"Dangerous Woman" is a song recorded by American singer Ariana Grande, serving as the lead single from her third studio album of the same name. It was written by Johan Carlsson, Ross Golan, and Max Martin, produced by Martin and Carlsson. The track was released as the first single from the album on March 11, 2016, the same date of the album's pre-order on iTunes Store. "Dangerous Woman" is a mid-tempo pop and R&B song.
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 was nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards.
Background and release
In October 2015, Grande released "Focus" as the intended lead single from her third studio album, titled Moonlight at the time. The song was an immediate success, reaching the top ten on various charts worldwide. Although stating that the song was the perfect transition from her previous record to the new one, Grande ended up changing the album's title to Dangerous Woman, following which the title track was made available for digital consumption. On February 25, 2016, Grande launched a website titled dangerouswoman.com in order to promote the album and its lead single. Later, on March 1, 2016, she released the song's first preview, containing few of the recording's lyrics and some "studio chatter". On March 10, 2016, Grande premiered a one-minute preview during CBS' Victoria's Secret Swim Special, before finally releasing "Dangerous Woman" for digital download the next day. Four days later, the track was sent to United States contemporary hit radio.
"Dangerous Woman" was written and produced by Johan Carlsson and Ross Golan, with additional writing from Max Martin. In an interview with CBS This Morning, Golan revealed that the song was originally written with Carrie Underwood in mind, and was also pitched to Alicia Keys and Rihanna. It was ultimately given to Grande because Golan felt she really cared for the songwriters and would do the song justice. Carlsson performed guitar, piano, synths, tambourine and handled the production and programming with Max Martin who also contributed with vocal production. It was recorded at MXM Studios in Stockholm, Sweden. The song was mixed by Serban Ghenea at MixStar Studios in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The audio mastering was handled by Tom Coyne and Aya Merrill at Sterling Sound in New York City.
Composition and lyrics
Musically, "Dangerous Woman" is a midtempo slow-jam pop, R&B and retro-soul song, with strong influences of rock music. It was described by Brennan Carley from Spin as a "woozy, big-band piece of moody R&B, one that "falls neatly at the intersection of bubblegum and rock and roll", The song is written in the key of E minor, while its tempo swings at a rate of 67 beats per minute in a compound duple time. Grande's vocal range spans from D3 to B5. Various publications compared the track's vibe to The Weeknd's "Earned It". The song has a typical verse-pre-chorus-chorus structure; it begins with a chord progression of Em–G–C. The opening verses are accompanied by guitar chords and slow beats, which is followed by her belting in the pre-chorus. A guitar solo is present during the song's bridge. Although not officially credited as a composer for the music, American singer Charlie Puth can be heard beatboxing in the background of the track. Puth declared Carlsson added his beatboxing in order to achieve a higher frequency on the snare drum.
The arena rock chorus consist of the line, ""Somethin' 'bout you makes me feel like a dangerous woman", with Grande repeating the phrase's beginning at the end of each line. The refrain is backed by distorted synths and the guitar riff present during the first verse. Following the second chorus, Grande sings the hook, "All girls wanna be like that/Bad girls underneath, like that/You know how I'm feeling inside" accompanied by an electronic riff reminiscent of trap music. A reviewer from Sputnikmusic noted that the track's lyrics are "a cross between sexually charged and fully empowering." Commenting about the lyrical content of "Dangerous Woman", Grande stated: "This song is about an empowered woman who meets another person that brings out a different side of her. It's her decision to put her fears aside and explore these new feelings. It's about letting someone into your life in an intimate and vulnerable way and not letting that take away from your independence and strength."