| Love Me Harder | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
| Single by Ariana Grande & The Weeknd | |||||
| Album | My Everything | ||||
| Released | August 22, 2014 | ||||
| Genre | Pop R&B Soul | ||||
| Length | 3:56 | ||||
| Label | Republic | ||||
| My Everything chronology | |||||
| |||||
It was released on August 22, 2014.
Background
Edit
The collaboration between Grande and The Weeknd was pushed by their mutual label, Republic Records. Grande and The Weeknd were up-and-coming artists in 2013, with both releasing their debut albums that year. In an interview with Billboard, Republic Records executive vice president Charlie Walk stated, "The Weeknd is positioned to be best new artist of 2014. He is that guy." Producer Max Martin sent The Weeknd an unfinished version of the track. According to The Weeknd, "It was a great song, but it was a little generic. I couldn't hear myself on it. So I changed it and made it dark." Martin liked The Weeknd's revised lyrics. The Weeknd later recalled that "It was kind of like the label giving me an alley-oop. I think that's where the stars aligned for me. When I see an opening I penetrate it." In June 2014, Walk posted a photo on his Instagram with the caption, "When you talk about artist development and pure talent, The Weeknd comes to mind. I just heard a duet with a female friend of ours that’s a global smash. Can’t wait for the fall!." Later, it was revealed that the collaborator was Ariana Grande.
Later, Walk admitted that the collaboration was part of a strategy to promote The Weeknd, saying, "It's no accident that the new Ariana track features The Weeknd. That's strategic, because he's about to blow up with his own record." On June 30, 2014, it was revealed the track list for Grande's second studio album and the collaboration with The Weeknd was called "Love Me Harder". The song was first teased during a post on Grande's Instagram account, where she shared a 15-second snippet of the track on August 4, 2014, and later during a preview of four tracks on MTV's website on August 20, 2014. Chris Martins of Spin thought the preview has Grande getting "downright nasty" on the track. Later, "Love Me Harder" was announced to be the album's fourth single, being serviced to US rhythmic-crossover radio on September 30, 2014.
VideosEdit
Ariana Grande, The Weeknd - Love Me Harder
