"Stuck with U" is a song by American singerAriana Grande and Canadian singerJustin Bieber. It was released throughRepublic Records,Def Jam Recordings, and Silent Records Ventures as a single on May 8, 2020.[2] Both artists wrote the song alongside producersFreddy Wexler andGian Stone alongsideWhitney Phillips, their manager,Scooter Braun, andSkyler Stonestreet. Primarily apop andR&B song, "Stuck with U" features elements ofdoo-wop. "Stuck with U" marks the second collaboration between Grande and Bieber, following their duet on the remix of the latter's chart-topping single, "What Do You Mean?"; the original song and remix both appear on his fourth studio album,Purpose (2015).
The song debuted atop theBillboard Hot 100, chart issue dated May 23, 2020, becoming Grande's third and Bieber's sixth U.S. number-one single.[3] In addition, both artists debut at number one on the chart for a third time each.The song also debuted at number one on theRolling Stone Top 100, chart issue dated May 21, 2020, becoming Grande's second and Bieber's first number-one single.[4] It is certifieddouble platinum by theRIAA. Internationally, The song also topped the charts in Canada, Lebanon, Malaysia, New Zealand, Israel, and Singapore; and reached the top-ten in 17 other countries. "Stuck with U" also won the award for Best Music Video From Home at the2020 MTV Video Music Awards and the award for Favorite Music Collaboration at the2021 Kids' Choice Awards.[5][6] As of August 2021, the song has raised over $3.5 million for the First Responders Children's Foundation, going directly to thousands of first responders' families around the U.S.[7][8]
On April 30, 2020, Bieber tweeted "Special announcement tomorrow at 10 am pst...", following which Grande also tweeted in anticipation of it. The next day, the artists took to their social media to announce the release of their song on May 8, 2020. It first premiered at 21:00 PDT on May 7, 2020.[9] All net proceeds from the track would be donated to the First Responders Children's Foundation.[2] A partnership negotiated by Up To More Good. The money would fund scholarships of children of frontline workers whose lives have been affected by theCOVID-19 pandemic.[10][11] During anASCAP interview, co-writersGian Stone andWhitney Phillips revealed that the song was originally meant to be a solo performance and that it was Grande's idea to turn it into a duet with Bieber.[12]
Anna Gaca ofPitchfork stated "Stuck with U" is "merely serviceable as a pop song" but "a big upgrade from that other product of rich-people lockdown culture: the celebrities singing 'Imagine'. Instead of a bad take on a hoary classic, Grande and Bieber offer a new song with a pleasantly retro doo-wop vibe. Instead ofPollyannaish optimism, they sound a note of resignation."[17]
"Stuck with U" debuted at number one on theBillboardHot 100, becoming Bieber's sixth and Grande's third number one single. The song is also both Bieber's and Grande's third song to debut at number one, tying both artists withMariah Carey andDrake for the most songs that debuted at number one. Grande later broke this tie with "Rain on Me" debuting at number one on theBillboard Hot 100.[18] Grande also became the first artist to have their first three number-ones debut at the top spot. The song sales was aided by a variety of physical/digital combination offerings during the tracking week, including copies autographed by Grande and Bieber. Consumers could also purchase cassette, CD and vinyl singles, each with a digital download. "Stuck With U" is also the third female-male duet in over a year since "Señorita" byShawn Mendes andCamila Cabello and "Shallow" byLady Gaga andBradley Cooper to top the Hot 100.[3] The song also debuted at number one on theDigital Songs chart with 108,000 downloads, becoming the first song to crack over 100,000 downloads in the first week since "Me!" byTaylor Swift featuringBrendon Urie (193,000 downloads). The song is Grande's sixth chart-topper on the said chart, also Bieber's twelfth, surpassing Drake as the male artist with the most, and overall the third artist, behind Swift andRihanna.[3][19] In its second week on the Hot 100, "Stuck with U" dropped to number 13.[20]
"Stuck with U" debuted at number two on theIrish Singles Chart, becoming Bieber's 20th and Grande's 15th top ten hit;[21] Bieber also becomes the artist with most top fifty hits in history of the said chart surpassingEminem andRihanna who have scored 52 each.[22]
"Stuck with U" debuted at number one on TheRolling Stone Top 100, becoming Bieber's first and Grande's second number one single. The song is also Grande's second song to debut at number one making her the first female artist to earn two number one debuts on the Rolling Stone 100 singles chart.[23]
On the same day as the release of "Stuck with U", rapper6ix9ine, who had been incarcerated but had earlier in the month been released to home confinement due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, released his comeback single "Gooba", which debuted atop theBillboardStreaming Songs chart, and peaked at number three on theBillboard Hot 100, on the week dated May 23, 2020.[3] The rapper took to social media afterwards to accuseBillboard of "chart manipulation" and accuse both Grande and Bieber of "buying" their way to number one on the chart.[24] In anInstagram post, 6ix9ine alleged that the artists used six credit cards to buy 30,000 copies of "Stuck with U" without providing evidence.[25] Grande and Bieber both denied the allegations.[24] Grande and Bieber's managerScooter Braun would address 6ix9ine's claims that his streams didn't count, stating that "he [6ix9ine] is counting his global streams and this is a domestic chart so only domestic streams count". Braun also added that the last-minute disclosure of 60,000 units was the result of their team strategy to keep the numbers quiet until the end of the week, and pointed out that "using six credit cards to buy 30K" is impossible by stating "the rules are clear one credit card can buy max 4 copies".[26][27][28] Bieber defended Grande by reposting Braun's statement onInstagram stories adding that "this is my song with Ariana Grande and I'm honored to work with her to help raise money for a great cause. If you gonna say her name make sure you say mine because it's our song".[29][30]
6ix9ine made a subsequent video addressing Grande, in which he said he wasn't coming after her on a personal level butBillboard, despite his previous statements speculating against Grande and Bieber.[24]
Billboard released a statement on May 18, 2020, the same day 6ix9ine made the accusations, to explain the results.Billboard stated that 6ix9ine's "six credit cards" claim was inaccurate, as bulk purchases are recognized and removed from the final sales total. They also stated that the Hot 100 forecast he had referenced in an earlier Instagram post prior to the release of that week's chart reveal was not created by them and that they do not distribute any of their rankings to labels, management, or artist. About the discrepancy between YouTube's visible play count for "Gooba", over 180 million at that moment, and the number of streamsBillboard counted for the song, 55.3 million, they explain "counts for a video on its YouTube page are for global plays, and absent any other auditing filters [...]Billboard counts only U.S. based plays for its charts."[31]
Bieber also posted a lyric video with an animation of the house drawn in the cover.[35] The video was created by Katia Temkin and the artwork of the house was made by Liana Finck.[35] A fan-made Prom Scenes video that shows prom scenes from movies was released on Bieber'sYouTube channel on May 9.[36] On May 11, he released a Mother's Day Edition of the music video.[37]
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic.Note: Select 20. týden 2020 in the date selector. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
