 On April 11, 2011, it was reported by MTV News that "Whiplash" would be recorded by Selena Gomez & the Scene for their third studio album When the Sun Goes Down. Lead singer Selena Gomez is a Spears fan, and after Kurstin played her the track for the first time, she "fell in love with it", unaware of Spears's contribution to the song. Gomez explained, "I came and sang and saw that she had co-written it, so I was very excited. [...] It was an honor and I'm completely stoked." The song leaked online in early June 2011, several weeks prior to the album's release.
