The Light Is Coming Explained

The Light Is Coming
Cover:The Light Is Coming cover art.png
Type:promo
Artist:Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj
Album:Sweetener
Studio:
  • Glenwood Place (Burbank)
  • Jungle City (New York City)
  • Germano (New York City)
  • Chalice (Hollywood)
  • Conway (Hollywood)
  • The Lunchtable (Los Angeles)
Genre:
Label:Republic
Producer:Pharrell Williams

"The Light Is Coming" is a song by American singer Ariana Grande, featuring American rapper Nicki Minaj, released on June 20, 2018 as a promotional single of Grande's fourth studio album Sweetener. Nicki Minaj wrote her intro while Ariana Grande co-wrote the song with its producer Pharrell Williams.[1] The track debuted at number 95 and peaked at number 89 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Release

On May 27, 2018, Ariana Grande teased "The Light Is Coming" with a 21-second clip on her Instagram page.[2] On June 2, she debuted a preview of the song at Wango Tango, announcing that the song would be released on June 20, 2018, along with the pre-order of Sweetener.[3]

Composition and lyrics

The song runs for three minutes and forty-eight seconds.[4] It is a new wave[1] and dance[5] track with influences of R&B and hip hop.[6] The sound is backed by Grande's vocals, singing, "The light is coming to give back everything the darkness stole". The song contains a "jittery beat" that is used with quick drums and synths.[7] [8] The song samples a CNN archive clip of a man named Craig Miller who is shouting at former senator Arlen Specter at a town hall meeting in Pennsylvania in 2009 concerning healthcare ("You wouldn't let anybody speak for this and instead!").[9] [10] Pharrell Williams has prominently used the sample in other songs he has produced, including N.E.R.D and Rihanna's "Lemon" and Usher's "Twisted".

Grande's vocals span one octave, from G3 to G4.[11]

Critical reception

"The Light Is Coming" received lukewarm reviews from music critics.[12] Mike Nied of Idolator described it as "a serious dance floor filler", writing: "The light is coming to give back everything the darkness stole," [Grande] chants over militaristic drums and slippery synths. Her voice is confident and sounds perfectly at home as it races over the searing production, courtesy of Pharrell. All things considered, it sounds like the pop princess has another hit on her hands."[13] In the album review, however, Neid called it "a particularly glaring misstep."[14] Spin editor Israel Daramola described the song as a "glitchy, thumping" dance record with a sample that highlights Grande's "nursery rhyme-style melody" during the repeated chorus and her voice "is alive with feeling and thrives in the quirks and constant vibrancy of the music." He also praised Minaj for delivering a "strutting, paint-by-numbers verse in the time allotted" that is "perfectly suited to the heavy, ground shaking bass of the song".[5] Brittany Spanos of Rolling Stone considered it a "weak spot" in the parent album.[15]

Commercial performance

"The Light Is Coming" entered the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 95 selling 14,000 copies in its first week, allowing it to also debut on the Digital Songs chart at number 22.[16] The song fell off the Hot 100 the following week; however, it later re-entered at a new peak of number 89 following the release of Sweetener.[17]

Worldwide, the song debuted in the top-forty in Hungary and Scotland, peaking at numbers 24 and 22 respectively, while charting within the top 100 in six other territories including the United Kingdom, where it reached number 57 on the UK Singles Chart. It also peaked at number 63 on the Canadian Hot 100.

Music video

Despite the song not being released as an official single, the music video for the song first premiered twelve hours after the song's release, via the Reebok official website.[18] It was directed by Dave Meyers, who had also directed the music video for Grande's "No Tears Left to Cry", and features Nicki Minaj performing her verse and Ariana Grande singing in a dimly-lit forest. The video was released worldwide on YouTube and Vevo the next day.

Live performances

Grande performed a preview of the song at Wango Tango on June 2, 2018 and was on the set list of her Sweetener World Tour.[3]

Credits and personnel

Recording and management

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Sweetener.[19]

Charts

Chart (2018)! scope="col"
Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[20] 60
France Downloads (SNEP)[21] 68
Greece Digital Songs (Billboard)[22] 2
Japan Hot Overseas (Billboard)[23] 12
New Zealand Heatseekers (Recorded Music NZ)[24] 2

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Cover Story: Ariana Grande. The Fader. Tanzer. Myles. May 30, 2018. June 4, 2018.
  2. News: Ariana Grande Teases New Song "The Light Is Coming" Featuring Nicki Minaj: Listen. May 28, 2018. Spin. June 3, 2018.
  3. Watch Ariana Grande Debut New Song 'The Light Is Coming' at Wango Tango. Rolling Stone. June 3, 2018. June 3, 2018.
  4. Web site: Sweetner by Ariana Grande. ITunes Store. June 20, 2018. June 20, 2018.
  5. Web site: Daramola . Israel . Ariana Grande's "The Light Is Coming" Is Hypnotic and Wonderfully Bizarre . . 29 January 2020 . 22 June 2018.
  6. Web site: Ariana Grande Links With Nicki Minaj On 'The Light Is Coming' . Clash Music. June 20, 2018. June 22, 2018.
  7. News: Ariana Grande Taps Nicki Minaj for New Song "The Light Is Coming": Listen. June 20, 2018. Pitchfork. June 20, 2018.
  8. Hear Ariana Grande Tap Nicki Minaj for Snappy 'The Light Is Coming'. June 20, 2018. Rolling Stone. June 20, 2018.
  9. Web site: Who Is The Man Sampled On Ariana Grande's 'The Light Is Coming'?. PopBuzz. June 20, 2018.
  10. Ariana Grande's 'The Light Is Coming' Contains a Prominent Voice Sample With a Political Message. Billboard. June 21, 2018. June 22, 2018.
  11. Web site: The Light is Coming. Musicnotes . December 24, 2018.
  12. Web site: Neid . Mike . Ariana Grande's "God Is A Woman" Is A Sexually Liberated Bop . Idolator . July 13, 2018. July 13, 2018 .
  13. Nied, Mike. "Banger! Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj Bring The Heat On “The Light Is Coming”", Idolator, June 23, 2018
  14. News: Album Review: Ariana Grande's 'Sweetener' . Idolator.
  15. Review: Ariana Grande Finds Serenity and Has Some Fun on 'Sweetener' . Spanos . Brittany. August 20, 2018 . Rolling Stone . August 20, 2018.
  16. Web site: Ariana Grande Chart History. Billboard. June 30, 2018.
  17. Zellner, Xander. "Ariana Grande Earns 10th Top 10 Hit, Lands 10 Songs on Billboard Hot 100", Billboard, August 27, 2018
  18. Web site: "THE LIGHT IS COMING" PREMIERE. 20 June 2018. dead. June 20, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180620124738/https://www.reebok.com/us/tlic.
  19. Sweetener. Ariana Grande. 2018. Republic Records.
  20. Web site: ARIA Chart Watch #479. auspOp. June 30, 2018. June 30, 2018.
  21. Web site: Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles Téléchargés – SNEP (Week 25, 2018). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. fr. 30 May 2024.
  22. Greece Digital Songs. Billboard. June 15, 2018. June 30, 2018.
  23. Web site: Billboard Japan Hot Overseas. ja. Billboard Japan. July 16, 2018. May 8, 2019.
  24. Web site: NZ Heatseeker Singles Chart. Recorded Music NZ. July 2, 2018. June 29, 2018.