Minaj and Grande collaborated on "Bang Bang" and "Get on Your Knees" in 2014. Ariana Grande released "Side to Side" featuring Nicki Minaj as the third single of her studio album Dangerous Woman (2016). It peaked at number four on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming her first top-five single from the album in the chart. In May 2018, Grande revealed via Twitter that Minaj called her in the morning and recorded what would be their next musical collaboration.[1] On June 4, Grande replied to a follower on the same social network suggesting that there would be more than one collaboration between her and Minaj to be released in 2018, the other one being "The Light Is Coming".[2] On June 11, Minaj officially announced "Bed" as the second single from her upcoming fourth studio album Queen (2018).[3] It was released on June 14 for digital download, along with the album pre-order.[4] The single has an Instagram-influenced faded cover art,[5] that features Minaj and Grande posing in a pool with bubbles.
Joshua Copperman of Spin called the song "charming", "raunchy", and "forceful", and described the instrumental as "cloudy but decidedly pretty". He found it nearly identical to Troye Sivan's "Dance to This", which is "danceable" in opposite to "Bed" which "buries its groove in pure atmosphere".[5] Mitch Findlay of HotNewHipHop said the song is "a breezy addition to Queen, an obligatory radio effort, tailor made for summer play." He adds that the track "serves as intimate companion piece to "Rich Sex", and will no doubt appeal to a different set of ears."[8] Mackenzie Cummings-Grady of Billboard finds that the "bouncy bop" nature of the song shows that "the album, like Minaj's previous efforts, will be a combination of club-ready pop and hardcore hip hop."[9]
Commercial performance
"Bed" debuted at number 43 on the US Billboard Hot 100 after a full week of tracking, with 19,000 downloads sold and 12 million streams. The song became Minaj's 91st entry on the chart, extending her record for most Hot 100 visits among women and tying James Brown for the seventh-best sum overall.[10] It fell 24 positions to number 67 in its second week.[11] In its fourth week, it rose to number 48,[12] and later reached a peak of number 42 after her album Queen was released.
Outside the United States, "Bed" also reached the top 20 in Australia, Scotland, and the United Kingdom.
Music video
Development and release
On June 14, 2018, Minaj and Grande shared a 15-second video teaser for "Bed" via their Twitter accounts. It shows the two artists in a pool, lounging around in a foam bath.[13] On June 19, Minaj posted another one-minute preview of the music video on YouTube.[14] On July 4, she revealed via Instagram that the video will premiere two days later.[15] On July 5, she shared a quick behind-the-scenes look at the video on her social media. It shows her rolling around on a beach dressed up as a mermaid with a green wig.[16] The full music video premiered on Minaj's official YouTube and Vevo accounts on July 6, 2018. It was directed by Hype Williams, who previously directed Minaj's videos for "Massive Attack" (2010), "Stupid Hoe" (2012), and "Va Va Voom" (2012). The video features guest appearances by American football players Odell Beckham Jr. and Brad Wing. Alongside the first video's release, Minaj announced a second version of the video that was meant to premiere a week later but was ultimately cancelled.[17]
Synopsis
The music video opens with Minaj as a mermaid on the ocean shore. With the sun glistening on her body, she flaunts her curvy assets and green hair. She then retires to the bedroom in "sexy" lingerie as she rolls around in a mattress, before hitting the beach with Grande for some more fun in the sun. The two women later share strawberries with Beckham and Wing as their on-screen love interests on the beach.[17][18] Grande does several showstopping looks of her own in the video, including white lingerie.[19]
Controversy
On July 5, 2018, when the behind-the-scenes video for the song was released, rapper Azealia Banks posted a series of tweets criticizing Minaj for wearing a mermaid tail in the video. Banks suggested that Minaj stole that idea from her own aquatic-themed concepts dating back to her 2012 debut mixtape Fantasea.[20][21]
Credits and personnel
Credits and personnel adapted from Queen album liner notes.[6]
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – SINGLES DIGITAL – TOP 100 and insert 201825 into search. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201829 into search. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 201825 into search. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
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