Jason Derulo Speeds Up and Slows Down on New Single ‘Slow Low’

If we were to unpack the songwriting process for Jason Derulo’s latest single, “Slow Low,” it wouldn’t be improbably to assume he started with his own name as the final lyric and worked his way backward until the rest of the song was complete. “I love the way you say Ja-son De-ru-lo, low, low, low, low, low,” closing out the record alongside about a dozen more “lows” is exactly the type of earworm quirk that makes the strongest case for pop radio domination.

Derulo leans towards Latin pop on “Slow Low,” with production from Pink Slip and Jackson Morgan. Taking their shot at creating a true summer anthem, the producers crafted the sound to speed up and slow down in tempo with his lyrics. And the tactic is catchy enough to almost completely distract from the song’s bawdy premise.

“Slow Low” follows Derulo’s recent singles “Glad U Came” and “When Love Sucks,” which interpolates Dido’s “Thank You.” He also teamed up with David Guetta on “Saturday/Sunday” and gave in to releasing a sped-up version of “Whatcha Say” (It’s only fair, he’s become something of a TikTok star in recent years).

“I started on TikTok way wayyyyy before it was cool — it was just me and a bunch of high school kids posting weird videos,” he recently said, explaining the inspiration behind his forthcoming book Sing Your Name Out Loud: 15 Rules for Living Your Dream. “During that time I had this amazing front row seat to the creativity and hustle of an entire generation of young artists, content creators, video makers, comedians, influencers, and entrepreneurs. However, I know this to be a fact: creative people need a plan. It is impossible to dedicate to a dream without a practice to make it a reality.”