Hot 100 Haus: Ariana Grande’s ‘7 Rings’

Welcome to Hot 100 Haus, where writer Chris Will breaks down each No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 for 2019.

Hot 100 – No. 1 for the week of Feb 2, 2019:

“7 Rings” – Ariana Grande 

Written by: Ariana Grande, Charles Anderson, Michael Foster, Tayla Parx, Tommy Brown, Victoria Monét, Njomza Vitia, Richard Rogers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Kimberly Krysiuk

Produced by: Tommy Brown, Charles Anderson, Michael Foster

But Why: “7 Rings” checks off just about every box for what a chart-topping single from a pop artist would look like in 2019 (should look like is a different story altogether). A pop star borrowing the melody from a Sound of Music number to make a trap-flavored pop song about being a bad, rich bitch was already going to turn heads, but from a pop star who’s currently writing the book on flipping a series of unfortunate (and traumatizing) events into self-love and stacks, it’s a guaranteed smash. The song is comfortable enough for the majority of her white fan base to feel like they’re listening to hip-hop without having to actually support the multitude of black female rappers out here who are hustling for fame, creating bomb ass records and telling incredible stories in the process. It also has just enough bass and percussion to hit hard enough so that, even if you don’t vibe with it, you’ll still dance and sing to it when it comes on at the club. Hip-hop is also one of the highest-streamed genres in music, and Ariana is a staple on pop radio, so she clearly had metrics on her side from the get-go.

Stats On Stats: Per Billboard’s weekly top 10 article, “7 Rings” marks Grande’s second No. 1 single, after the seven-week leader “thank u, next” that debuted at No. 1 in mid-November of last year.

The smash puts very impressive numbers in streaming and digital sales, debuting at No. 1 on both charts. It clocked 85.3 million US streams in its first week, the second biggest streaming week by a female artist, surpassed only by her last No. 1 “thank u, next,” which debuted with 93.8 million streams. It also charts at No. 1 on the Digital Song Sales chart with 96,000 downloads in its first week.

With two No. 1 debuts, Grande joins Britney Spears and Mariah Carey as the only women in history with multiple No. 1 debuts. She is one of only five artists overall with multiple No. 1 debuts, adding Justin Bieber and Drake to the list.

Next Week’s #1: “7 rings.” Without a doubt. It’s still No. 1 on iTunes, still racking up views and gaining traction at radio, and in the last 3 days, there have been a wild amount of dance videos that have cropped up on YouTube to give it even more visibility. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was number one through most of February.

Feel Old Yet: The first time a white girl “rapped” on a No. 1 hit song? When Blondie’s “Rapture” hit No. 1 in March of 1981. The song featured a [very questionable] rap-esque verse from Debbie Harry about eating cars, among other things.

I Have Feelings: 

Is it weird to say that I appreciate the song, but I don’t like it? I appreciate the fact that she completely flipped from “thank u, next” and changed the narrative from “I’m reflecting on my relationships” to “who needs men I have my friends and stupid amounts of money.” I appreciate the fact that while Pete Davidson continues to spout absolutely disgusting things about her in public, she’s moved past it (at least in the public light) and is THRIVING. I appreciate the fact that Ariana Grande now has more than one No. 1 single under her belt, and I appreciate the fact that she’s trying on different musical styles and making money off her experimentation, as radio safe as it may be. I appreciate the fact that, though she wrote this song with black artists who have made hip-hop music, she shouts them out and credits them for helping her in her success regularly. I also appreciate the fact that she, Tayla Parx and Victoria Monet took the flows from 2 Chainz and Soulja Boy songs, which generally objectify and put down women, and flipped the narrative into a song about female empowerment. I appreciate the line “whoever said money can’t solve their problems, must not have had enough money to solve them,” and that it’s to the tune of “My Favorite Things.” Above all else, I REALLY appreciate that little choreo she and her dancers do in the video, where they basically kick back into doing a 180, sway their hips and cock their head back on beat. It’s REAL cute, and I’m probably going to try to emulate it in public the next time I hear this song, to varying degrees of failure.

What I don’t like is that there’s nothing truly extraordinary that Ariana brings to the table with “7 Rings.” It’s a song that was made to be a hit and truly nothing else, and though most Ariana Grande songs are like that, this one feels completely doctored and more than a little forced. “thank u, next” had some really great songwriting (from a pop music perspective), and a good deal of her past hits have had Ariana putting serious work in on the vocals, even if the lyrics and beat fall flat. I also don’t like that she likely won’t be putting any legitimate female rappers on this song for a remix, because there are some women out there who could SKATE on this great beat. Can you imagine Tierra Whack doing her wacky, badass warble-rap over that beat, talking about all kinds of weird and crazy things? Saweetie coolly flexing her money, intelligence and beauty with her pouty flow? Rico Nasty tearing that entire production to shreds? Cupcakke or Megan Thee Stallion pulverizing that rapid-fire flow towards the end? The production is fantastic, and it’s not even being utilized to its fullest. It’s a shame.

Let us know your thoughts on “7 Rings,” and look out for future installments as more tracks hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 this year!

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