Dangerous Woman (song)
"Dangerous Woman" is a song by American singer Ariana Grande. It was released on March 11, 2016 by Republic Records as the lead single from her third studio album of the same name (2016).[2] It was written by Johan Carlsson, Ross Golan, and Max Martin, produced by Martin and Carlsson. "Dangerous Woman" is a mid-tempo pop and R&B song.
This article is about the Ariana Grande song. For other songs with similar titles, see Dangerous Woman § Music."Dangerous Woman"
March 11, 2016
January 2016
3:55
- Max Martin
- Johan Carlsson
With "Dangerous Woman" debuting at number ten on the US Billboard Hot 100, Grande became the first artist to reach the top ten of the chart in the opening charting week with every lead single of her three studio albums. Furthermore, the song became her fifth single to debut within the top ten in the United States, later peaking at number eight in its eleventh week. It also reached the top ten in Canada and Lebanon. It was nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards.
Critical reception[edit]
The song received critical acclaim. Carolyn Menyes of Music Times complimented the song's time signature for adding "a bit of a waltz flavor, channeling the old school Ariana that fans first fell in love with", adding that "a sultry, distorted guitar line and Grande's passionate, soaring vocals add a sense of texture and modernity that makes 'Dangerous Woman' feel as powerful as the title."[33] A writer of NME felt that Grande "shows herself as someone who continues to be determined to challenge the norm." The publication as well pointed out that "[the song] does sound empowered, even if it doesn't sound especially dangerous for her in the wake of her 2014 collaboration 'Love Me Harder' with The Weeknd."[34] Writing for Idolator, Robbie Daw, Carl Williot and Mike Wass reviewed "Dangerous Woman" during their "Pop Perspective" article, with Daw calling it "one walk of danger worth taking", Williot praising her vocal performance and highlighting the "clever little flip of '(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman'", and Wass naming it a "decent song" but noting that "[she] still hasn't found her own lane."[16] Lewis Corner from Digital Spy praised Grande's vocals, describing as "angelic" and completed writing it "almost sound too pure over the seductive guitar line and prowling beat, which threatens to blindfold you and tie up your wrists within one listen.".[24] Reviewing the album with the same name, the editor from Sputnikmusic described the song as "the first moment that the album really shows flashes of becoming something special," and continued, "as it sways to a seductive beat that feels like it was extrapolated from the most revealing scene of a James Bond film."[32] Quinn Maryland of Pitchfork shared similar opinion, the reviewer described it as "a slinky, empowered, Bond theme of a belter;"[35]
Brennan Carley of Spin opined that "without a doubt, the most mature piece of music she's released to date. [...] The song is smart, sexy, captivating, and sung to total perfection."[18] Tufayel Ahmed from Newsweek as well praised the song's maturity.[36] Vulture.com's Sean Fitz-Gerald expressed that "Dangerous Woman" "flaunts the pop star's vocal control, starting out as a seductive whisper and slowly swelling into a heavy, swaying ear worm".[37] Writing for AXS, Lucas Villa compared the song to The Weeknd's 2014 single "Earned It", saying that Grande "embrace[s] her grown woman side." He also added that "Ariana's powerful pipes take femme fatale to a whole new level."[22] Maeve McDermott of USA Today considered it "her own version of a slinky Bond theme",[38] while Jessie Morris of Complex called it "enchanting".[39] Ailbhe Malone from Irish Times described the recording as "slinky and sexy, but tongue-in-cheek too. Imagine it as part of a Spotify playlist with Selena Gomez's 'Hands to Myself' and you're on the right track."[40] Rolling Stone wrote that "the thrush-size diva with the five-alarm vocal power knocks out a sumptuously bluesy ode to her own awesomely lethal ladyhood."[41] The magazine also named "Dangerous Woman" one of the thirty best songs of the first half of 2016: "This sultry, clever, bluesy stalk is full of unlikely patterns and pitch jumps, not to mention a guitar solo that explodes into Nintendo pixels and a vocodered outro. But for all its unique filigrees, there's an unstoppable chorus for one of pop's most pyrotechnic voices."[25]
Commercial performance[edit]
In the United States, "Dangerous Woman" debuted at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 issue dated April 2, 2016, selling 118,000 digital downloads.[5] It also reached the Digital Songs chart at number two.[5] The recording became Grande's seventh top ten on the chart, and her second song after "Focus" to enter the top ten unaccompanied by another artist. She also set a record for debuting within the opening ten positions of the chart with every lead single—"The Way" and "Problem"—of her three studio albums.[5] The single fell to number 13 in its second week, but gradually rebounded, reaching its peak position at number eight in its eleventh week.[42] "Dangerous Woman" spent twenty weeks in the Hot 100's top forty, dropping to the closing positions starting with August 8, 2016.[43] As of June 2020, the song has sold 1,150,000 copies in the country.[44]
"Dangerous Woman" debuted at number 24 on Australia's ARIA Charts on the week ending March 27, 2016; it went on to reach number 18 on April 10, 2016, becoming her seventh top twenty single there.[45] The song spent 13 weeks on the chart. It was certified 4× Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) in 2023, for exceeding the 280,000 equivalent units limit.[46] In New Zealand, the song peaked at number 16 on the New Zealand Singles Chart, being as well certified Platinum.[47][48] In the United Kingdom, "Dangerous Woman" debuted and peaked at number 17 on the UK Singles Chart, marking Grande's fifth top twenty single in that territory after "Focus".[49][50] Additionally, the recording gained a Platinum certification offered by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for selling 600,000 units.[51]
Live performances[edit]
Grande provided her first televised performance of "Dangerous Woman" when she served as both host and musical guest on the March 12, 2016 episode of Saturday Night Live along with "Be Alright".[52] She also sang the track as a special guest for Nicki Minaj's concert at the T-Mobile Arena on April 8, 2016,[53] and performed the single at the 2016 MTV Movie Awards with Jason Robert Brown, the Tony-winning composer behind Grande's Broadway debut in the musical 13 in 2008.[54] Grande also performed "Dangerous Woman" at The Voice season 10 finale alongside Christina Aguilera.[55] The song was included on the setlist for Grande's 2017 Dangerous Woman Tour as a closing song. It was also performed on Grande's 2019 Sweetener World Tour.
Music video[edit]
A capella video[edit]
On March 20, 2016, Grande uploaded a video of the song to YouTube. The video shows Grande performing the entire song a capella in front of a beige background while wearing the latex bunny outfit shown on the album cover. At the end of the performance, the crew watching off-camera applaud wildly. The video has received over 130 million views.[56]
Official video[edit]
For "Dangerous Woman", Grande planned to shoot two different versions of the music video. Grande previewed what became the sole accompanying music video for the single through social media on March 26, 2016, and March 29, 2016. The clip was officially premiered on Vevo in the night of March 31, 2016. Directed by production company The Young Astronauts. In interview with Idolator, Grande explained: “We’re doing two visuals because this song makes me feel two kinds of ways, it makes me feel sexy and glamorous — I wanted to do a simpler more glam-themed video — and then I wanted to do another video because it makes me feel... like a super version of myself in a way.”[57] Discussing the song with Madeline Rotj from MTV, Grande stated about the concept behind the song's second video:
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Dangerous Woman.[14]