Moonlight (Ariana Grande song)
| "Moonlight" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Ariana Grande | |
| from the album Dangerous Woman | |
| Recorded |
|
| Genre | Doo-wop |
| Length | 3:02 |
| Label | Republic Records |
| Songwriter(s) |
|
| Producer(s) | TBHits |
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"Moonlight" is a song recorded by American singer Ariana Grande for her third studio album, Dangerous Woman. The singer co-wrote the song with Victoria McCants, Peter Lee Johnson and Tommy Brown who produced it under his production name TBHits. Musically, "Moonlight" is a doo-wop song with an instrumentation consisting of strings and violins. The song received acclaim from several music critics who compared its sound to Grande's debut album Yours Truly. Following the release of Dangerous Woman, the song entered at number 137 on UK Singles Charts. The song was included on the set list of Grande's 2017 concert tour Dangerous Woman Tour.
Background and recording[edit]
Grande began recording songs for her third album soon after the completion of her previous album, My Everything (2014), and continued throughout the summer and fall of 2015, between stops on her Honeymoon Tour, with Tommy Brown and Victoria Monét.[1] During a conversation with fans on her Twitter account, Grande reveals that her third studio album could be titled Moonlight, she also stated, " I wrote "Moonlight" "with Victoria one night that is v near and dear to my heart." And she described the song as "the most special song I've to this day."[2] On September 15, 2015 Grande announced the release date of the song "Focus", it was released on October 30, 2015. The song was originally intended to be the lead single from her third studio album.[3] In interview to U.K station KISS the singer said the song was something of an outlier on the album. “That’s why I put ‘Focus’ first, because it’s the only one that sort of sounds like that." She also stated the station: "I’m excited for the next couple of months to not only finish [Moonlight] but to have actual undivided time where I can really just focus on the music."[4] However, after months of speculation, while discussing the album's direction in interview with Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Grande revealed that she was no longer sure of the name, and that she might re-title the album after another song on the album.[5] “A really long time ago I was convinced that it was going to be called Moonlight because its one of my favorite songs that we did for the album,” the singer explained. “And now, as we’re wrapping things up, of course I’ve been writing and singing, we’re at the final stretch…now there’s this other song that has thrown me for a whirlwind and I love it so much, it’s changed everything.”[6] She announced the new title of the album, Dangerous Woman, on February 22, 2016, through her Snapchat and Twitter accounts.[7] Grande explained why the album's title was changes 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.[8]
Composition[edit]
Musically, "Moonlight" is a a mid-tempo '50s inspired doo-wop song, with a "throwback" sound,.[10][11][12][13] the song begins downtempo with keyboard notes that backed the song during the first verses, the chorus features twinkling keys and plucked violins create a "woozy" backdrop for her swooning vocals as noted by Wren Graves from Consequence of Sound.[9] In the second verse, Grande sings “He's giving me Elvis with some James Dean in his eyes,” the line refers to actor James Dean and to singer Elvis Presley.[10][14] Lewis Corner from Digital Spy described the song as a "50s-inspired sway, which blossoms with its dainty string plucks and romantic violins.[15] Dee Lockett of Vulture described it as a "divine blue-eyed soul ballad."[16]
Critical reception[edit]
Critics noted that the sound present in the song is reminiscent of Grande's debut album Yours Truly.[11][13] The editor McKenzie Burns of the site The Odyssey praised its production and wrote the song "feel brings backs the vibes that Grande brought with her debut album, a sound that fans have known her to love for years. The sounds of her beginnings continuing to show up alongside songs clearly showing Grande’s evolution as an artist."[11] The reviewer from Sputnikmusic described it as "oozing with 1950s vibes and allowing Ariana’s gorgeous vocals to do all the heavy lifting." The writer compared the song to the Yours Truly song "Tattooed Heart", commenting that "although it functions as a serviceable opener, it lacks that addictingly sweet chorus to elevate it beyond being just a pretty introduction to the record."[17] Wren Graves commented about Grande's vocal performance in the song writing: "the way she flips from falsetto to her whistle register for the word moonlight is breathtaking."[9] The Guardian's Michael Cragg described the refrain as "jazzy".[18] In review from USA Today Maevo McDermott ranked the song as 8th best song from Dangerous Woman and gave a mixed review to the song, he wrote the song "serves up the heart-eyed lyrics and Disney princess vocal turns we’ve heard from her so frequently in the past. That it’s kicking off Grande’s most mature record to date must be some playful irony."[19]
Live performances[edit]
"Moonlight" was included on the set list of Grande's Dangerous Woman Tour, during its performance Grande sit down and sings with a "celestial" background in the video screen.[20]
Credits and personnel[edit]
- Recording
- Recorded at Vietom Studios
- Mixed at Mixstar Studios, Virginia Beach, California
- Mastered at Sterling Sound.
- Personnel
- Ariana Grande – vocals, writing
- Thomas Brown – writing, production, engineer, programming, keys, drums, percussion
- Victoria McCants – writing and vocal producer
- Peter Lee Johnson – writing, strings
- Mattias Bylund – string arranger, strings, recorder
- Mattias Johansson – violin
- Serban Ghenea – mixing
- John Hanes – mixing engineer
- Christopher Truio – engineer
- Nicholas Audino – engineer, bass, percussion, programming, keys, drums
- Tom Coyne – audio mastering
- Aya Merrill – audio mastering
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Dangerous Woman, Republic Records.[21]
Charts[edit]
| Chart (2012) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart (Official Charts Company)[22] | 137 |
References[edit]
- ↑ Hodge, Kyle. "Ariana Grande Reveals Title and Details to on Next Album to Lucky Fan on Twitter". VH1. Archived from the original on 30 May 2015.
- ↑ "Ariana Grande Revealed Her New Album Title — And It's Literally Out Of This World". MTV. May 30, 2015. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
- ↑ Lipshutz, Jason (August 6, 2015). "Ariana Grande to Release 'Focus on Me' Single from 'Moonlight' Album: Report". Billboard. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
- ↑ Weiner, Natalie (July 11, 2015). "Ariana Grande Says 'Focus' Doesn't Sound Anything Like the Rest of 'Moonlight'". Billboard. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
- ↑ ""Ariana Grande Just Changed the Title of Her Upcoming Album and Revealed a Partial Track List"]". E!. February 23, 2016. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
- ↑ Gracie, Bianca (January 15, 2016). "Ariana Grande Talks 'Moonlight' Name Change & Imogen Heap On 'Kimmel': Watch". 'Idolator. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
- ↑ Brown, Eric (February 23, 2016). "Entertainment Weekly – Ariana Grande announces Dangerous Woman". Entertainment Weekly.
- ↑ Greenwald, Morgan (2 March 2016). "Why Ariana Grande Changed Her Album Name to 'Dangerous Woman'". Billboard. Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "Ariana Grande – Dangerous Woman". Consequence of Sound. May 25, 2016. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Cinquemani, Sal (May 19, 2016). "Ariana Grande: Dangerous Woman | Album Review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "Album Review: Dangerous Woman By Ariana Grande". The Odssey Online. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
- ↑ Zaleski, Annie (May 20, 2016). "Ariana Grande finds her pop star footing on Dangerous Woman". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Ariana Grande 'Dangerous Woman' Review". Los Angeles Times'. May 18, 2016. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
- ↑ Wood, Mikael (May 18, 2016). "Review: Ariana Grande leaves the princess image behind with 'Dangerous Woman'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 22, 2016.
- ↑ Corner, Lewis (May 25, 2016). "Ariana Grande's new album Dangerous Woman - our track-by-track first-listen review". Digital Spy. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
- ↑ "With Dangerous Woman, Ariana Grande Shows That Being a Work in Progress Is Serving Her Well". Vulture. May 25, 2016. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
- ↑ "Review: Ariana Grande – Dangerous Woman". Sputnikmusic. June 18, 2016. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
- ↑ Cragg, Michael (May 22, 2016). "Ariana Grande: Dangerous Woman review – a refinement of her sound". The Observer. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
- ↑ McDermott, Maeve (May 19, 2016). "Ranked: Every song on Ariana Grande's 'Dangerous Woman'". USA Today. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
- ↑ "Review: Ariana Grande puts on ethereal show at Madison Square Garden". Digital Journal. February 25, 2017. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
- ↑ Dangerous Woman (inlay cover). Ariana Grande. Republic Records. 2016.
- ↑ "Chart: CLUK Update 28.05.2016 (wk21) – Chart log UK: New Entries Update". Official Charts Company. Zobbel. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
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