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

Paul Stanley of Kiss, Soul Station

Paul Stanley of Kiss, Soul StationSongwriter Interviews

Paul Stanley on his soul music project, the Kiss songs with the biggest soul influence, and the non-make-up era of the band.

Richie McDonald of Lonestar

Richie McDonald of LonestarSongwriter Interviews

Richie talks about the impact of "Amazed," and how his 4-year-old son inspired another Lonestar hit.

Dennis DeYoung

Dennis DeYoungSongwriter Interviews

Dennis DeYoung explains why "Mr. Roboto" is the defining Styx song, and what the "gathering of angels" represents in "Come Sail Away."

Yoko Ono

Yoko OnoSongwriter Interviews

At 80 years old, Yoko has 10 #1 Dance hits. She discusses some of her songs and explains what inspired John Lennon's return to music in 1980.

Tom Keifer of Cinderella

Tom Keifer of CinderellaSongwriter Interviews

Tom talks about the evolution of Cinderella's songs through their first three albums, and how he writes as a solo artist.

In The Cards

In The CardsSong Writing

Songwriters have used cards and card games to make sense of heartache, togetherness, and even Gonorrhea.