2016 single by Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj
This article is about the Ariana Grande song. For the Three 6 Mafia song, see Side 2 Side. For the Cat Empire song, see Cities (The Cat Empire album). For a definition of the phrase "side-to-side", see the Wiktionary entry side-to-side.
"Side to Side" peaked at number four on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart,becoming her first top-five single from Dangerous Woman in the former and first top-ten single from the album in the latter. It also reached number four on the Canadian Hot 100,number 3 on the Australian chart and number two in the New Zealand chart. It is her second single to top the US Mainstream Top 40 airplay chart. The single has sold 1.1million copies as of 2018 in the country,and has been certified sextuple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for additional equivalent units.
On May 13,2016,Grande announced on her Instagram account that a new song from her album Dangerous Woman would be premiered exclusively on Apple Music every day until the release of the album.[3] The following day,Grande posted a short preview of "Side to Side" via Instagram,then premiered the song on Apple Music the same day.[4] On August 30,2016,the track was sent to US rhythmic contemporary radio and urban contemporary radio and became Dangerous Woman's third single.[1][2]
A sound sample of the reggae-pop song "Side to Side", featuring guest appearance from rapper and singer Nicki Minaj. The sample shows Grande singing the chorus accompanied by a guitar, snaps and drums. Lyrically, "Side to Side" talks about soreness after sex.[5][6][7]
The song is a reggae-pop[9][10][11][12][13] and dancehall[14] song complemented with R&B[5] influences with a duration of three minutes and forty-six seconds (3:46).[15] Lyrically, "Side to Side" describes a feeling of soreness after sex. In an interview to MTV News reporter Gaby Wilson, Grande explained "that whole song is about riding leading to soreness".[7] Deepa Lakshmin from MTV noted that when Minaj says the words "bicycle" and "tricycle", "she's rapping about something a bit more risqué than your standard gym workout."[7]
Critical reception
Rapper Nicki Minaj(right) and Grande (left) have collaborated multiple times; Minaj was also praised for her verse and featured in the music video for the song.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic noted that the song's sound is comparable to works from Barbadian singer Rihanna.[16] Maeve McDermott from USA Today also noted the similarities and wrote, "Grande borrows the tropical flavors and ska upstrumming that Rihanna ushered into pop music's consciousness." She went on to praise Minaj's participation, writing, "Who better to invite on an album about female fierceness than Nicki Minaj, whose understated verse steals the show and lends Grande some real danger."[17]
Rolling Stone's writer Rob Sheffield ranked "Side to Side" at number 22 on his list of "50 Best Songs of 2016", describing it as "an ode to having so much sex you can't walk straight the next day."[18]
Commercial performance
Following the performance at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards on August 28, 2016, "Side to Side" made its official debut in the United States at number 31 on the US Billboard Hot 100 dated September 17, 2016.[19] The song leaped to number 18 the next week. After six weeks on the chart, the song hiked up 12–10 on the Hot 100 issue dated October 29, 2016,[20] marking Grande's eighth top-ten entry on the chart and Minaj's thirteenth; it also doubles as the second top-ten single from Dangerous Woman. The song later reached a peak of number four for two non-consecutive weeks, becoming the highest-charting single from the album.[21] The song stayed in the Hot 100's top ten for 14 weeks of its chart run, dropping out of the top ten on January 28, 2017.[22] The song also spent five weeks atop the BillboardMainstream Top 40 airplay chart, becoming Grande's second number-one on that following "Problem" in 2014, and Minaj's first ever.[23] As of June 2020, the song has sold 1.17million copies in the country.[24]
In Australia, "Side to Side" debuted at number 36 on the ARIA Charts and has since peaked at number three, becoming her fourth top-ten single there.[25][26] In New Zealand, the song debuted at number 10, becoming her fifth top-ten single there. It rose to number five the following week and peaked at two.[27]
In the United Kingdom, "Side to Side" initially debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number 66 in the week dated June 2, 2016 due to strong digital downloads from the parent album's release, but fell off the chart the following week. The song later re-entered at number 24 on the week dated September 9, 2016 following its official release as a single, and has since peaked at number four, earning Grande her fourth top-ten single there, and Minaj's tenth.[28][29] As of March 2021, "Side to Side" is Grande's fifth most-streamed song in the United Kingdom and overall 37th most-streamed song by a female artist in the country.[30]
Music video
Directed by Hannah Lux Davis, the music video made its official premiere on American clothing brand Guess' website on the night of August 28, 2016.[31][32] The music video opens with Grande leading a spin class on stationary bicycles, performing a synchronized choreography with backup dancers.[33][34] The video then transitions to a gym and locker room scene, where Grande and the backup dancers are seen with boxing equipment.[33][35] Grande and Minaj are then seen in a sauna, surrounded by male models. The video featured product placement from Guess.[36]
It surpassed 100million views on September 19, 2016, making it Grande's twelfth Vevo-certified music video (reaching 100million views) and Minaj's eighteenth Vevo-certified music video.[citation needed] On June 29, 2017, the video surpassed 1billion views on YouTube, and as of April 2022 has received over 2 billion views, making it one of the 70 most viewed YouTube videos.[37] It later became Grande's most viewed video, surpassing "Problem".
Mastered at Sterling Sound (New York City, New York)
Management
Published by MXM (ASCAP) — administered by Kobalt (ASCAP), Wolf Cousins (STIM), Warner/Chappell Music (STIM), Harajuku Barbie Music/Money Mack Music/Songs of Universal, Inc. (BMI) and Grandefinale LLC
↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 41. týden 2016 in the date selector. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 41. týden 2016 in the date selector. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
↑ "Media Forest – Weekly Charts. Media Forest. Retrieved January 17, 2017. Note: Romanian and international positions are rendered together by the number of plays before resulting an overall chart.
↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 49. týden 2016 in the date selector. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 201640 into search. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
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