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"Dangerous Woman" is a song recorded by American singer Ariana Grande, serving as the lead single for her third studio album of the same name (2016). It was written by Johan Carlsson, Ross Golan and Max Martin, with Martin and Carlsson serving as producers. The song was first released along with the pre-order of the album on iTunes Store on March 11, 2016 and was sent to US contemporary hit and rhythmic radio on March 15, 2016. "Dangerous Woman" is a midtempo pop and R&B song with an arena rock chorus and a guitar solo during its bridge. Music critics considered the song a departure from Grande's previous uptempo lead-singles and noted its similarity to The Weeknd's "Earned It".

Lyrically, "Dangerous Woman" explores themes of empowerment and confidence in a relationship and how a partner can bring out a different side of a woman. The song received highly positive reviews upon its release. Music critics cited the mature, "sultry" feel of the song and Grande's vocal performance. In the United States, "Dangerous Woman" debuted at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Grande's fifth single to debut in the top 10. With the feat, Grande became the first artist in the chart's 57-year history to debut in the top 10 with the lead single from each of her first three albums.

Background and release

In October 2015, Ariana Grande released "Focus" as the intended first single of her third studio album, which was called Moonlight at the time. The song peaked in the top-ten on several charts. Grande stated that the song was the perfect transition from her previous album to the new one and that the song didn't represent the album as a whole. However, Grande decided to change the album's title to Dangerous Woman and subsequently released the title track as a single. According to the singer, "'Moonlight' is a lovely song and it’s a lovely title. It’s really romantic, and it definitely ties together the old music and the new music. But ‘Dangerous Woman’ is a lot stronger. I want to be empowering to my fans. I feel like my personal growth is reflected in the sound. I’m really proud of it… To me, a dangerous woman is someone who’s not afraid to take a stand, be herself and to be honest." The album track list omitted "Focus", and Grande's record company later confirmed that the song was removed from the standard edition of the album, replaced by "Dangerous Woman" as the lead single.

On February 25, 2016, Grande launched a website titled dangerouswoman.com, specially to promote the album and its lead-single. Later, on March 1, 2016, she released the song's first preview, where she sings a few lines of the song, such as: "Makes me want to do things that I shouldn't." The preview included some "studio chatter", as noted by Billboard's Colin Stutz. On March 5, 2016, the singer explained the song's lyrics, also claiming that it is one of her favorite songs that she has ever done, if not her favorite. On March 10, 2016, Grande released a one-minute preview during CBS' Victoria's Secret Swim Special. Finally, on March 11, 2016, the song was fully released to digital download. It was sent to US contemporary hit radio on March 15, 2016.

Composition and lyrics

"Dangerous Woman" was written by Johan Carlsson and Ross Golan, with production being done by Carlsson and Max Martin. A midtempo slow-jam pop and R&B song, "Dangerous Woman" has a
₈ time signature that "falls neatly at the intersection of bubblegum and rock and roll," while having an "arena rock chorus" and a guitar solo in its bridge. Its sound was heavily compared to The Weeknd's "Earned It". Lyrically, the song is about empowerment and confidence, where the singer talks about not being afraid to take a stand, be herself and to be honest. The song is performed in the key of E minor, while the tempo of the song swings at a rate of 45 beats per minute. Grande's vocal range in the song is from B₃ to B₄.

During the song, she sings about how empowering it is to do whatever she wants with the guy she is with and who knows the real her. In the chorus, she sings: "Somethin’ ‘bout you makes me feel like a dangerous woman / Somethin’ ‘bout you makes me want to do things that I shouldn’t." Alexis Rhiannon of Bustle thought that the song has "a heavy dose of feminism; Grande isn't saying that every girl is a bad girl per se, just that we all have something underneath that we hide. It has a message to Ariana Grande's haters, an invitation to other women to be their real selves, and some real catchy melodies besides, so I couldn't be more in."

Grande explained the song's lyrics, stating:

This song is about an empowered woman who meets another person that brings out a different side of her and it's her decision to put her fears aside and explore these new feelings or not. It's about letting someone into your life in an intimate or vulnerable way and not letting that take away from your independence or your strength. Whether you choose to fall in love or be intimate with someone or share any part of yourself with someone, that doesn't take away from your person. The song 'Dangerous Woman' is about choice and empowerment and strength and romance and as a person, as a character, as a persona, 'Dangerous Woman' is a fearless, honest, no bullshit superhuman and I think all of us have her inside of us and it's just a matter of when we decide to let her out.

Critical reception

The song received highly positive reviews upon its release. 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", and continued: "But 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." A writer of NME gave a positive review as well, saying, "With 'Dangerous Woman', Grande shows herself as someone who continues to be determined to challenge the norm." He also noted that "t 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." Robbie Daw, Carl Williot and Mike Wass of Idolator gave favorable reviews for the song during their "Pop Persepective" 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 "he still hasn’t found her own lane."

Brennan Carley of Spin opined, "It is, without a doubt, the most mature piece of music she's released to date. The song's smart, sexy, captivating, and sung to total perfection. Consider us bowled over." Tufayel Ahmed of Newsweek also praised the song's maturity. Sean Fitz-Gerald of Vulture.com said, "'Dangerous Woman' flaunts the pop star's vocal control, starting out as a seductive whisper and slowly swelling into a heavy, swaying ear worm". Lucas Villa of AXS compared the song to The Weeknd's 2014 single "Earned It", writing that Grande "embrace her grown woman side." He also added, "Ariana's powerful pipes take femme fatale to a whole new level." Maeve McDermott of USA Today considered it "her own version of a slinky Bond theme," while Jessie Morris of Complex called it "enchanting." Ailbhe Malone of Irish Times described it 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." Rolling Stone wrote: "the thrush-size diva with the five-alarm vocal power knocks out a sumptuously bluesy ode to her own awesomely lethal ladyhood."

Commercial performance

"Dangerous Woman" debuted at number ten on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 on the issue dated April 2, 2016, selling 118,000 digital downloads - it also debuted at number two on Digital Songs chart. It became Grande's seventh top ten on the Hot 100, and her second song to enter the top ten unaccompanied by another artist (after her previous single "Focus"). Grande also set a record, as each of the lead singles from her first three albums have all debuted inside the top ten on the Hot 100; "The Way" debuted at number ten, and "Problem" debuted at number three prior to "Dangerous Woman". The single fell to number 13 in its second week.

Live performance

Grande published a video performing an a cappella version of "Dangerous Woman" on her VEVO account, in anticipation for the official music video release, wearing the latex bunny outfit seen on the album's cover art. Grande performed her first televised performance of "Dangerous Woman" and "Be Alright" on Saturday Night Live on March 12, 2016. Grande performed her first live performance for "Dangerous Woman" as a special guest for Nicki Minaj at the opening of the T-Mobile Arena on April 8, 2016. She also performed "Dangerous Woman" with Jason Robert Brown on April 10, 2016 at the 2016 MTV Movie Awards.

Music video

Grande previewed the first video through social media on March 26, 2016 and then again on March 29, 2016. The first of two music videos for the song was released on March 31, 2016 at midnight on Vevo. The video is directed by the production company The Young Astronauts.

Charts

Certifications

Radio and release history

References

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• 2016 singles
• 2016 songs
• Ariana Grande songs
• Republic Records singles
• Song recordings produced by Ilya Salmanzadeh
• Song recordings produced by Max Martin
• Songs written by Ross Golan