Behind the Scenes (stylized all in lowercase) is the seventh studio album by Ariana Grande. It was released on September 16, 2022, through Republic Records. The album was recorded between September 2021 and April 2022.
Three singles were released from the album, two of which debuted at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100. With this, Behind the Scenes joined Thank U, Next and Daydream by Mariah Carey as the only albums by female artists to have multiple songs debut at number one. Grande also passed Justin Bieber and Drake as the highest artist with multiple number-one debuts, counting nine number one hits.
Background[]
Grande shared a short snippet of a song on her Instagram story on October 4, 2021. Later that day, she shared a 25-second-snippet of a song on her Instagram with the caption "it seems you want me to take control" which are lyrics from a song, later revealed to be titled "Jada". On November 28, 2021, Grande revealed on Twitter that she was in the middle of working on the album, but she later deleted the tweet.
On April 10, Grande revealed on Twitter that the album was finished. On January 6, 2022, Grande confirmed on Twitter that the next single would include a featured artist, and was set to release in February. The third single, "Reckless", was released on June 17, along with the track listing of the album. On July 16, Grande confirmed the title of the album, Behind the Scenes, and it was made available for pre-order a week later.
It was revealed on Grande's Twitter that "Jada" would be released as the last single from the album, due to its commercial success and popular demands.
Recording[]
The following is a list of known dates on which Grande was in the studio:
- September 4, 2021
- September 5, 2021
- September 6, 2021
- September 7, 2021
- September 8, 2021
- September 27, 2021
- September 28, 2021
- September 29, 2021
- September 30, 2021
- October 1, 2021
- October 2, 2021
- October 3, 2021
- October 4, 2021
- October 5, 2021
- October 12, 2021
- October 14, 2021
- October 18, 2021
- October 20, 2021
- November 3, 2021
- November 5, 2021
- November 6, 2021
- November 7, 2021
- November 29, 2021
- November 30, 2021
- December 10, 2021
- December 11, 2021
- December 12, 2021
- January 6, 2022
- January 8, 2022
- January 9, 2022
- January 10, 2022
- January 17, 2022
- January 18, 2022
- February 2, 2022
- February 3, 2022
- March 28, 2022
- March 29, 2022
- March 30, 2022
- March 31, 2022
- April 1, 2022
- April 2, 2022
- April 3, 2022
- April 4, 2022
- April 11, 2022
- April 12, 2022
- April 13, 2022
- April 15, 2022
- April 16, 2022
- April 20, 2022
- April 21, 2022
- April 22, 2022
- April 23, 2022
Singles[]
The lead single and title track, "Behind the Scenes", was released on October 29, 2021.
The second single, "Dirty Secrets", featuring Nicki Minaj, was released on February 25, 2022.
The third single, "Reckless", featuring Miley Cyrus, was released on June 17, 2022.
The fourth single, "Rewind", was released on September 16, 2022, coinciding with the album's release.
The fifth and final single, "Jada", was released on November 11, 2022, due to its commercial success.
Promotional singles[]
A promotional single, "Memories", was released on December 3, 2021.
Tour[]
Grande confirmed that the tour for her seventh studio album, Behind the Scenes, would be combined with her eighth studio album, Eclipse. The dates for the North American leg of the Behind the Scenes World Tour were announced on August 25, 2022. The tour began on October 19, 2022, in Albany, New York and ended on December 18, 2023, in Inglewood, California.
Critical reception[]
The album received universal acclaim from music critics. AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine made an early review of the album. He noted the difference between Behind the Scenes with Grande's previous album, Positions, saying that "this time Grande is swaggering with the confidence that comes with unquestioned stardom." He added that "the album feels more natural than Positions." Erlewine gave the album 4.5 out of 5 stars. Sal Cinquemani, writing on behalf of Slant Magazine, gave the album 4 out of 5 stars and stated that Behind the Scenes is "easily Grande's most sonically consistent effort to date."
Commercial performance[]
After the release of Behind the Scenes, it reached the top on US iTunes in under 5 minutes, becoming the fastest album in history to hit #1 on US iTunes, beating Grande's previous record held by Thank U, Next.
The album debuted at number 1 on the US Billboard 200 with 385,000 album-equivalent units being Grande's sixth number-one album in the United States. It broke the record for the largest streaming week for a pop album. All twelve songs from the album appeared simultaneously in the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the week ending September 23, 2022. With this, Grande broke the record for the most simultaneous top 40 songs by a female artist, previously occupied by Thank U, Next, which had 11 of its 12 tracks debut in the top 40 of the chart.
Trivia[]
- The first song written for the album was "Rewind", while the last was "What I've Been Told".
- The title track and "Rewind" were written in the same session.
- The shortest song on the album is "Upside Down" at 3 minutes and 7 seconds.
- The longest song on the album is "Time Flies" at 3 minutes and 52 seconds.
- Grande's top 3 tracks on the album are "Dirty Secrets", "Reckless" and "Memories".
Track listing[]
There are a total of 12 tracks on the album. This is Grande's second studio album to not include bonus tracks. All tracks are stylized in lowercase.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Memories" | Andrew Wansel, Nathan Perez, Priscilla Renea, Jameel Roberts, Ariana Grande | Wansel, Perez | 3:41 |
| 2. | "Jada" | Grande, Victoria Monét, Tayla Parx, Tommy Brown | Brown | 3:36 |
| 3. | "Rewind" | Grande, Monét, Parx, Brown, Charles Anderson | Brown, Anderson | 3:32 |
| 4. | "Unlucky" (featuring Doja Cat) | Grande, Max Martin, Ilya Salmanzadeh, Savan Kotecha | Martin | 3:36 |
| 5. | "Exposure" | Wansel, Perez, Renea, Kennedi Lykken, Justin Tranter, Grande, Joseph W. Frierson, Mary Lou Frierson | Pop Wansel, Happy Perez | 3:28 |
| 6. | "Dirty Secrets" (with Nicki Minaj) | Grande, Martin, Salmanzadeh, Kotecha | Martin, Ilya | 3:44 |
| 7. | "Upside Down" | Grande, Monét, Parx, Brown, Brian Baptiste | Brown, Baptiste | 3:07 |
| 8. | "Time Flies" | Grande, Martin, Salmanzadeh, Kotecha, Monét, Parx | Martin, Ilya | 3:52 |
| 9. | "Reckless" (with Miley Cyrus) | Wansel, Grande, Perez, Brittany "Chi" Coney, Denisia Andrews, Lindel Deon Nelson Jr., Roberts | Pop Wansel, Happy Perez, NOVA Wav | 3:42 |
| 10. | "Butterflies" (featuring Dua Lipa) | Grande, Monét, Parx, Kimberly Krysiuk, Brown, Michael Foster, Anderson, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II | Brown, Anderson, Foster | 3:39 |
| 11. | "What I've Been Told" | Grande, Monét, Parx, Vitia, Krysiuk, Brown, Foster, Anderson | Brown, Foster, Anderson | 3:27 |
| 12. | "Behind the Scenes" | Grande, Martin, Salmanzadeh, Kotecha, Kandi Burruss, Kevin Briggs | Martin, Ilya | 3:38 |
| Total length: | 43:02 | |||
Outtakes[]
[]
| Behind the Scenes | |
|---|---|
| September 16, 2022 • 43:02 • Republic Records | |
| Songs | |
| Released | Behind the Scenes • Butterflies • Dirty Secrets • Exposure • Jada • Memories • Reckless • Rewind • Time Flies • Unlucky • Upside Down • What I've Been Told |
| Unreleased | He Said, She Said • What Happened? • Wings |
| Artists | |
| Ariana Grande • Doja Cat • Dua Lipa • Miley Cyrus • Nicki Minaj | |
| Tour | |
| Behind the Scenes World Tour | |