhibits influences from reggae and urban music styles. Lyrically, the group praises a seductive male figure describing his characteristics and what makes him sexually attractive using a interpolation from MC Hammer's "Pumps and a Bump" during the pre-chorus and bridge. "Sauced Up" merges trap and synthpop elements before veering into a pop chorus that Chris DeVille from Stereogum website described as "bright" and "gargantuan." The song is melodically quite, characterized by uses of heavy bassline, synthesized finger snaps and synths pairing around its beats. Described as a "party anthem", "Sauced Up" allude to socialization at parties. It contains references to alcoholism in lines as "Blame it on drunk love" and "Cause when I get sauced up I be like, so what."

The sexual empowered track "Make You Mad" contains lyrics that promises to a guy a good sexual time. Chris Willman from Variety perceived that the track is not about "making a guy angry" but making "him mad with desire." A tropical-tinged song, "Make You Mad" fuses electronic music with a Caribbean flavor, using a predominant synthesized marimba sound, steelpan drums and a synth-line. Having a retro nature, the fifth track "Deliver" is a throwback to 1990s R&B, its production incorporates influences of soul and gospel music genres as well as modern trap-inflected beats. The sonority of the track that bears resemblance to Mariah Carey's musical style, uses a backing piano riff and soft vocal harmonies. Lyrically, "Deliver" conveys a sexual vibe with Fifth Harmony singing about express feelings to a man confessing that he knows and appreciates their devotion to him. Thematically, it is one of the songs in the album that shows the group's typical empowerment themes in favor of a comfort with a partner.

Described as a "rocker-reggae" song, the track "Lonely Night" uses progressive guitar chords, it's constructed on a transitive musical dynamic with a beat that drops during the chorus, similar to "Make You Mad". Its lyrical content is about "giving a guy a breakdown of what you need from him in order to [be] with him." Explaining the track lyrically, Dinah Jane explained: "Lonely Night" is something about your man — you’re basically warning him, like, "If you try to do this, just know that you’re going to have to have a lonely night. And if you want me, you’re going to have to do this to have me, to keep me." "Don't Say You Love Me" and "Messy" are mid-tempo ballads that explores a vulnerable side of the group. The former is a melancholic torch song that finds the group asking for a honest relationship over a "island" dembow rhythm and an melodic acoustic guitar. Performed in a emotive tone, the song runs though a moderate drumbeat. Entertainment Weekly's Marc Sneticker felt the song shows off their "vocal excellence when allowed some breathing room." "Messy" is a classic pop and R&B ballad with a vulnerable lyrical content. It shows Fifth Harmony's members exploring their own complexities and fragility. Explaining the song lyrically, Ally Brooke said that "Messy" expresses the group "just us as people, as humans, as women" and further commented about the connection with themselves personally: "We have a lot in ourselves, and it’s a beautiful part of us and who we are, and the music fits perfectly with it. It’s so magical." Normani Kordei compared its aesthetic to The Pussycat Dolls's song Stickwitu. The track "Angel" distinguish itself from the rest of the album sonically and lyrically. Its "sparse" trap production features pitched-shifted vocal synths, distorted effects, heavy bass and double hi-hat rolls. The song is about being in a relationship based on unrealistic expectations with Fifth Harmony shattering a false "angelical" image created by an abusive partner. The group delivers a rapped performance during the first and second verses. "Bridges" was described as a moment of "unity" in the album. Expressing a message of positivity, the track delivers a political criticism tone, serving as a response to Donald Trump's immigration policy telling that is necessary to build "bridges instead of walls" making a clear reference to the Executive Order 13767 that directs a wall to be built along the Mexico–United States border. Instrumentally, "Bridges" uses electric guitar, clicks, percussive drums and a handclapped rhythm. In a interview with Jason Lipshutz of Billboard, Dinah Jane stated that the group wanted to create a song based on social issues presents in contemporary society: "It’s definitely a message that needs to be shared out there into the world. Something we wanted to share with everybody and let them know is that we know love can conquer hate."

Critical reception
Marc Snetiker from Entertainment Weekly believed that the album echoes like a "B side" to their previous album 7/27 but delivers only "a faint aftershock of its quake." According to him, the album feels "cut from the same cloth as its predecessor but doesn’t wear it as well, relying even more heavily on overproduced turn-ups about lovers and clubs, predictably cheeky innuendo, and house breakdowns custom-manufactured for young ears and playlists." Brittany Spanks from Rolling Stone praised the album with three-half of five stars commenting that it's the group's "most cohesive album yet" and considered it as a "satisfying introduction to what Fifth Harmony can be capable of in their new era as a quartet." AllMusic's Matt Collar described the album as "sophisticated" and opined that its "undistinguished production" finds the group completing the transformation "from a youthful pop outfit into a mature, adult contemporary R&B entity."

Commercial performance
Fifth Harmony debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 chart, with sales of 46,000 copies according to Nielsen SoundScan. Although the album's first-week sales failed to match that of "7/27", it reached the same peak position, giving to Fifth Harmony their fourth consecutive top ten album and third top five equalling the number of top 10 sets from all-female acts Destiny’s Child and Dixie Chicks. Only behind The Supremes which have eight top ten albums. In terms of pure sales, the album is the second highest entry in the chart this week with 32,000 pure copies sold.

Promotion
Buyers who pre-ordered the album online would received exclusive access to autograph signing events for the album in two cities located in the state of California, Fullerton on August 14, 2017 and San Francisco August 15. The signing event also arrived at Hard Rock Cafe in New York City on August 29, 2017. Coinciding with the album release date, the group made an appearance in a specified live event promoted by Vevo team, the event held at a small room in Hollywood's NeueHouse. During the conversation, the accompanying music video for "He Like That"' was premiered for streaming. On August 27, 2017, the group appeared at the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards where they introduced the performance singing "Angel" following of "Down" which featured a appearance of Gucci Mane. On August 29, 2017, the group performed "He Like That" live on Good Morning America.

For online marketing, Fifth Harmony's Twitter account announced three challenges which fans had to unlock special videos by accumulating enough save and stream data for the album on Spotify. In their website, fans also could track the challenge's progress meter. As result, a behind the scenes from the official music video for "Angel" and "He Like That" and a special video where they documented the creative process for their VMAs performance were unlocked. The group later appeared at the Good Morning America on August 29, 2017, where they sang "He Like That" and reflected about their performance at the VMAs. Serving as special guest at the The Late Late Show with James Corden on September 12, 2017, Fifth Harmony performed and also participated of a game called "Flinch."

Singles
The first song released was "Down", it was premiered to all major streaming services and digital platforms on June 2, 2017, as the lead single from the album. Commercially the song debuted at its peak position of number 42 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Fifth Harmony's second highest debut, only behind "Work from Home". It also reached top fifty in charts from UK, Ireland, Canada, France, Portugal and Slovakia. The accompanying music video for "Down" premiered on Fifth Harmony's Vevo channel on June 8, 2017. Directed by James Larese, the video contains a neon-inspired aesthetic intercepted with scenes where the group perform a choreographed dance.

"He Like That" will officially impact Mainstream radio in the U.S. on September 19, 2017. The official video for the song was released on their Vevo channel on August 25, 2017.

Promotional singles
"Angel" was released as the first promotional single on August 10, 2017.