"Right by My Side" is a song by rapperNicki Minaj featuring American singerChris Brown. It was released on March 27, 2012, byYoung Money,Cash Money, andUniversal Republic as the second single from Minaj's second album,Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded (2012). The song was written byEster Dean and Minaj, while production was handled byPop & Oak.

Musically, "Right by My Side" is an upbeatballad infused with elements ofpop. It was compared to several other songs, includingJordin Sparks "No Air", in which Brown was featured on,Rihanna's "You da One", and even Minaj's own track "Right Thru Me". Critics noted the song's "bubbly" persona, as well as its high-quality production. Minaj performed the song live for the first time on106 & Park on April 3, 2012, and also performed the single during her surprise appearance at theNokia Lumia 900 launch inTimes Square.

"Right by My Side" was serviced to Rhythmic and Urban radio on its release date. It peaked at number 51 on theBillboard Hot 100, hit 5 other charts (peaking at number 17 on theUSRhythmic charts, its highest position), and receiveddouble platinum certification by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

In an interview withRyan Seacrest, Minaj said about the song: "Toward the end of the album I wanted something more melodic that I could give to urban radio and that pop radio could enjoy as well. I actually had the beats for like 3 months just sitting in my computer and then I said, 'You know what? This sounds like a summer, R&B classic joint' and I just could not hear anyone else on it but Chris Brown. So I reached out to Ester Dean and I said, 'Could you write something for Chris Brown?' Because she's amazing with writing and especially for his voice, she has a great skill to write for his tone and she sent it, I fell in love with it, you know 'cause everybody has had a relationship like this song is talking about, [so] I went in and I wrote my rap, cause I'm rapping and singing in the song, and when we put it all together and let people hear it, everybody was like, this is a hit, release this ASAP."^[2]

"Right by My Side" is an upbeat take on adowntempoballad.^[3][4] The song is also heavily influenced bypop, and features a "glossy", "bubbly" production.^[5][6][7] Some critics found similarities between "Right by My Side" and other songs by fellow female R&B artists, specificallyJordin Sparks andRihanna. Both Justin Ray ofBillboard, Andrew Hampp ofBillboard, and Robbie Daw ofIdolator found the lyrics and themes similar to those of Sparks 2008 single "No Air" which also featured Brown,^[8][9][10] Andrew Unterberger of Popdust felt the song was a more successful version ofRihanna's "You da One".^[11]

Andrew Hampp ofBillboard said the song sounded "sonically similar toJordin Sparks and Brown's 'No Air'", and complimented Minaj for letting her guard down.^[9] Jesal Padania of Rap Reviews criticized the song for being weak, as well as commenting on the choice to release it as a single, saying "I guess they choose star power over star quality."^[12] Andrew Martin of Prefix Magazine was disappointed that the song featured almost no rapping, and called it another "soft-as-hell ballad".^[13] In a separate article, Justin Ray ofBillboard gave a positive review of the song, and praised Brown's verse.^[14]

Upon being released, "Right by My Side" entered the USHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart at 52 in its opening week,^[15] and peaked at 21 on the chart. "Right by My Side" debuted and peaked at 51 in theBillboard Hot 100.^[16] The song also peaked at number 70 on theUK Singles Chart on the week ending June 17, 2012.^[17]

Filming for the music video began on April 28, 2012^[18] and ended the next morning.^[19] It featuresNas as Nicki Minaj's love interest.^[20] In the video, Minaj dons a blonde wig. The video consists mainly of the duo enjoying each other's company, featuring scenes such as the two of them going shopping, holding hands, hugging, or Nicki jumping intoNas' arms in joy. There are also cut away scenes of Chris Brown singing, Nicki Minaj and Chris Brown singing together against a grey background and Nas looking stressed as Nicki raps about arguing. The music video, which was directed byBenny Boom, was released on May 16, 2012.^[21]

Minaj performed "Right by My Side" live for the first time on April 3, 2012, on106 & Park, along with "Beez in the Trap", "Roman Reloaded", "HOV Lane", "I Am Your Leader", "Champion", and "Fire Burns". She also surprised fans by performing the single for the launch ofNokia Lumia 900 inTimes Square on April 6, 2012.^[22] Minaj performed the song in a mash-up with "Starships" onThe Ellen DeGeneres Show on May 10, 2012.^[23] Minaj performed "Right by My Side" live during Radio 1's Hackney Weekend on June 23, 2012, as part of the line-up on the main stage.^{[citation needed]}

• 2012 songs
• Nicki Minaj songs
• Chris Brown songs
• Cash Money Records singles
• Songs written by Nicki Minaj
• Contemporary R&B ballads
• Pop ballads
• Music videos directed by Benny Boom
• Songs written by Pop Wansel
• Songs written by Ester Dean
• Songs written by Oak Felder
• 2010s ballads

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