Entertainment

Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj Dropped Another Collab And Fans Are Ecstatic

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On Tuesday evening, fans were ecstatic as dynamic duo Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj's "The Light Is Coming" dropped. The catchy new song, which will be featured on Grande's forthcoming new album, demonstrates once again that Grande and Minaj can produce some impressive tracks when they come together.

According to Forbes, "The Light Is Coming," is the fourth song on which Grande and Minaj have collaborated — and the second one this month. As the outlet noted, Grande has been dropping hints about the collaboration for nearly a month, leaving fans eagerly awaiting its release.

As you might've guessed, fans on social media were thrilled when the song finally came out. As one Twitter user wrote, "The light is coming is such a great song @NICKIMINAJ killed her verse as always and @ArianaGrande did amazing! Such an iconic duo in today's music."

Another user commented, "the light is coming it's amazing and i love the fact that she finally starting to experiment with new sounds. Ariana did that!!! #TheLightIsComing."

The song was released at midnight on Tuesday. Its accompanying music video is scheduled to be released on Wednesday at 12:00 p.m. EST. According to Billboard, the video is exclusively available on Reebok's website. Reebok is one of Grande's creative partners and, in order to watch the video initially, fans need to sign up on the company's website.

"The Light is Coming" was co-written and produced by singer and songwriter Pharrell. It is the second single from Grande's upcoming album, Sweetener, which is due to be released on Aug. 17. The initial single from Grande's album, "No Tears Left to Cry," was released on April 20.

“The Light Is Coming” constitutes the fourth song on which Minaj and Grande have collaborated. As Forbes described, the two musicians initially teamed up for fellow singer Jessie J's song, "Bang Bang," — a collaboration which resulted in Grammy nominations for the three women. They next got together for Grande's song, “Side to Side," in 2016, which made the top ten list in the United States. And, earlier this month, the duo collaborated on Minaj's song, "Bed," which she released ahead of her forthcoming Queen album.

Jon Blistein of Rolling Stone characterized the duo's latest vocal collaboration as "slightly surreal," writing:

'The Light is Coming' features production from Pharrell, who crafts a jittery beat of quick drums and peculiar synths that rush above an ever present, and slightly surreal, vocal sample. Minaj opens the track with a barrage of punchlines, after which Grande takes over, delivering a dynamic vocal performance that finds her running alongside Pharrell's production one moment, then swooning in the pocket of its groove the next.

Grande seemed ecstatic in the lead-up to the song's release on Tuesday. On her Twitter account, she began a countdown to its midnight release several hours beforehand. She also tweeted at producer Pharrell Williams, writing, "love u so much there are no words @pharrell #thelightiscomingtonight."

The release of "The Light Is Coming" is the latest special event planned by Grande to promote her new album. Back in May, the singer announced that, until the album's release date, "something special" related to the album will take place on the 20th of each month. Fans can look forward to one more surprise on July 20 and then can acquire the album on its release date on Aug. 17. Grande also revealed on Tuesday night that Sweetener is now officially available for pre-order.

Overall, fans of both Grande and Minaj seemed to be thrilled about the release of the duo's new collaboration. Now, many of them are likely similarly eagerly anticipating the release of the music video for "The Light Is Coming," which will officially premiere on Wednesday.