Songfacts®:

• This piece of electro-pop is the second single by Willow Smith, who was just 10 years old. The song was released on February 3, 2011, the day after she performed it on the Oprah Winfrey Show.
• "21st Century Girl" was written by Drew Ryan Scott of American vocal group Varsity Fanclub, and Omarr Rambert, whose other credits include Justin Bieber's hit single, "Never Say Never."
  
  Twin and Alke, who are a Swedish record production and songwriting team consisting of Joacim Persson, Johan Alkenas and Niclas Molinder, produced the track. Other songs on their resume include Ashley Tisdale's "It's Alright, It's OK" and Charice's "Pyramid."
• The song finds Willow celebrating being a girl of the moment and proclaiming her independence. "I set the boundaries, the rules don't own me/I'm living life on the edge, I choose my path," she sings.
• The Rich Lee directed video was filmed in a California location on January 22, 2011. In a behind-the-scenes film, Willow explained the clip is "about girls who are being themselves. They're walking toward their goal, they're thriving to be the best - 'cause you know that you can do it."