<P> Billboard ranked "Cake by the Ocean" at number 44 on their "100 Best Pop Songs of 2016" list . Nielsen Music named "Cake by the Ocean" the second most - played song in Canada for 2016, behind only Justin Bieber's "Love Yourself". </P> <P> "Cake by the Ocean" was co-written by Joe Jonas, Justin Tranter, and Swedish duo Mattman & Robin, who also produced the song . Lyrically, the song is about sexual intercourse, but is also often interpreted to be referring to the cocktail Sex on the Beach . The song's title originated from Mattman & Robin's repeatedly confusing the phrase "sex on the beach" for "cake by the ocean ." The song is composed in E minor, with a tempo of 120 beats per minute . </P> <P> The video, directed by Black Coffee and Jonas' then - girlfriend Gigi Hadid, was released on October 16, 2015 . It depicts DNCE performing "in front of a giant piece of cake on the beach" while a cake - throwing battle ensues between The Fat Jew and "a bunch of bikini clad women who are' Team DNCE"'. Both vie "to become the' cake fight champion,' but as it turns out, everyone is a winner, as the scene becomes one giant beach party ." </P> <P> DNCE have performed the song as musical guests on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and The Graham Norton Show . They performed the song live at the 2016 Radio Disney Music Awards, the 2016 Kids' Choice Awards, and the 2016 Billboard Music Awards in the US, and the 2016 Royal Variety Performance in the UK . </P>

Who is in cake by the ocean video