| "Just Look Up" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Promotional single byAriana Grande andKid Cudi | ||||
| from the albumDon't Look Up (Soundtrack from the Netflix Film) | ||||
| Released | December 3, 2021 | |||
| Recorded | 2021 | |||
| Genre | Pop[1][2] | |||
| Length | 3:22 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Composers | ||||
| Lyricists | ||||
| Producer | Nicholas Britell | |||
| Ariana Grandepromotional singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| Just Look Up onYouTube | ||||
"Just Look Up" is a song by American singer-songwriterAriana Grande and American rapperKid Cudi. The song was written by both artists alongside American film composerNicholas Britell and American songwriterTaura Stinson, for the 2021 satirical science fiction filmDon't Look Up, which both artists star in.[3] The song was issued on December 3, 2021 for streaming and digital download prior to the soundtrack's release.[4][5]
Ariana Grande and Kid Cudi star in the film as pop musicpower couple Riley Bina and DJ Chello, respectively. In satire fashion, news about their fluctuating relationship dominates the media, eclipsing news of the inevitable destruction of the Earth. "Just Look Up" starts off as alove song, then transforms into a rallying cry to listen to the scientists' message that humankind does not have much time left.[6]
Nicholas Britell read a draft of the script and had talked to the film's directorAdam McKay for some time. He went to his piano and came up with a melody "for the chorus where I wanted it to feel like it was going upward". He played the song to Grande, who asked if she could "go into the booth and try some things out [...] And she basically laid down the entire vocal top line of the song with no lyrics, just improvising this whole thing." Britell said he then found it difficult to "write lyrics for a song that has to start as a love song and pivot to a song about blowing up" and make it "convincing", so askedTaura Stinson for help, who said she was "intimidated" at first but hearing Grande's melody helped her write.Kid Cudi insisted on writing hisverse on his own.[7]
Stinson said the song can be taken as being "aboutpollution orclimate change or thevaccine. As I sat around the holidays with my family and a mask, it wasn't hard to fathom that." Britell was impressed upon receiving Stinson's lyrics, calling it "such a tricky thing to pull off. [... I]t's a sincere, real song that happens to express this absurd explanation of what is happening."[7]
McKay praised Grande's performance of the song. During a run-through of the duet with her co-star andRepublic Records label-mate Kid Cudi, she began ad-libbing and improvising lyrics to which McKay referred to as "comedic gold".[8][9] During the film scene where Grande's character performs the song, McKay went on to say that "Ariana sang it live. Every single take that we shot, she sang it live from beginning to end. It was an incredible thing."[10]
Jazz Tangcay, an editor forVariety, praised the song on Twitter, calling it "a banger and a ballad." She added that the song is "crashing into theOriginal song #Oscars race."[11] The song also received praise for its satirical and message and for Grande's vocals on the tune, with AwardsWatch founder Erik Anderson calling the song "fucking hilarious."[11]
Nicholas Gaudet of MusicTalkers called the song “cheesy, and wonderfully so. It’s apower-ballad done anew, all the while being so familiar.”[12] Mitchell Peters ofBillboard, wrote the song “finds Grande steering some romantic balladry with a gorgeous tone and open heart, while Cudi takes a few seconds to fully deploy his croon but sounds comfortable when it arrives.“[13]
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On December 14, 2021, Cudi and Grande appeared on the season finale of American singing competition seriesThe Voice, where they performed the song together live for the first time.[14]
The song has been nominated forBest Original Song by Chicago Indie Critics,[15]Hollywood Music in Media Awards,[16]Critics' Choice Movie Awards,[17]Denver Film Critics Society,[18] DiscussingFilm Critics Awards,[19]Georgia Film Critics Association,[20] andHawaii Film Critics Society,[21] among others. It won the 2022Society of Composers & Lyricists Award for Outstanding Original Song for a Comedy or Musical Visual Media Production.[22]
"Just Look Up" peaked at number seven on theNZ Hot Singles chart[23] and at 198 on theBillboard Global 200.
Credits for "Just Look Up" adapted fromAllMusic.[24]
| Chart (2021) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Global 200 (Billboard)[25] | 198 |
| New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[23] | 7 |
| Country | Date | Format | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | December 3, 2021 | Republic | [26] |
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