" Girl on Fire " is the lead single and title track from Alicia Keys ' fifth studio album , '' Girl on Fire '' ( 2012 ) . Alongside the main single , Keys recorded two other versions : the Inferno Remix which features new verses from Nicki Minaj and a Bluelight Remix which strips back the vocals and production from the main single . Gerrick Kennedy from the '' LA Times '' spoke of the multiple versions of the song commenting that the main single was most likely made for pop radio , but noted that Minaj 's verses on the Inferno Remix would probably get noticed more . On being able to premiere her new song at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards Keys said , " Girl on Fire " is a midtempo song written by Keys , Jeff Bhasker , Salaam Remi and American rock guitarist Billy Squier . Squier earns a writing credit for the inclusion of an interpolation of the drums from his 1980 song " The Big Beat " . Composed on the key of A major , " Girl on Fire " uses common time and is set to a " heavy beat " at a tempo of 93 beats per minute . Keys ' vocals range in the song over an octave from a low note of C4 up to a high note of E5 . On the main single , Keys opens the songs with the lyrics " She got both feet on the ground and she 's burning it down . She got her head in the clouds and she 's not backing down . This girl is on fire ! " Keys ' lyrics centre around toasting the " achievements of women everywhere " , particularly with the hook " She 's just a girl and she 's on fire " , which according to MTV 's Rob Markman is delivered with a " calming-yet-commanding wail " . Markman also spoke of the pace of the song , describing it as " pulsating " . '' LA Time '' s Gerrick Kennedy expanded further describing the songs components as " a fierce battlecry over a fast-building simplistic hook " . Critics likened " Girl on Fire " to Keys ' previous singles " No One " ( 2007 ) and " Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart " ( 2009 ) . Throwing " If I Ai n't Got You " ( 2004 ) into the list of comparisons , Erin Thompson from '' Seattle Weekly '' said " Girl on Fire " compares to previous Keys ' ballads with its " quiet , unassuming verses leading into big , empathic choruses . " The Inferno version features Nicki Minaj , who wrote and rapped two new verses on the song . Minaj 's vocals were recorded at Chalice Recording Studios in Los Angeles , California . The inferno remix uses the same production and sample as the main single however , the first two verses of the song were described as " understated " by Carl Williot from Idolator , with Minaj leading the remix with a new rap verse . She raps " Took me on the balcony , telling me to jump with her / Yeah I 'm in the ghost but I ai n't doing stunts with her / I ai n't trying to be that , haters want to see that / But I got 'em aggy , cause I win the gold like Gabby " . Minaj also talks about being haunted by the ghost of Marilyn Monroe . In the second verse from Minaj , the subject matter switches to her fans the " Barbz " with the lyric " And to my core fans , keep reppin ' me / Do it till the death of me / ' X ' in the box , cause ai n't nobody checkin ' me . " Markman noted that in this verse , Minaj switched her delivery style to " more of a whisper " . '' Entertainment Weekly '' s Kyle Anderson described Minaj 's verses as " more prominent " than Keys ' and noted that the production was influenced by garage music
2012 MTV Video Music Awards
2012 MTV Video Music Awards
Girl on Fire (song)