"Girls" was premiered online, via SoundCloud. On January 27, 2014, the song was made available for purchase as a digital download in Canada and the United States. "Girls" was later released for digital download in various other countries on January 30 of that year. An official remix of the song, featuring rapper Tyga, was released online on March 1, 2014. By the time A.K.A was released, "Girls" was omitted from the tracklisting apart from for the Japan and Target releases of the album where the Tyga remix of "Girls" is included a bonus track. "Girls" was met with a mixed reception from music critics, with praise for the production and return to an urban sound but some criticism of the lyrics. In writing for Popdust, Jacques Peterson of the website Popdust called the song a "real bop", comparing it to Tyga's single "Rack City" (2011) and songs from Cassie Ventura's mixtape RockaByeBaby (2013). Peterson said "it's definitely the most urban thing Jen's done" since her remix album J to tha L-O! The Remixes (2002). Staff from Rap-Up, said upon the release of "Girls", women would "turn it all the way up." In a mixed review, Idolator's Robbie Daw criticized the song's clichéd lyrics, but praised its "eerie synth track that plays monotonously throughout", describing the track as a "slinky, sexy slow jam" similar to Kelly Rowland's "Motivation" (2011). Brad O'Mance of Popjustice was negative when commenting on the song, calling it "largely mediocre". Commercially, the song had limited success, only charting in South Korea, where it reached number 73 on the International Download Chart. Live performances Lopez performed the song live at the 2014 Dubai World Cup, on March 29, 2014 as part of a 30 minute set. The performance was billed as part of a post-race celebration to bring to an end the Dubai World Cup Carnival which had been going on for the previous three months. It was also Lopez's second time performing in Dubai having previously staged a concert in November 2012 as part of the Dance Again World Tour. During the set, Lopez also performed another new song from A.K.A, titled "Never Satisfied". Marwa Hammad reporting for the Gulf News, praised the performance, saying that "it’s a testament to how good an entertainer Jennifer Lopez is that you can be far, far away from the stage and still be completely swept away by her show." Similarly