Dangerous Woman

An R&B track combining bubblegum and rock and roll with a 6/8 time signature.

"Dangerous Woman" is the title track from Ariana Grande's third studio album, released on May 20, 2016. The song was released as a single in March 2016 (with the official release date often cited as March 2016 or early April depending on region). It was produced by Johan Carlsson and Max Martin and co-written by Ross Golan alongside Grande, Carlsson, and Martin. Lyrically, it revolves around love, tumultuous relationships and empowerment, with Grande exploring more mature and explicit subject matter. Musically, it is an R&B track combining elements of bubblegum and rock and roll with a 6/8 time signature. It served as one of the album's four singles, becoming a US Billboard Hot 100 top-ten hit.

Quick Facts

Artist: Ariana Grande
Released: 20 May 2016
Genre: Pop; R&B
Length: 39:32
Label: Republic

Lore & Background

The album was originally going to be titled Moonlight, named after one of Grande's favorite songs from the record. However, after another track created during the final stages of production 'changed everything,' she reconsidered. The new title Dangerous Woman was revealed; Grande posted a photo on Instagram with a caption quoting Egyptian feminist writer Nawal El Saadawi's 1975 novel, Woman at Point Zero: 'They said, "You are a savage and dangerous woman." I am speaking the truth. And the truth is savage and dangerous.' Grande stated that the name change had to do with portraying herself as a stronger person and to empower fans, saying: '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. [...] To me, a dangerous woman is someone who's not afraid to take a stand, be herself and to be honest.'

Reader's Guide

"Dangerous Woman" is an R&B track combining elements of bubblegum and rock and roll, with a 6/8 time signature. It was produced by Johan Carlsson and Max Martin. The song was released as one of four singles supporting the album, and became a US Billboard Hot 100 top-ten hit. The album Dangerous Woman was met with critical acclaim, receiving praise for Grande's vocal performance, the matured lyrical content and its versatility across different musical styles. It was included in several year-end best music lists for 2016. The album and its singles were nominated for various accolades, including two Grammy Awards. Its success led to Grande winning Artist of the Year at the American Music Awards in 2016, and won International Album of the Year at the Japan Gold Disc Awards in 2017.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1	Moonlight	Thomas Brown, Victoria McCants, Peter Lee Johnson, Ariana Grande	3:22
2	Dangerous Woman	Johan Carlsson, Ross Golan, Max Martin	3:55
3	Be Alright	Grande, T. Brown, McCants, Khaled Rohaim, Nicholas Audino, Lewis Hughes, Willie Tafa, Neo Joshua, Alexander Crossan	2:59
4	Into You	Martin, Savan Kotecha, Alexander Kronlund, Ilya Salmanzadeh, Grande	4:04
5	Side to Side (featuring Nicki Minaj)	Martin, Kotecha, Kronlund, Salmanzadeh, Onika Maraj, Grande	3:46
6	Let Me Love You (featuring Lil Wayne)	T. Brown, McCants, Steven Franks, Grande, Dwayne Carter, Matthew O'Brien, Jeremy Felton, Markous Roberts	3:43
7	Greedy	Martin, Kotecha, Kronlund, Salmanzadeh	3:34
8	Leave Me Lonely (featuring Macy Gray)	T. Brown, McCants, Thomas Parker Lumpkins, Franks	3:49
9	Everyday (featuring Future)	Kotecha, Salmanzadeh, Grande, Nayvadius DeMun Wilburn	3:14
10	Bad Decisions	Martin, Kotecha, Salmanzadeh, Grande	3:46
11	Thinking Bout You	Mathieu Jomphe-Lépine, Peter Svensson, Jacob Kasher Hindlin, Chloe Angelides	3:20
Total length			39:32