"Exotic" was written by Pitbull, Chopra and RedOne and produced by RedOne. The song contains both English and Hindi lyrics. Chopra spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the song's composition and about the inclusion of Hindi language lyrics: "My upcoming album is in English and 'Exotic' was initially going to be in English too. But in all my tracks I want to have some aspect of my Indian identity. 'In My City' has some Indian instrumentation to give it flavour. For me, being Indian is very exotic. After Pitbull sent me his lyrics I suggested to 'Exotic' producer RedOne that we could consider having some Hindi lyrics. He said, 'Yeah, let's try that'—and I quickly wrote the lyrics and sang it and he loved it. As I said, this is a summer song and we have so much fun in our Hindi movies and songs. We Indians really know howto party, man! And the world needs to see that. So the video has Indian-inspired dance steps too. It has a mix of Hindi and English, since the world is so global. An all-Korean song topped the Billboard charts, so why not a Hindi song?" Chopra also commented on her collaboration with Pitbull: "Working with Pitbull was great—he is hugely creative. The lyrics he wrote are so personal, and he made the song about me and us. He made it real and I loved it. We only met during the shooting of the video and after that we have been in touch. I had a great time during the video shoot, which was all laughter and jokes. He was great fun and I was pleasantly surprised." "Exotic" is written in the initial key of D minor.
Reception
Critical response
Amy Sciarretto from 105.7 FM generally gave the song a positive review ahead of the release of the music video, saying " has quite the Indian flair and flavor, something the singer wanted to celebrate."
Chart performance
"Exotic" was released on 9 July 2013. "Exotic" debuted at No. 16 on Billboard's Dance/Electronic Songs chart and No. 11 on the Dance/Electronic Digital Songs chart in the 27 July 2013 issue, but failed to chart on the Hot 100. The single also debuted at No. 74 on the Canadian Hot 100. "Exotic" has witnessed over 300,000 cumulative physical plus digital sales in India.
Music video
Synopsis
Shot in South Beach, Miami, the accompanying music video for "Exotic", directed by Emil Nava, shows Chopra wearing a monokini in the ocean as well as scenes with Pitbull filmed in a mansion and outdoor scenes in a forest. Chopra spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the music video for "Exotic," saying: "It's exotic! According to me, exotic is beaches and sun and dancing. It's a summer song, a summer anthem. It's really about feeling hot and sexy. I am from Mumbai; Pitbull is from Cuba -- and we meet in Miami." In an interview with Katie Van Buren of Fuse on 15 August 2013, Chopra showed how to do some of the Bollywood-inspired dance moves that are featured in the music video, including the thumka and Bollywood-inspired hand motions. Chopra jokingly called this move "the Priyanka", commenting "it's not narcissistic at all!" Writer Jeff Benjamin from Fuse commented, "the accompanying music video features Chopra busting out super-sexy Indian dance moves" and concluded, "it's all about the hips."
Reception
Amy Sciarretto from 105.7 FM gave the video a more positive review, commenting that Chopra looks "breathtakingly hot in a nude-hued bathing suit" as she "whips her soaking wet hair back and forth and gives off a smoldering stare". Sciarretto also comments that "watching her cool off by taking a dip in the water will certainly make the viewer work up a sweat." As of now it has acquired over 100 million views.
Track listing and formats
;CD single
"Exotic" – 4:06
"Exotic" ) – 6:40
"Exotic" ) – 3:27
;Digital download
"Exotic" – 4:06
;Remixes
"Exotic" - 4:36
"Exotic" - 4:43
"Exotic" - 5:19
"Exotic" - 2:55
"Exotic" - 6:16
"Exotic" - 6:40
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the single's official liner notes.
