One Last Time (Ariana Grande song)

Background and release

"One Last Time" was written by the songwriting team Savan Kotecha, Rami Yacoub and Carl Falk, with Dutch producer Giorgio Tuinfort and French DJ David Guetta. Kotecha had already previously collaborated with Grande when producing the first, second, third and fourth single from My Everything. Guetta was working on his album Listen, and while making the album he chose to give "One Last Time" to Grande, since "[he] had like 120 songs and [was] trying to make an album that ma[de] sense because some of the songs can be great, but that doesn’t mean that they would fit together. ["One Last Time" is] one example," he claimed. "One Last Time" was strongly considered to be My Everything's lead-single, according to Republic Records' executive vice president Charlie Walk, however "Problem" was chosen instead, being the song that best "set the tone for the project." Later, ""Break Free" felt like summer," Walk claimed, while "Bang Bang" helped usher in Jessie J's album Sweet Talker, and "fall/winter felt like the best time for "Love Me Harder", since it's a heavier, darker record," he added.

Before being released as an official single, "One Last Time" was released for free via iTunes Stores as the album's second promotional single on August 22, 2014, following "Best Mistake", which was released on August 12, 2014. Ultimately, "One Last Time" was released as the album's fifth and final single, being serviced to rhythmic crossover and contemporary hit radio stations on February 10, 2015 in the US. The song was also released in French as a duet with French singer Kendji Girac, winner of the third season of "The Voice: la plus belle voix". The version titled "Attends-moi" (Wait for Me) was released in Belgium, France and Switzerland on February 16, 2015. It is included on the deluxe version of his debut studio album Kendji (2015). According to Girac, the duet was arranged by his artistic director, since he and Grande share the same music corporation, Universal Music Group. On May 26, 2015, an Italian version of the song featuring Italian rapper Fedez was released in Italy.

Composition

The song was produced by Falk and Yacoub, co-produced by Tuinfort and Ilya, with vocal production being done by Ilya, Kotecha and Yacoub. "One Last Time" is a dance-pop and EDM-light song, with a total length of three minutes and seventeen seconds (3:17). Its instrumentations consist in "pummeling drums and a three-note synth line". "One Last Time" is written in the key of A-flat major, with a moderately fast tempo of 125 beats per minute. Grande's vocals range from F#3 to C6. Lyrically, the song is about asking a former lover to spend one last time with you, although he has already moved on and is with someone new. As noted by Jason Lipshut of Billboard, "the downbeat admission of 'I know/that you got everything/But I got nothing here without you' is the pained sound of a narrator racked with guilt, the chorus sets aside that humiliation and scoops up a sense of hope," with the singer pleading, "One last time/I need to be the one who takes you home/One more time/I promise after that, I'll let you go". Rob Copsey of The Official Charts Company noted that the song " reminded him of Swedish's recording artist, Loreen's 2012 Eurovision winning song "Euphoria".

Critical reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic picked the song as one of the album's highlights, while Jason Lipshut of Billboard praised the track for "demonstrat[ing] Grande's newfound maturity and ambition." Rob Copsey wrote for The Official Charts Company that 'One Last Time' "suits her better than you’d think, [with] the singer reign[ing] in her powerful pipes on this breezy and wistful club track." while Anne Zaleski of The A.V. Club thought the song "channels a more powerful version of On The 6-era Jennifer Lopez," also calling it an "electronica-dusted [song]." AXS's Lucas Villa praised her performance for "exud[ing] sincerity and grace" and added that "[t]his baby-come-back tune showcases a softer side to the singer that highlights her dulcet vocals." FDRMX writer John Mychal Feraren gave "One Last Time" a rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars, calling it "an excellent addition to her list of hit songs" and claiming that "its astounding musical production is effortlessly matched by [the] singer’s sultry voice [...] transform[ing] an empty song into a masterpiece." PPcorn.com went out to describe the song as "an excellent addition to her list of hit songs," declaring: "its astounding musical production is effortlessly matched by her singer’s sultry voice. Also, after the lyrical ambivalence of 'Love Me Harder,' here comes a song that actually means something. It's about admitting your shortcomings in a previous relationship, and trying to make up for it. However, doesn’t it sound a bit pathetic when your ex-lover tells you, 'Need to be the one who takes you home / One more time / I promise after that, I’ll let you go.'"

Mikael Wood, while reviewing the album for Los Angeles Times, called it a "delight [with] surging dance beats," while Digital Spy's Lewis Corner named it a "restrained sibling" of "Break Free", having "speckles of electronica to save it from falling into dwindling balladry". Jean-Luc Marsh of Pretty Much Amazing noted that the "otherworldly notes that Grande hits on 'One Last Time' and 'Why Try' remain standouts several listens through". In a similar mode, The National's Adam Workman claimed Grande is "far more effective when she leaves the musical school of 'why sing one note when you can stretch it out for several bars across three different octaves?'," citing the "lower-key" song as an example. Kathy Iandoli from Idolator labeled it "smooth yet eerily resemble when an adult contemporary artist attempts dance music". Nick Levine of Time Out concluded that the song "serves club pop with a side of melancholy". In contrast, Evan Sawdey of PopMatters observed that the song "strikes all the dance-pop and EDM-lite poses it needs to without leaving any significant impression afterwards."

Commercial performance

"One Last Time" initially debuted at number 11 on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, before debuting on the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 80 on the week of February 28, 2015. The following week the song jumped to number 34, while staying behind Grande's "Love Me Harder". It later climbed to number 18, becoming Grande's fifth consecutive top-twenty single from the same album and sixth overall. The song eventually peaked at number 13, on the week of May 2, 2015, becoming Grande's first radio promoted song from My Everything to not enter the top ten. On the Mainstream Top 40 chart, the song peaked at number six, also becoming her fifth top 10 single on the Pop charts. As of March 2016, "One Last Time" had sold 772,000 digital units in the US, and was certified platinum by the RIAA. Similar to the US, the song has also become her fifth top-twenty single in Canada, peaking at number 12.

In Australia, "One Last Time" debuted on the ARIA Charts on the week of March 8, 2015 at number 27 and went on to reach a peak of number 15 on April 5, 2015, becoming her fifth top 20 single there. Meanwhile, in New Zealand the song debuted at number 32 and a week later it peaked at number 22. It was higher than her previous single, "Love Me Harder", which peaked at number 28, and "Best Mistake", which charted at number 29.

In France, both versions of the song charted; the original version of the song reached number 10, becoming her highest charting-single there and her first top-ten single, while the French version, "Attends-moi" with Kendji Girac, debuted and peaked at number 11, becoming her highest single debut, second highest charting-single and third top-twenty there. In Italy, the song peaked at number 6 on the FIMI Singles Chart, becoming her first top 10 hit in that country, and was certified double platinum by the FIMI. In the United Kingdom, the song peaked at number 24 on the UK Singles Chart, marking Grande's fourth top-forty single in the country, following number one singles "Problem" and "Bang Bang" as well as top-twenty single "Break Free". It was later certified gold by the BPI for reaching 400,000 sales+streaming figures.

Background

Grande came up with the idea of the music video and contacted director Max Landis, known for his 2012 film Chronicle. In an interview, Grande explained: "It’s very unique, it’s very different, I called Max [Landis] up and I said ‘hey I want to do something that ends exactly like this’ and I described the ending shot to him and then I said I also want it to be (a) one take [music video]… and I want the ending shot to look like this, And I described those two things to him and he’s like, ‘wow, that’s ambitious and it’s brave and it’s different, but let’s try it". A day later, Grande discussed the video's concept and said that it was "the coolest concept ever and he killed it and it’s very different. I’m very nervous about it because it’s so unique and weird and I feel like brave and different, but it’s exciting".

The music video was filmed in early January 2015 and it also stars Matt Bennett, who was also Grande's co-star from the Nickelodeon sitcom Victorious. Max Landis also confirmed that one of the voices of the news reporters in the beginning of the video was actress Elizabeth Gillies, who also co-starred in Victorious with Grande and Bennett. Gillies previously appeared Grande's music video for her single "Right There" (2013). Around that time, Max Landis revealed "One Last Time" as Grande's next single after tweeting, "Earth will pass catastrophically through the tail of the comet Eurydice in one week. Gather family and lovers close, one...last...time". The lyric video for "One Last Time" was released on Grande's official Vevo on February 6, 2015, at the same time it was announced that the music video was finished. On February 12, 2015, three days before the release of the music video, Grande released a teaser of the music video via Instagram. The music video was visually presented as a found footage, similar to Landis' previous work Chronicle. The "One Last Time" music video was released on February 15, 2015 on Vevo. It surpassed 100 million views on June 8, making it Grande's sixth Vevo-certified music video after "Love Me Harder".

Synopsis

The music video displays news anchor reports about the Earth on course to pass through the tail of a comet named Eurydice, as well as displaying a worldwide panic. The rest of the video then is presented through the use of a handheld video camera. Grande is in a Fiat car as the passenger, with her boyfriend (played by Matt Bennett), who is recording. They are stuck in traffic as they try to leave the city, implied to be Los Angeles, California. While everyone around them is panicking, Grande seems to be calm as she wants to get a closer look at the comet. Impatient, she leaves the car while Bennett tries to stop her, and then follows. They make their way through the crowds, but are stopped by the police who are barricading the street. Meanwhile, the comet erupts in the sky and begins to crash to the ground as the song starts. Grande manages to get through but Bennett is unable to, so he goes through an open ambulance and manages to catch up with her in an alleyway with stairs leading up into an apartment complex. Ariana notices the comet in the sky. The two enter a home of a frightened family and try to leave through the other door, only for the comet to crash into the building, nearly killing both of them. Frightened, the two continue on and enter a room filled with television screens of the comet and an old man sitting at a desk. As the former two of them try to leave, the latter tries to stop them, but they knock him to the ground, and all the screens change to the same countdown timer. Grande and Bennett eventually make their way up the rooftop after subduing the old man again, who had caught up with them. The camera is then set down, and shows the two of them embracing each other one last time until the comet crashes down, destroys everything and leads the Earth to an end.

Reception and plagiarism allegations

Ariana Bacle of Entertainment Weekly called the music "very Chronicle", comparing the video to Max Landis' previous work. Rachel Paoletta of MTV News describes the music video as "a decidedly darker and more badass video" compared to her "sexy, sultry, and sandy video for "Love Me Harder"". She also stated that "Ariana Grande's new video takes us to the end of the world, and brings us to the edge of our seats". In response to similarities between the Grande video and the music video accompanying Australian band SAFIA's single "You Are the One", Grande and Landis were accused of intellectual property theft. The controversy centered on similarities in the shared apocalyptic themes and stylistic format (a single, tracking shot) as well as parallels in the beginning of both videos (where a female protagonist exits a vehicle despite the protests of the male driver) and final shot (a lover's embrace as the world comes to an end around them). Members of the band described the similarities as an instance of when "big labels and/or big film firms steal ideas from small independent creatives who are trying really hard to make something different for a change". Despite acknowledging similarities between the two videos, Landis denied that his ideas are stolen from them and commented that both music videos had much in common with a third earlier music video by Perth group Injured Ninja.

Live performances

Grande performed "One Last Time" for the first time live on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on February 1, 2015. She sang the song once more at the NBA All-Star Game halftime show on February 15, 2015 along with her other past hit songs. During "One Last Time", she introduced the song "with some fluttering notes that eventually congealed into an impressive melisma", as noted by Billboard's Jason Lipshut. "One Last Time" is also part of her setlist for her worldwide tour, The Honeymoon Tour. During The Honeymoon Tour in Paris, France on May 15, 2015, Grande performed the French version of "One Last Time" with Kendji Girac for the first time.

Track listing

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic.

Certifications and sales

Since May 9, 2013, RIAA certifications for digital singles include on-demand audio and/or video song streams in addition to downloads.