Iggy's "Pretty Girls" Chatter Isn't Insulting Brit

There was quite a lot of buzz surrounding this summer's much-anticipated collaboration: Britney Spears and Iggy Azalea's "Pretty Girls." After all, one of the biggest pop stars of all time teamed up with one of the hottest new talents in music — why wouldn't we be all ears? Naturally, the world expected the chart-topper to end all chart-toppers. And while the song initially got a ton of focus, it eventually fizzled out, leading many to regard it as a flop. However, Azalea's response to the criticism gives a lot of insight into her thoughts on Spears and working with other women in the industry.

"Pretty Girls" has all of the components of being a hit. It's a power anthem calling out male entitlement, it includes a few well-placed disses, the accompanying music video was perfect pop eye candy and was even in contention for the "2015 Song of Summer" honor. So what went wrong?

Azalea responded to a fan who noted that while the song "flopped a little," it's still getting a lot of love on YouTube and can be considered the song of summer.

The "Fancy" singer begins by noting that "Pretty Girls" was given little promotion. She makes a valid point; from red carpet interviews to music video stills, the song was hyped before it was released, but all but disappeared after the video dropped. Azalea adds "unfortunately I'm just featured," implying that she had little control over the promo run.

However, she made it clear that she has no bad blood towards Spears. In response to a tweet from the Pop Zone, Azalea said, "my comment is factual, it applies to any song. I dont have to suck the womans a**hole 24/7 to be her friend, do i? bye girls."

Azalea's response to "Pretty Girls" brings up an important point. She can be open about the success of the song, give her honest opinion to a fan and still be friends with Spears. Shocking, I know. But the fact of the matter is that criticism doesn't equal shade, especially when it's an insightful critique of what it takes to be make a pop song a success.

For "Pretty Girls" to have blown up on the scale of, say, "Blank Space," would have required numerous live performances, talk show appearances and the promise of a massive tour. Unfortunately, Azalea canceled her fall 2015 tour due to a "creative change of heart" and her need for a mental break. (Totally understandable!)

Spears, for her part, has been blowing fans' minds with her successful Las Vegas residency. That's a huge time commitment and doesn't leave a lot of room for the singer to be criss-crossing the country to promote "Pretty Girls."

Azalea's commentary is not at all a diss toward Spears. In fact, she's pointing out the reality that sometimes, two very busy superstars don't have the availability for a massive promo run. But they gave the world a collaboration, "Pretty Girls," and that's definitely enough for me. Haters to the left.

Images: Britney Spears/Vevo; Giphy (2)