Research

Album: Dark Sky Paradise (2015)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song features Sean's girlfriend at the time, pop princess Ariana Grande. However, the lyrics about a suspicious lover have nothing to do with their own romance. "We were both able to just put our situation set aside and just be artists and, you know, be creative," the rapper told E! News. "Because that's real situations people go through and sometimes it's just about making music that people can relate to."
  • This was the third time Big Sean and Grande teamed up in the studio, following the rapper's guest appearances on the former Victorious star's "Right There" and "Best Mistake." They called off their romance later in 2015, but it's all good: Sean got with another of his collaborators, Jhené Aiko, and Grande moved on to Mac Miller and Pete Davidson. She gives him a shout in her 2018 track "Thank U, Next."
  • Sean told MTV News that even though the lyrics aren't about his situation with Grande, they crafted something that should be relatable to others. "It's a real-ass situation even though it's not real to our situation right now, it feels like everybody can relate to that. People going through your stuff and research and all that," he said. "That's the whole thing of the album, we wanted to keep the concepts what we go through, what people go through. As far as me and her's situation, our relationship, nah we aren't going through nothing like that."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Weird Al Yankovic

Weird Al YankovicFact or Fiction

Did Al play on a Beach Boys record? Did he have beef with George Lucas and Coolio? See if you can spot weird but true stories.

How The Beatles Crafted Killer Choruses

How The Beatles Crafted Killer ChorusesSong Writing

The author of Help! 100 Songwriting, Recording And Career Tips Used By The Beatles, explains how the group crafted their choruses so effectively.

Top American Idol Moments: Songs And Scandals

Top American Idol Moments: Songs And ScandalsSong Writing

Surprise exits, a catfight and some very memorable performances make our list of the most memorable Idol moments.

Emmylou Harris

Emmylou HarrisSongwriter Interviews

She thinks of herself as a "song interpreter," but back in the '80s another country star convinced Emmylou to take a crack at songwriting.

Hardy

HardySongwriter Interviews

The country hitmaker talks about his debut album, A Rock, and how a nursery rhyme inspired his hit single "One Beer."

Jimmy Webb

Jimmy WebbSongwriter Interviews

Webb talks about his classic songs "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," "Wichita Lineman" and "MacArthur Park."