Monopoly (song)

"Monopoly" (stylized in all caps) is a song by American singers Ariana Grande and Victoria Monét, released on April 1, 2019 through label Republic Records. The song was written by Grande, Monét, Charles Anderson, Michael Foster, and Tim Suby, with production being handled by Social House and Suby. The music video, which was shot on March 30, 2019 at Mohegan Sun in the hours leading up to a concert scheduled that night, was released alongside the single, and was directed by Alfredo Flores and Ricky Alvarez.[3][4][5][6]

"Monopoly"
Single by Ariana Grande and Victoria Monét
ReleasedApril 1, 2019 (2019-04-01)
RecordedFebruary 1, 2019[1]
StudioSpeakEasy Recording, Burbank, California
GenreTrap-pop[2]
Length2:38
LabelRepublic
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Ariana Grande singles chronology
"Rule the World"
(2019)		 "Monopoly"
(2019)		 "Boyfriend"
(2019)
Music video
"Monopoly" on YouTube

"Monopoly" was included on the Japanese deluxe edition of Grande's fifth studio album Thank U, Next (2019) as a bonus track, along with the official remix of "7 Rings" featuring 2 Chainz.[7] It reached the top 5 in Greece and Israel and the top 20 in Ireland, Japan and New Zealand. The singers performed the song on some of the shows of the Sweetener World Tour.

Background

Monét and Grande decided to make a song titled "Monopoly", finding it funny since Monét dislikes the board game and declines to play whenever Grande asks. The song was recorded on February 1, 2019.[1]

"Monopoly" was originally slated for a March 28, 2019 release[8] but was pushed back to April 1, 2019 to celebrate "7 Rings" 8th week at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.[9] Grande said on Twitter that "Monopoly" is about "friendship, freedom, protecting your energy and staying right in your bag." Monét made a similar tweet stating that the track was about "good vibes and celebrations of life and friendship."[10]

Lyrics and composition

"Monopoly" is a trap-pop song, leading Uproxx writer Chloe Gilke to call it the "spiritual successor" to Grande's single "7 Rings" which Monét also co-wrote. The song is a celebration of Grande's success, much like "7 Rings", which charted at number one on the Hot 100 for eight weeks.[2]

The lyric "I like women and men" garnered significant attention since Monét previously came out as bisexual in November 2018, referencing Frank Ocean's 2017 single "Chanel" which is about his own bisexuality.[11][12] Monét personally believed it was important to include this line, along with the lyrics "Swerve both ways, Dichotomy" (a double entendre invoking the word dyke), to highlight her sexuality because of the lack of representation for bisexual black women in her industry.[1] In response to the attention garnered by Grande for also singing the "I like women and men" line, Grande opened up about her sexuality and revealed she doesn't label herself, tweeting "i haven’t [labelled myself] before and still don’t feel the need to now 🖤🧚🏼‍♂️ which is okay".[13]

Grande also sings "Even though we gave up that 90%", referencing the fact that she had to give up 90% of the royalties for "7 Rings" to Rodgers and Hammerstein due to interpolating the melody of The Sound of Music's "My Favorite Things".[14]

Reception

Vulture praised the song and music video for being a "meme-heavy bisexual bop".[15] NME wrote that following the release of Thank U, Next (2019), "Monopoly" was refreshing to hear, describing the song as "flippant and fun".[16]

The Washington Post, Broadly, and PinkNews reported that certain fans responded negatively to the song, accusing Grande of queerbaiting.[17][18][19] Broadly writer Gabrielle Alexa criticized the accusations, stating "the act of speculating only perpetuates attitudes that contribute to the erasure of bisexual women. Grande doesn't have to date a girl in order to count as bisexual. And we shouldn't try to make her prove her sexuality anyways."[18]

Track listing
  • Digital download and streaming[20]
  1. "Monopoly" – 2:38

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.[21]

  • Ariana Grande – vocals, songwriting, vocal production
  • Victoria Monét – vocals, songwriting
  • Tim Suby – production, songwriting, programming
  • Social House – co-production, songwriting, programming
  • Kyle Mann – engineering, mixing, studio personnel
  • Brendan Morawski – engineering, studio personnel

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart (2019) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[22] 21
Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[23] 12
Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)[24] 37
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[25] 38
China Airplay/FL (Billboard)[26] 26
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[27] 45
France (SNEP)[28] 146
Germany (Official German Charts)[29] 98
Greece (IFPI)[30] 3
Hungary (Single Top 40)[31] 28
Hungary (Stream Top 40)[32] 25
Ireland (IRMA)[33] 15
Israel (Media Forest TV Airplay)[34] 4
Japan Hot Overseas (Billboard)[35] 11
Latvia (LAIPA)[36] 26
Lithuania (AGATA)[37] 17
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[38] 76
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[39] 19
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[40] 21
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[41] 32
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[42] 53
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[43] 85
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[44] 23
US Billboard Hot 100[45] 69

Year-end charts
Chart (2019) Position
Portugal (AFP)[46] 1149

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[47] Gold 40,000

sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

Release history
Release dates and formats for "Monopoly"
Region Date Format Label Ref.
Various April 1, 2019
Republic [20]
United Kingdom April 5, 2019 Contemporary hit radio [48]
gollark: Maybe.
gollark: Don't think so.
gollark: Okay, I don't think Discord can accept ANSI escape sequences?
gollark: If someone says "added to your [a-z]+ profile".
gollark: Idea: an achievement for being apiologically profiled.

References
  1. Victoria Monét (2 May 2019). Victoria Monét "MONOPOLY" Official Lyrics & Meaning – Verified. Genius. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  2. Chloe Gilke (1 April 2019). "Ariana Grande And Victoria Monet's 'Monopoly' Is A Celebratory Trap-Pop Banger". Uproxx. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  3. "Ariana Grande and Victoria Monét - MONOPOLY". YouTube. April 1, 2019. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  4. Daly, Rhian (March 28, 2019). "Ariana Grande to release new song 'Monopoly' next week". NME. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  5. Rosseinsky, Katie (April 1, 2019). "Ariana Grande Monopoly: fans convinced singer has come out as bisexual in leaked lyrics". London Evening Standard. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  6. Ceneviva, Alex (April 2, 2019). "Ariana Grande shot "Monopoly" music video at Mohegan Sun". WTNH. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  7. "アリアナ・グランデの大ヒット・アルバム『thank u, next』のデラックス・エディションが、日本のファンの為だけにリリース決定！その"特別な発売日"とは！？" [Ariana Grande's blockbuster album "thank u, next" deluxe edition is released only for Japanese fans! When is the special release date?]. Universal Music Japan (in Japanese). 27 May 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  8. Ariana Grande [@ArianaGrande] (27 March 2019). "man, let's drop it tomorrow night @VictoriaMonet 🖤 seven rings is ab to be number one for eight weeks and the album might go back to no. 1 too.... we need to celebrate tbh ! life too short and too sweet rn. hmmmmmmm" (Tweet). Retrieved 30 May 2019 – via Twitter.
  9. Victoria Monét (28 March 2019). "Victoria Monét on Twitter: "Yoo lets drop it Monday so we can celebrate an 8th week at number 1!!Cause this shit is insaaaane"". Twitter. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  10. Gonzales, Erica (2019-04-01). "All the Boss Lyrics to Ariana Grande & Victoria Monét's "Monopoly"". Harper's BAZAAR. Retrieved 2020-06-14.
  11. Victoria Monét (9 November 2018). "Victoria Monét on Twitter: "I want everyone to know that I'm single (since people wanna pretend I'm not) and make imaginary rules for me. I secretly and respectfully went through a difficult break up this summer but enough is enough. I also like girls. Thank U, Next. Bye ✌🏾"". Twitter. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  12. Victoria Monét (9 November 2018). "Victoria Monét on Twitter: "See both sides like Chanel"". Twitter. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  13. "Ariana Grande Responds To Speculation She's Bisexual After Telling 'Monopoly' Lyrics". Capital FM. 2 April 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  14. Evan Minsker; Matthew Strauss (1 April 2019). "Ariana Grande and Victoria Monét Drop New Song "Monopoly": Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  15. Jackson McHenry (1 April 2019). "Ariana Grande and Victoria Monét Provide a Meme-Heavy Bisexual Bop With Their 'Monopoly' Video". Vulture. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  16. El Hunt (2 April 2019). "Ariana Grande and Victoria Monét's 'Monopoly' banishes fake friends away from the board". NME. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  17. Briana Ellison (2 April 2019). "Trending: How about if Ariana Grande doesn't want to be labeled, we don't label her". The Washington Post. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  18. Gabrielle Alexa (5 April 2019). "Why Everyone Is Obsessed With Ariana Grande's Bicurious Songs". Broadly. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  19. Ella Braidwood (2 April 2019). "Ariana Grande accused of 'queerbaiting' in new song 'Monopoly'". PinkNews. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  20. Grande, Ariana; Monét, Victoria (April 1, 2019). "MONOPOLY - Single by Ariana Grande & Victoria Monét on Apple Music". music.apple.com.
  21. MONOPOLY / Ariana Grande – TIDAL
  22. "Australian-charts.com – Ariana Grande & Victoria Monét – Monopoly". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  23. "Ultratop.be – Ariana Grande & Victoria Monét – Monopoly" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  24. "Ultratop.be – Ariana Grande & Victoria Monét – Monopoly" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  25. "Ariana Grande Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  26. "China Airplay Chart/Foreign Language - 29/04/2019". Billboard China (in Chinese). Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  27. "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – SINGLES DIGITAL – TOP 100 and insert 201915 into search. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  28. "Lescharts.com – Ariana Grande & Victoria Monét – Monopoly" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  29. "Offiziellecharts.de – Ariana Grande & Victoria Monét – Monopoly". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  30. "IFPI Charts". 2019-04-17. Archived from the original on 2019-04-17. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  31. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  32. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Stream Top 40 slágerlista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  33. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Ariana Grande". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  34. "מדיה פורסט - לדעת שאתה באוויר". Mediaforest.biz. Archived from the original on July 17, 2019. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  35. "Billboard Japan Hot Overseas". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). April 22, 2019. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  36. "Mūzikas Patēriņa Tops/ 15. nedēļa" (in Latvian). LAIPA. Archived from the original on October 10, 2019. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
  37. "Savaitės klausomiausi (TOP 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. April 12, 2019. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  38. "Dutchcharts.nl – Ariana Grande & Victoria Monét – Monopoly" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  39. "Charts.nz – Ariana Grande & Victoria Monét – Monopoly". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  40. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  41. "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 201915 into search. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  42. "Swedishcharts.com – Ariana Grande & Victoria Monét – Monopoly". Singles Top 100. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  43. "Swisscharts.com – Ariana Grande & Victoria Monét – Monopoly". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  44. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  45. "Ariana Grande Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  46. "Top AFP - Audiogest - Top 3000 Singles + EPs Digitais" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  47. "Canadian single certifications – Ariana Grande & Victoria Monet – Monopoly". Music Canada. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  48. BBC - Radio 1 Playlist at the Wayback Machine (archived April 5, 2019)
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