Andy Gill of The Independent listed the song in his 'Download' category during an album review for Believe. Many contemporary critics praised Bieber's attempt to reach an audience not usually interested in his music, while others criticized its lyrics and Minaj's rap. Bieber's then-girlfriend Selena Gomez is referenced in the song during Minaj's rap: 'Justin Bieber/You know I'm gonna hit 'em with the ether/Buns out, wiener/But I gotta keep an eye out for Selener.' Reviewer Jason Lipshutz noted the rhyme between 'wiener' and her given name. 'Beauty and a Beat' contains fast-paced drum beats and an acid house break down. Sarah Deen of Metro described it as a 'frantic dance track', while Rolling Stone's Jon Dolan called the song a 'disco-inferno'. The song moves at a tempo of 128 beats per minute. With the chord progression of FвЂ“Dm7вЂ“AmвЂ“Gsus, the song is written in the key of A minor in common time. 'Beauty and a Beat' is an uptempo EDM and electropop song that lasts 3 minutes and 48 seconds.

Guest vocals are provided by rapper Nicki Minaj. It also debuted on the Canadian Hot 100 at 47. After the release of the song's music video, it re-entered the Hot 100 at number 72 and peaked at 5. The song became the third official single from the album.ДЇollowing the release of Believe, 'Beauty and a Beat' debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 at 72 due to strong digital downloads. It is the only song from Believe that Bieber did not co-write.

Lyrically, it speaks about Bieber wanting to take his love interest to a club, where they can 'party like it's 3012'. It was also produced by the latter two with a heavy drum machine and 'rushing' synthesizers. It features Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj, who co-wrote it with Savan Kotecha, Max Martin and Zedd. ' Beauty and a Beat' is a song by Canadian singer Justin Bieber from his third studio album Believe (2012).

Beauty and a beat nightcore