“Ain’t It Fun” is a song by American rock band Paramore from their 2013 self-titled fourth studio album. It was released as the fourth single from the album in 2013 and sent to contemporary hit radio on February 4, 2014. Musically, it has been described as having influences of funk, soul, and new jack swing. The gospel choir present during the song has received comparisons to the 2004 song “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield.
The song received critical acclaim from music critics, who praised its experimental sound, sarcastic lyrics, and frontwoman Hayley Williams’ vocal performance, highlighting it as one of the album’s standout tracks. The song charted at number 3 on the UK Rock Charts before the song’s release as a single. It has since peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, thus making it the band’s highest charting song in the U.S. to date and their first song ever to enter the top ten. It’s also their first album to have more than one song chart on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 since their second studio album Riot! (2007).
Composition While a rock song, “Ain’t It Fun” includes influences from funk, soul, new jack swing and gospel, genres that Paramore are typically not associated with. The song’s gospel choir has been compared to the song “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield. Taylor York cited the band Dutch Uncles as an influence when writing the song.
Vinyl version The single has also been released on a 12" vinyl as part of the 2014 Record Store Day on April 19. The release features a b-side remix of the song by British rock band Dutch Uncles.
Critical reception “Ain’t It Fun” has received universal acclaim from music critics, with many regarding it as one of the best songs on Paramore. Bill Lamb from About.com rated the song 5 stars out of 5, saying “The moment “Ain’t It Fun” segues into a gospel choir is the moment Paramore make it obvious that they have not only survived past personnel problems, but also they plan to move straight to the top among American pop rock bands. This song is celebratory in the best possible sense. The closing minute in which the band pulls out all the musical stops is one of the most joyful pop moments of this year or any year.” Popdust also gave the song 5 stars out of 5, stating “the tension on the funk-influenced ‘Ain’t It Fun’ comes from Williams sounding like she’s actually taunting herself (using the classic ‘nyah-nyah’ school-playground melody, even!) for not operating in the real world”.
MTV Buzzworthy says “Paramore’s having fun ‘living in the real world’ — sarcastic lyrics that mask any irony with staccato funk that’d impress Justin Timberlake.” AbsolutePunk calls the song a gem, commenting “‘Ain’t It Fun’ absolutely steals the show - a perfect blend of funk, early ’90s pop and swing team with an insanely catchy melody, awesome scat section and pristine production to create one of the year’s best songs.” Drowned in Sound describes the song as a “gargantuan feel-good summer hit just waiting to be unleashed”, adding “Of course, all of this is wrapped in an almost annoyingly infectious earworm-of-a-melody that you’ll be humming whether you want to or not.” Musicfeeds comments “In stand-out track “Ain’t It Fun”, you can feel the creative boundaries crashing down. A seriously catchy pop song”
Music video The director of the music video for “Ain’t It Fun” was in the beginning Jonathan Desbiens; however, as informed by Hayley Williams, the group was not happy with where the video was headed and ultimately made the decision to pull it; around the same time, a music video was shot for “Daydreaming”. The “Ain’t It Fun” music video was eventually re-shot and directed by Sophia Peer and was released on January 29, 2014.
The video follows the band members trying to beat various world records, such as collecting the most feathers in 30 seconds and doing the most cartwheels in 20 seconds while wearing boots. The group managed to set 10 world records in the music video, which is a world record itself.
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