"Problem" is a song by American singer-songwriter Ariana Grande, featuring Australian rapper Iggy Azalea. It was released by Republic Records on April 28, 2014 as the lead single from Grande's second studio album, My Everything (2014). It was written by both alongside Ilya Salmanzadeh, Max Martin, and Savan Kotecha, being produced by the former two with Shellback, with Peter Carlsson serving as a vocal producer. "Problem" is an uptempo dance-pop and R&B song with influences of funk music, which comprises a melody based on drums, saxophone loops, and trumpets. The chorus features uncredited background vocals from American hip-hop artist Big Sean. Lyrically, Grande has stated that the song is about "the feeling of being absolutely terrified to re-approach a relationship that's gone sour – but you want to more than anything."
The song debuted at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold 438,000 copies in its first week, earning Grande her biggest digital song sales week ever. The song later peaked at number two, becoming Grande's highest-charting single and Azalea's second-highest after "Fancy", which blocked "Problem" from the top spot. The song remained in the top ten of the Hot 100 for sixteen weeks and topped the US Mainstream Top 40 and Rhythmic charts. Internationally, the single debuted at the top of the charts in Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, while peaking within the top ten of the charts in most other territories, including Australia, Canada, Mexico, Sweden, Denmark, and Greece. "Problem" became the first song to top the UK Singles Chart based on both sales and streaming.
To promote the song, Grande performed it first at the 2014 Radio Disney Music Awards, followed by the 2014 iHeartRadio Music Awards, on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards. The song's accompanying music video was directed by Nev Todorovic and premiered on Vevo on May 30, 2014. It won "Best Pop Video" at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards and has been viewed more than 1.4 billion times on YouTube as of January 2025. The song itself won "Best Song" at the 2014 MTV Europe Music Awards. As of 2024, the single has sold 3.7 million copies in the US and has been certified octuple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It ultimately reached combined sales and track-equivalent streams of 9 million units worldwide, becoming one of the best-selling singles ever.
Background Following the release of Grande's debut studio album Yours Truly in September 2013, which was met with critical acclaim, Grande announced in October 2013 that she had already begun writing and working on her second studio album with previous producers from her debut album, including Harmony Samuels, Babyface, The Rascals and Tommy Brown. Grande was initially aiming at releasing the album around February 2014. In January 2014, recording sessions for the album officially began and Grande confirmed she was working with new producers Ryan Tedder, Savan Kotecha, Benny Blanco and Max Martin. It was announced on March 3, 2014, that Grande would be featured on the fifth single from Chris Brown's upcoming sixth studio album X titled "Don't Be Gone Too Long". The single was originally set for release on March 25, 2014, but it was postponed due to Brown being sent to jail awaiting trial on assault charges. Grande announced the song's delay on March 17, 2014, via Twitter, stating "My loves... so obviously some things have changed recently... So we have to delay the dbgtl countdown, some things are out of our control". That same night she held a live stream to make up for the single's delay, where she previewed four new songs from her second album. Two days later, Grande revealed that due to the song's delay, she would be releasing the first single from her upcoming sophomore studio album earlier instead.
Grande and Azalea had originally planned for Azalea to appear on Grande's debut album in September 2013, however, it never panned out. Once Grande began working on "Problem" she thought Azalea would be the perfect fit for the track to create "the perfect girl-power duo" for the song. Azalea agreed to appear on the song and went in with producer Max Martin to write her own verse before recording it for the song. The line "one less problem without you" was inspired by an article from Cosmopolitan. Big Sean, who is featured in Grande's previous single "Right There", also appears on the song uncredited as a background vocalist in which he provides the whisper-like vocals of the chorus although he is not a featured artist. Initially while recording songs for the album, after Grande had recorded "Problem" she "fell out of love" with the song and didn't want it to appear on her second album. However, following an album listening session with her management and record label, when "Problem" came on Grande said "What the hell is wrong with me? Holy shit!", realizing her love for the song and decided to keep it for the album. Lyrically, the song is about "the feeling of being absolutely terrified to re-approach a relationship that's gone sour – but you want to more than anything."
Release and remixes After recording multiple songs for the album, Grande stated that she had chosen the first single from her album. On April 15, 2014, it was officially announced that "Problem" would be the title of the lead single from the album. Grande later hinted that Australian rapper Iggy Azalea would accompany her on the track. She created online buzz in the weeks leading up to her single's release through social media, first released promotional images from the single's photo shoot all throughout March 2014. On April 10, 2014, Grande asked her fans to choose between two new possible images to be used for the single's artwork release. After the votes were tallied, she revealed the winning cover artwork through her Instagram account the next day with the hashtag #10daystilproblem, and revealed that Iggy Azalea would be assisting her on the track. The winning image, the more seductive image of the pair, shows Grande leaning back in a foldout chair, dressed in a black camisole, white thigh-highs, and metal-tipped stilettos. Grande is also shown flipping through her hair while looking directly into the camera. The song was released at midnight to iTunes on April 28, 2014. The single was made available for pre-order on April 21, 2014. The single made its world radio premiere on On Air with Ryan Seacrest on April 28, 2014. A remix of the song was released on May 16, 2014, entitled the "Young California Remix" and features an additional rap verse from American rapper Problem. A Spanglish version of the song was also released featuring Colombian rapper J Balvin for the Hispanophone market, making it the second collaboration between the two artists. On August 11, a remix version by DJ Boss in Drama was released in Brazil featuring Brazilian pop singer Gretchen.
Composition Musically, "Problem" is an uptempo dance-pop and R&B song that incorporates elements of jazz, contemporary '90s R&B, hip hop and funk which comprises the instruments like drums, saxophones and trumpets. It runs for a duration of three minutes and 14 seconds. The song was written by Grande, Azalea, Savan Kotecha, Ilya Salmanzadeh and Max Martin, and produced by the latter two along with Shellback. Musicnotes published this song in the key of G minor in common time at a moderate tempo of 103 beats per minute. The melody spans the tonal range of G3 to G5 belt and D6 in falsetto, while the music follows the chord progression of Emaj7–F–B– Emaj7–F–Gm.
The track opens with a dose of "jazzy saxophones" before the more modern "horn-heavy" "drum-filled beat drops". The song's melody constantly builds toward something that "should be explosive", before Azalea brings it back down with her verse "Smart money bettin' I'll be better off without you/ In no time I'll be forgettin' all about you/ You sayin' that you know but I really, really doubt you/understand my life is easy when I ain't around you." Azalea also makes a reference to the Jay-Z song "99 Problems" at the end of her verse "There's a million yous baby boo, so don't be dumb/ I got 99 problems but you won't be one." Additionally, Grande's notes serve as a metaphor for what the song is about. She can't get rid of her crush, who she knows isn't good for her and can't help but fall in love quickly. As her "heart gets lighter and lighter", Grande sings "Head in the clouds/ got no weight on my shoulders/ I should be wiser and realize that I've got/ One less problem without you." A writer from Rap-Up describes the track as an "infectious horn-heavy jam" which features a "carefree" Ariana "declaring her independence" which also includes "an empowering verse from Iggy Azalea and a whispering Big Sean on the hook." Several critics noted a similarity between the jazzy saxophone breakdown in "Problem" and Jason Derulo's 2013 single "Talk Dirty."
Critical reception
Mike Wass of Idolator described the song as "an odd blend of '90s pop and current urban trends but there's no denying that it's catchy." Entertainment Weekly called the song a "dramatic reinvention," and also notes, "The idea that Grande was collaborating with bad girl du jour Iggy Azalea prompted all kinds of speculation, and the result is more or less what everybody expected: Grande's enviable pipes are still the centerpiece, but she also invites a sax-drunk loop, sexy whisper tracks, and Azalea's Jay Z-referencing high-speed verse to the party as well." Music Times commented that "the saxophone-filled track continues the pattern set by Grande's 2013 debut album Yours Truly by being heavily influenced by the '90s R&B scene. This time, 'Problem' pulls from the funky, funky streets with a jazz-influenced riff. An overwhelming (but welcome) dose of saxophone leads the song before the more modern drum-filled beat drops." In addition, 4Music said "Ariana's sweet-sounding vocals contrast brilliantly with Problem's sexy sax and Iggy's gritty rap."
Pitchfork named it "Best New Track", saying that it "bears all the hallmarks of a future smash, as if the future wasn't actually right now." Writing for MTV, Emilee Lindner praised the song's throwback sound, which Grande admits to striving for, while still keeping it fresh and modern, stating: "The song is so excitingly new but also decidedly so retro... The cranky sax, the whispered chorus, the airy harmonies and Iggy's snarky feature all tied in with a juicy modern beat." Lindner continued by calling it "the freshest pop song of the moment", commending the song's production for its "more than a few unexpected throwbacks", comparing the saxophone loops to Jennifer Lopez's 2004 single "Get Right" saying "It's the same notes over and over, but its attitude doesn't let you zone out", while the whispers in the chorus echoes to the Ying Yang Twins' 2005 single "Wait." In July 2014, Billboard listed the song as one of the "10 Best Songs of 2014 (so far)" saying that "the snappy R&B of Ariana Grande's breakout hit 'The Way' feels minimalist compared to the multi-faceted bubblegum of 'Problem'". Meanwhile, Pitchfork named it the 33rd best song of 2014. At the time of the single's release, Problem became Grande's highest-charting song on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at the number 2 spot.
Accolades Year Organization Award Result 2014MTV Europe Music AwardsBest SongMTV Millennial AwardsInternational Hit of The YearMTV Video Music AwardsBest Female VideoBest PopBest CollaborationBest Lyric VideoNRJ Music AwardsInternational Song of the YearTeen Choice AwardsChoice Music Single: Female Artist Young Hollywood AwardsSong of the Summer/DJ Replay2015iHeartRadio Music AwardsBest CollaborationMTV Video Music Awards JapanBest Female VideoNickelodeon Kids' Choice AwardsSong of The YearRadio Disney Music AwardsSong of the Year
Commercial performance North America