Into You (Ariana Grande song)

"Into You" was written by Max Martin, Savan Kotecha, Alexander Kronlund, Ilya Salmanzadeh and Ariana Grande, with production, programming, keys, guitar, bass, percussion and background vocals handled by Martin and Ilya; Kotecha also provided background vocals. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Universal Music Publishing Group, "Into You" is written in the key of F♯ minor in common time with a tempo of 108 beats per minute. Grande's vocals span two octaves, 5 notes, and 1 semitone, from F♯₃ to E₆.[3] "Into You" is a dance-pop,[4] house,[5][6] electro[7] and EDM[8][9][10] song, "a thudding club beat, lurking synths and sharp clicks."[11] It starts with "a minimal club beat", before "crescendoing into [a] thumping chorus,"[12] where "an uptempo disco backline explodes into a monstrous club-ready hook," as noted by Complex's Jessie Morris.[13] Jessica Goodman of Entertainment Weekly added that the song also has "new-age disco beats."[14]

Lyrically, the song has Grande singing of "waiting for her love interest to stop the conversation and finally make a move."[15] During the song, as noted by Plugged In's Adam R. Holz, Grande "brags that [she]'s up for any game her man wants to play ('So name a game to play, and I'll roll the dice, hey') and eventually trades coy flirtiness for more direct instructions ('So, baby, come light me up and maybe I'll let you on it') as she says she's on the verge of losing control ('I can't wait no more/I'm on the edge with no control')."[16] Digital Spy editor Lewis Corner noted the possible references to Elvis Presley's "A Little Less Conversation" and Mariah Carey's "Touch My Body" were made in the chorus, where both phrases appear together.[11] Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani felt that the song's refrain is similar to the refrain of Jessie J's "Burnin' Up".[17]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic picked the track as one of the album's highlights, noting that it was "a fruitful partnership with producer Max Martin and his colleague Ilya."[18] Jamieson Cox of The Verge stated that it "might be the catchiest song cut from the album to date," adding: "You can thank or blame pop god Max Martin and his cabal of songwriters for those razor-sharp disco synths."[19] Complex's Jessie Morris praised the overall production of the song, noting that "Grande travels down a rabbit hole of slinky vocals that simmers in some deep, throbbing production" and calling it "irresistible."[20] Rachel Sonis of Idolator said the song "might be her most scandalous one yet", and that it "is, simply put, a massive club tune." She also noted that "its monstrous EDM-pop beat is reminiscent of My Everything, and the song's catchy chorus will definitely have everyone on the dance-floor within seconds."[21] Digital Spy's Lewis Corner called the song a "massive banger", saying that the song had "a solid earworm hook that is sure to dominate radio in the coming months".[22] Jessica Goodman of Entertainment Weekly also praised the "monstrous" hook and the chorus "that hears Grande hit high notes."[14] Sarah Grant of Rolling Stone added that the song "is primed for dance floor makeout sessions" and that "Grande swaggers with little affect in tight vocal range."[23]

Larry Bartleet of NME called it a "club anthem-to-be,"[24] while Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine named it a "standout".[17] Quinn Moreland of Pitchfork went on to call it "Grande's best single since 'Love Me Harder.'"[25] Sasha Geffen of MTV News observed that the track "brings more heat than anything we’ve heard from Dangerous Woman so far, proving Ari hasn’t lost her touch for electric dance floor jams."[26] Lisa Brown of Billboard praised the "infectious distorted beats," declaring that "she still stays true to her sensual 'dangerous woman' inspiration."[15] Hayden Wright of Radio.com analysed that the song "combines pulsating electro beats with Grande’s iridescent vocals, a tried-and-true recipe for her biggest hits."[8] Ed Masley of The Arizona Republic said the single "hinges on a steamy, disco-flavored chorus that makes the most of Grande's sultry vocal presence," going on to note that Grande "gets a chance to re-assert her claim to the title of the new Mariah Carey while making the dancefloor feel the heat."[27] Annie Zaleski of The A.V. Club called it a "sultry" track, "whose sassy finger-snaps and inky production give way to the record’s best come-on."[28] Theon Weber of Spin declared that the song, "whose chorus pretty gracelessly squashes the gorgeous minimalism of its verses, redeems the floor-filling thud with a demand for 'a little less conversation and a little more touch my body.'"[29]

Billboard ranked "Into You" at number 6 on their "100 Best Pop Songs of 2016" list: “Dangerous Woman is rife with provocative lyrics, but the album's second single feels like the sexiest track of them all, because of its seductive bass and the 23-year-old singer’s alluring vocals.”[30] Pitchfork would later list the song on their ranking of the 100 best songs of 2016 at number 82.[31][32] In the annual Village Voice's Pazz & Jop mass critics poll of the year's best in music in 2016, "Into You" was ranked at number 21.[33] In 2018, Richard S. He of Billboard ranked "Into You" as the best song in Grande's catalogue.[34]

"Into You" debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 83,[35] but fell off the chart in its second week. It re-entered and rebounded on the chart at number 51 in the week dated June 11, 2016 and then moved up to number 48 the following week.[36] The single stayed near the top 40 for a few weeks before leaping from 41 to 33 in its ninth week on the chart.[37] The single surged from number 33 to 24 the week after.[38] In its thirteenth week on the chart, dated August 27, the song further climbed nine places from 22 to a new peak of number 13 in the US,[39] holding that position for two weeks.[40] Consequently, this became her second top 20 single from Dangerous Woman. As of June 2020, the song has sold 792,000 copies in the country, and has been certified triple platinum by the RIAA.[41]

In the United Kingdom, the song initially debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number 44, but has since gone on to peak at number 14, making it her sixth UK top 20 single.[42][43] In Australia, the song debuted at number 46 before climbing to number 19. It eventually peaked at number eleven, where it remained for three non-consecutive weeks.[44] In New Zealand, "Into You" reached the top-ten, peaking at number nine, in its seventh week. It became her fourth top-ten single and first since "Bang Bang" (2014).[45]

Directed by Hannah Lux Davis, the music video made its premiere on May 24, 2016 at midnight on Vevo.[46] The video surpassed 100 million views on July 6, 2016, making it Grande's eleventh Vevo-certified music video after "Dangerous Woman".[47][48] As of July 2019, the video has accumulated over 700 million views.[49] The music video spawned four nominations at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards in the categories for Best Female Video, Best Pop Video, Best Editing, and Best Cinematography.[50]

Ariana performed for the first time the song at "The 2016 Delete Blood Cancer Gala". She performed her first televised performance of "Into You" at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards.[52] The performance was listed as one of the best of the night by editors from Billboard, Rolling Stone, and Time.[53][54][55] She also performed "Into You" on the season 10 finale of The Voice as well as at Capital's Summertime Ball.[56][57]

Grande released a remix of the song featuring American rapper Mac Miller on August 6, 2016, exclusively on SoundCloud but later made it available for digital download.[58] The two have previously collaborated on Grande's 2013 single, "The Way" and later collaborated on Miller's "My Favorite Part". Another remix was released to digital retailers by 3LAU shortly afterwards. The song has also been unofficially remixed many times by fans and remixers alike.

Credits adapted from Dangerous Woman's liner notes.[59]

Recording and management

• Recorded at MXM Studios and Wolf Cousins Studios (Stockholm, Sweden)
• Mixed at MixStar Studios (Virginia Beach, Virginia)
• Mastered at Sterling Sound (New York City, New York)
• Published by MXM — administered by Kobalt — (ASCAP), Wolf Cousins (STIM), Warner/Chappell Music Scand. (STIM) and Grandefinale LLC.

Personnel

https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&se=Ariana+Grande#search_section

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[118]	3× Platinum	210,000
Belgium (BEA)[119]	Gold	15,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[120]	4× Platinum	320,000
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[121]	Platinum	90,000
France (SNEP)[122]	Gold	66,666
Germany (BVMI)[123]	Gold	200,000
Italy (FIMI)[124]	2× Platinum	100,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)[125]	Gold	15,000
Norway (IFPI Norway)[126]	2× Platinum	120,000
Poland (ZPAV)[127]	3× Platinum	60,000
Portugal (AFP)[128]	Platinum	10,000
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[129] Cosmic Dawn & Andy Reese Radio Edit	Gold	20,000
Sweden (GLF)[130]	2× Platinum	80,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[131]	2× Platinum	1,200,000
United States (RIAA)[132]	3× Platinum	792,000[41]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.