“Ariana’s soft and sweet, my vocals are harder, and Nicki’s just Nicki,” says Jessie J of Ariana Grande and Minaj, her cohorts on the new hit “Bang Bang.” “It’s not a feature, it’s not a duet – it’s like we’re a girl band.”
Whatever “Bang Bang” is, it’s exploding onto the Hot 100. The song debuts at No. 6, matching Jessie J’s prior peak in 2012 with “Domino.” It gives Grande two songs in the top 10 (“Problem” hovers at No. 5) and three in the top 20 (“Break Free” rises 21-18). Minaj, meanwhile, earns her 10th top 10, padding her mark for most top 10s by a female rapper.
“Bang Bang” is the lead single from Jessie J’s upcoming LP, and also will be included on Grande’s sophomore set, “My Everything,” due Aug. 25. The song’s debut is powered mostly by a strong sales start: It moved 230,000 downloads in the week ending Aug. 3, according to Nielsen SoundScan – the second-biggest bow of 2014, following “Problem,” with 438,000.
“Bang Bang” gives radio plenty of Grande to spin, competing with “Break Free” and “Problem.” Ariana overload? Not so, says Sharon Dastur, program director of top 40 WHTZ (Z100) New York. “There is no issue with more Ariana on Z100 – we have all three songs in rotation. A hit is a hit.”