Dangerous Woman (album)

The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, earning 175,000 equivalent album units in its first week, with 129,000 coming from pure sales. In the UK, the album debuted at the top slot, becoming her first number one in the country. It also reached the top 10 in Canada, Japan, Italy and Switzerland. The lead single "Dangerous Woman" was released on March 11, 2016. The second single, "Into You", was released on May 6, 2016. Two promotional singles were released for the album, "Be Alright" and "Let Me Love You," featuring rapper Lil Wayne. The album received generally positive reviews from critics. Most of them praised Grande's vocals and the mature lyrical content, separating her from her teen-star peers. However, a few criticized the album for containing too many different styles, stating that the Grande should settle for one sound. Grande has promoted the album multiple times on television. She hosted and was a guest performer on Saturday Night Live. She also sang a medley of "Dangerous Woman" and "Into You" at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards. Grande will embark on her third concert tour to promote the album in late 2016 or early 2017. Grande began recording songs for the album soon after the completion of her sophomore album, My Everything (2014), and continued throughout the summer and fall of 2015, between stops on her Honeymoon Tour, with her friends Tommy Brown and Victoria Monet.[2] "Focus", which was originally intended to be the lead single from the album,was released digitally on October 30, 2015. The song debuted and peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100, selling 113,000 copies in its first week in the United States. It was subsequently certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.Grande finished work on the album on January 22, 2016. The album was originally titled Moonlight. On Jimmy Kimmel Live! in January 2016, however, 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. She announced the new title of the album, Dangerous Woman, on February 22, 2016, through her Snapchat and Twitter accounts. The following day, she posted a photo on Instagram with a caption quoting Egyptian feminist writer Nawal El Saadawi's 1975 novel, Woman at Point Zero as follows: "They said, 'You are a savage and dangerous woman.' I am speaking the truth. And the truth is savage and dangerous". As to why the album name was changed, Grande stated that it 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." Grande announced the final title of the album on February 22, 2016, via her Snapchat. Two days later, Grande launched a website to promote her album (now merged with her original website), which features a "Tea" section in which the singer shares new information regarding the album, as well as a "Shop" section, in which album-related merchandise is sold. The official album cover was released on March 10 via Grande's social media accounts and on her official website. On March 12, 2016, Grande was both the host and musical guest on NBC's Saturday Night Live, where she performed "Dangerous Woman" and "Be Alright". In April, Grande debuted "Leave Me Lonely" live at the grand opening of the Las Vegas T-Mobile Arena and performed at the 2016 MTV Movie Awards. On May 13, 2016, Grande announced via her Instagram account that a new song from the album would be premiered exclusively on Apple Music every day until the release of the album. The song's released, in order of release, were "Everyday" featuring Future, "Greedy", "Side to Side", featuring Nicki Minaj, "Sometimes", "Leave Me Lonely", featuring Macy Gray, "Touch It", and "Bad Decisions". Grande promoted the album's release with televised performances at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards and on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Good Morning America. On May 25, she sang "Into You" and duetted with Christina Aguilera on "Dangerous Woman" on The Voice season 10 finale. On May 24, 2016, Grande confirmed that she would embark on her third concert tour, under the working title The Dangerous Woman Tour, beginning in late 2016 or early 2017. At the Summertime Ball at London's Wembley Stadium in June, Grande performed "Dangerous Woman, "Into You", and "Greedy" from the album as part of her set. The former lead single, "Focus", was released on October 30, 2015. Although originally intended to be the lead single, it was not included on the standard or US editions of Dangerous Woman. However, it was included as a bonus track on the Japanese edition of the album. As of January 26, 2016, "Focus" has been certified platinum by the RIAA. The album's lead single and title track, "Dangerous Woman", was released on March 11, 2016, along with the pre-order of the album on the iTunes Store. It was teased by Grande on March 1, 2016. A snippet of the song was released as background music to the Victoria's Secret Swim Special on March 9, 2016. It was sent to rhythmic radio on March 15, 2016. The song became Grande's seventh top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as her fifth to debut in the top 10. As of June 2016, "Dangerous Woman" has been certified platinum by the RIAA. The second single, "Into You", was released on May 6, 2016. It is set to impact rhythmic and contemporary hit radio on June 28, 2016,as well as hot adult contemporary radio on July 18, 2016. Promotional single The first promotional single, "Be Alright", was released on March 18, 2016. The second promotional single, "Let Me Love You", featuring Lil Wayne, was released on April 18, 2016. Dangerous Woman received generally positive reviews from music critics. According to Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to ratings and reviews from mainstream critics, critics gave Dangerous Woman a score of 76, based on 14 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote for AllMusic that "track by track, Dangerous Woman has sly, subtle distinctions - a little bit of torch gives way to some heavy hip only to have frothy pop surface again", and that "while some of these cuts work better than others, the range is impressive, as is Grande's measured, assured performance. In his review for Entertainment Weekly, Nolan Feeney commented that while Grande's previous album, 'My Everything', "suffered for trying to be everything", on Dangerous Woman, "[w]ith a streamlined team of hitmakers such as Max Martin, she pulls off pop, R&B, reggae, and house—all without overextending herself or pandering to trends". The A.V. Club's Annie Zaleski agreed, stating that the album "possesses more personality than 'My Everything'," and writes in conclusion that "'Dangerous Woman' is an effortless leap forward on which Grande comes into her own as a vocalist and performer." Lewis Corner from Digital Spy noted that Grande "ultimately pulled together a consistent collection that impressively manages to keep your attention over 15 tracks." Mikael Wood, writing for the Los Angeles Times, found it "impressive how fully she inhabits the emotional environment of each song" on the album. Larry Bartleet of NME wrote that apart from the "consistent songwriting clout that elevates this album from recent efforts by Grande’s teen-star peers, Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez", the "modish message of empowerment feels honest coming from Grande."Michael Cragg from The Observer noted that during her successful previous album she had lost her identity in the process, but in comparison, he noted that the album is a "refinement of her sound", and concluded that "[h]eld together by Grande's skyscraping voice, Dangerous Woman throws a lot at the wall and, brilliantly, most of it sticks."Erik Ernst of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel opined that "like much of the disc, it's an unexpected, but remarkable, choice from a confident pop star ready to set her own path to the top." Maeve McDermott of USA Today summarized that Dangerous Woman, "like its title suggests", is "a mature portrait of an artist blessed with one of pop's strongest voices, brimming with potential hits." Quinn Moreland of Pitchfork viewed that "Grande does not need to force any sort of spirit, she is full of it already. She just needs to find the Dangerous Woman within herself and let her break free."The Plain Dealer's Troy L. Smith wrote that the album "plays it safe and smart", explaining it "functions as 'My Everything 2.0' – a collection of pitch-perfect hooks and slick production built in the mold of Mariah Carey." For Theon Weber of Spin, "Grande is most complete on record when she’s playing a diva." Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine wrote that Grande "too often tries to look and sound more mature than she is,"observing that "the songs on the album's latter half are limited by their strict adherence to contemporary pop and R&B trends." In a mixed review, Christopher R. Weingarten of Rolling Stone opined that "as an album artist, she's prone to a schizophrenic sound and unfortunate sequencing," adding that "we're still no closer to figuring out who she wants to be." He also said that "her talents are wasted on meaningful-sounding but ultimately trite lyrics. However, her phrasing remains unique and powerful and pyrotechnic." In the United States, Dangerous Woman debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. It earned 175,000 equivalent album units, with 129,000 coming from traditional album sales.In the second week, the album fell to No. 6, selling 50,000 equivalent units, while in the third week, it dropped to No. 7, with 33,000 equivalent units sold. In Japan, the album debuted at No. 2 on the Oricon Albums Chart, selling 20,811 copies in its opening week, and becoming Grande's highest album ranking in that region. In the second week, the album dropped to No. 8, selling 11,950 copies. In the third week, it stayed at No. 8, with 7,022 copies sold. As of June 2016, Dangerous Woman has sold over 50,000 copies in Japan. In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at No. 1 on the Official Albums Chart, becoming Grande's first No. 1 album in the UK. The album also reached the top of the charts in several other markets, including Australia, Brazil, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands,New Zealand, Spain and Taiwan.

 Track listing 

1."Moonlight"  

 2."Dangerous Woman" 

3."Be Alright"

 4."Into You" 

5."Side to Side" (featuring Nicki Minaj) 

6."Let Me Love You" (featuring Lil Wayne) 

7."Greedy"   

8."Leave Me Lonely" (featuring Macy Gray) 

9."Everyday" (featuring Future) 

10."Bad Decisions" 

11."Thinking Bout You"  

 12."Sometimes" 

13."I Don't Care" 

14."Touch It" 

15."Knew Better / Forever Boy"