Needy (song)

This article is about the Ariana Grande song. For other songs of the same name, see Needy.
"needy"
Song by Ariana Grande
from the album Thank U, Next
ReleasedFebruary 8, 2019
Studio
GenreR&B
Length2:51
LabelRepublic
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Tommy Brown

"needy" is a song by American singer Ariana Grande. It is the second track on her fifth studio album, Thank U, Next, which was released on February 8, 2019, via Republic Records. The song was written by Grande, Victoria Monét, Tayla Parx, and its producer Tommy Brown.

"Needy" reached the top 10 in Ireland, Malaysia, Singapore, and the United Kingdom; and top 20 in Australia, Canada, Lithuania, New Zealand, Portugal, and the United States. The song was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and platinum by Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Background and recording

On October 4, 2018, Grande posted a 45-second snippet on her Instagram with the caption "tell me how good it feels to be needed".[1] On November 5, 2018, Grande posted a second snippet alongside a video of Piggy Smallz on her Instagram Story.[2] On November 15, Grande shared a video of her singing a part of "Needy" with a piano.[3]

Victoria Monét (pictured in 2017) co-wrote the song and co-produced the vocals.

Needy was written by Ariana Grande, Victoria Monét, Tayla Parx and Tommy Brown, who also handled the production. Grande's vocals were recorded at the Record Plant in Holywood and Jungle City in New York City. Serban Ghenea mixed the track, and Brendan Morawski as the engineer assisted by Sean Kline.[4]

Critical reception

The song received general acclaim from music critics. Ross Horton from The Line of Best Fit called the song "sexy, lights-off RNB, rich and juicy in equal measure, like some of Rihanna's more sensual moments".[5] Michael Cragg of The Guardian stated that the song "unravels like a series of confessional, self-aware text messages, the sort that aren't necessarily asking for a reply".[6] Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine said that in this song that Grande is not afraid to admit that she is "needy".[7]

Commercial performance

Following the release of Thank U, Next, all 12 tracks entered within the top 50 of the US Billboard Hot 100; "Needy" debuted and peaked number 14, becoming the highest-charting non-single track from the album.[8] On June 15, 2020, it received a platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[9] In the United Kingdom, the song reached number eight on the UK Singles Chart and was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).[10][11] "Needy" debuted on several territories, peaking within the top 50 of Ireland (5),[12] Malaysia (9),[13] Singapore (10),[14] New Zealand (11),[15] Australia (13),[16] Lithuania (14),[17] Canada (16),[18] Portugal (16),[19] Slovakia (23),[20] Latvia (30),[21] Hungary (31),[22] Czech Republic (39),[23] Iceland (40),[24] the Netherlands (41),[25] Scotland (42),[26] and Sweden (43),[27] and further reaching Germany (65),[28] Spain (69),[29] and France (100).[30]

Live performances

Grande performed "Needy" for the first time at the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards.[31] The song was part of the setlist of the Sweetener World Tour (2019).[32]

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.[33]

  • Ariana Grande – lead vocals, songwriter, vocal producer
  • Victoria Monét – backing vocals, songwriter, vocal producer
  • Tayla Parx – backing vocals, songwriter, vocal producer
  • Tommy Brown – producer, songwriter, programmer
  • Peter Lee Johnson – strings
  • Billy Hickey – engineer
  • Brendan Morawski – engineer
  • John Hanes – mixing engineer
  • Serban Ghenea – mixer
  • Sean Klein – assistant recording engineer

Charts

Chart performance for "Needy"
Chart (2019) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[16] 13
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[18] 16
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[23] 39
France (SNEP)[30] 100
Germany (GfK)[28] 65
Greece International (IFPI)[34] 11
Hungary (Single Top 40)[22] 31
Hungary (Stream Top 40)[35] 18
Iceland (Tónlistinn)[24] 40
Ireland (IRMA)[12] 5
Latvia (LAIPA)[21] 30
Lithuania (AGATA)[17] 14
Malaysia (RIM)[13] 9
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[25] 41
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[15] 11
Portugal (AFP)[19] 16
Scotland (OCC)[26] 42
Singapore (RIAS)[14] 10
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[20] 23
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[29] 69
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[27] 43
UK Singles (OCC)[10] 8
US Billboard Hot 100[36] 14

Certifications

Certifications for "Needy"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[37] Platinum 70,000‡
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[38] 2× Platinum 80,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[11] Silver 200,000‡
United States (RIAA)[9] Platinum 1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Ariana Grande on Instagram: 'tell me how good it feels to be needed'". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-24. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
  2. ^ "Twitter". mobile.twitter.com. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
  3. ^ Grande, Ariana (2018-11-14). "needy asspic.twitter.com/l7jvmrkLFK". @ArianaGrande. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
  4. ^ "Try the TIDAL Web Player". listen.tidal.com. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
  5. ^ "Ariana Grande's Thank U, Next is her greatest record yet". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
  6. ^ Cragg, Michael (2019-02-08). "Ariana Grande: Thank U, Next review – a break-up album of wit and wonder". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
  7. ^ "Review: Ariana Grande Embraces Her Flaws on Thank U, Next". Slant Magazine. 2019-02-07. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
  8. ^ Trust, Gary (2019-02-19). "Ariana Grande Breaks Record For Most Simultaneous Top 40 Billboard Hot 100 Hits by a Female Artist". Billboard. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  9. ^ a b "American single certifications – Ariana Grande – Needy". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  10. ^ a b "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  11. ^ a b "British single certifications – Ariana Grande – Needy". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  12. ^ a b "Irish-charts.com – Discography Ariana Grande". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  13. ^ a b "Top 20 Most Streamed International & Domestic Singles In Malaysia" (PDF). Recording Industry Association of Malaysia. Recording Industry Association of Malaysia. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  14. ^ a b "Singapore Top 30 Digital Streaming Chart Week 7" (PDF). Recording Industry Association (Singapore). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 25, 2019.
  15. ^ a b "Ariana Grande – Needy". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  16. ^ a b "Ariana Grande – Needy". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  17. ^ a b "Savaitės klausomiausi (TOP 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. February 15, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  18. ^ a b "Ariana Grande Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  19. ^ a b "{{{artist}}} – {{{song}}}". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
  20. ^ a b "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 07. týden 2019 in the date selector. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  21. ^ a b "Mūzikas Patēriņa Tops/ 7. nedēļa" (in Latvian). LAIPA. Archived from the original on October 10, 2019. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
  22. ^ a b "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
  23. ^ a b "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 07. týden 2019 in the date selector. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  24. ^ a b "TÓNLISTINN – LÖG | Plötutíðindi". Archived from the original on 2019-09-16. Retrieved 2019-02-18.
  25. ^ a b "Ariana Grande – Needy" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  26. ^ a b "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  27. ^ a b "Ariana Grande – Needy". Singles Top 100. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  28. ^ a b "Ariana Grande – Needy" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  29. ^ a b "Ariana Grande – Needy" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  30. ^ a b "Ariana Grande – Needy" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  31. ^ ".@ArianaGrande's making her network debut of #Needy TONIGHT on the #iHeartAwards2019 ! Who's ready? Watch at 8PM PT on @FOXTV!". @1027KIISFM. 2019-03-14. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
  32. ^ "Ariana Grande kicks off "Sweetener Tour": Setlist + Video". Consequence of Sound. 2019-03-19. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
  33. ^ "Try the TIDAL Web Player". listen.tidal.com. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  34. ^ "Official IFPI Charts – Digital Singles Chart (International) – Week: 7/2019". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on February 26, 2019. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  35. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Stream Top 40 slágerlista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
  36. ^ "Ariana Grande Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  37. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2023 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  38. ^ "Brazilian single certifications – Ariana Grande – Needy" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved November 30, 2023.