God Was Showing Off

The song begins with a Spanish count-off^[1][2] and incorporates elements of 1970s soul,^[1] including Motown and Philadelphia soul.^[3] It has been described as reminiscent of "Soulful Strut" by Young-Holt Unlimited.^[4][5] Over "lush harmonies and warm analog production",^[6] Bruno Mars expresses his affection for a woman via religious and divine imagery. He compliments her beauty, including claiming that God was "showing off" while making her and likening her to an angel. In the outro, he metaphorically references the miracles of Jesus, betting she can walk on water and turn water into wine.^[7]

The song received generally positive reviews. Reviewing The Romantic for Shatter the Standards, Chiamaka Boudreaux described it as a "gorgeous and slightly unnerving song, because Mars is so committed to the bit that you can't tell whether the worship is about the woman or about his own capacity for worship. Either way, it's the most inventive lyric on the album, and D'Mile wraps the whole thing in the warmth of an old soul 45 played at a candlelight vigil."^[7] Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone called it a "lavish ballad performance".^[2] Matthew Dwyer of PopMatters commented the song "reminds listeners that Mars can transform R&B into a top-40 confection without betraying the genre's essence."^[8] Andrew Unterberger of Billboard ranked it as the eighth best song from The Romantic and gave a mixed review. He praised the song for its lines and "two-chord groove reminiscent of a dreamier 'Soulful Strut'", but wrote it "could've probably used a little more funk to sell its cheesier lyrical absurdities — and it also could've stood to stretch some of those a little farther in the first place — rather than committing to a completely straight-faced sweet soul arrangement."^[5]