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This article is about the song from Yours Truly. For the scrapped song from My Everything, see The Way It Is.
He played me ‘The Way,’ and I said, ‘Oh, that’s it. We have to do that one — that’s what we have to go with. I cut my vocal on it, and then Mac and I had been hanging out for a while at that point, and I was like, ‘I really want you to feature on this record. What do you think?’ And he said, ‘Sounds like a hit to me!'

– Ariana Grande on collaborating with Mac Miller and the production of the song

"The Way" is the lead single and eighth track from Ariana Grande's debut album Yours Truly. The song features the rapper Mac Miller.[4] It was released through Republic Records on March 25, 2013.

"The Way" was released on March 25, 2013, on iTunes and after seven hours of its release, topped the chart. The song also debuted at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming both Ariana Grande's and Mac Miller's first Hot 100 top 10 hit. It later peaked at #9.

Grande said that the song is about "loving somebody so much you can't take it. The early stages of being in love and how exciting it is and how much it drives you crazy and how amazing it feels."[5]

The Way is the first single off Grande's album, Yours Truly, the second being Baby I, the third being Right There. There are two Spanglish versions. One is available on the deluxe version of Yours Truly. The other is a single featuring J Balvin.

In June 2013, a no rap version of the song was released on SoundCloud on Republic Records Staff's profile with a duration of 3:10. You can listen to it here.

On March 13, 2013, Grande announced the single through her social media.[6] On the week of March 18-22, Grande went on a radio tour across America, visiting stations in Tampa, Florida, New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles. She also visited Radio Disney on March 22. The song was released in the late afternoon on March 25, 2013, although an un-mastered version was leaked on Tumblr and YouTube on March 21.

The beat was sampled from Brenda Russell's "A Little Bit of Love", also notable for its use in "Still Not A Player" by Big Punisher.

Audios[]

Composition[]

After being tweeted by Mac Miller in October, the two became friends, and eventually started writing songs together. In December they released a cover of the classic Christmas song "Baby, It's Cold Outside". After a while they wrote more songs. In 2012. Grande called Mac and asked him to feature in one of her songs, and a music video to go along with it. He agreed to do so after he finished his mixtape. The song samples the chord progression from Big Pun "Still Not a Player".

Reception[]

Critical reception[]

"The Way" received acclaim from music critics. Digital Spy gave the song a five out of five star rating comparing the songs sound and Grande's vocals to Mariah Carey, continuing to say Gande has a "powerful vocal" whilst the song has "bouncy piano riff" and "throwback R&B beats".[7]

Commercial performance[]

On March 25, the song was released on to iTunes. Within seven hours, the song reached the #1 spot on the iTunes chart.[8] The following day Grande revealed the official lyric video for the song. Having sold over 219,000 units in its opening week, "The Way" debuted at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on the week ending in 5 April 2013, becoming Grande's and Miller's first Hot 100 top 10 hit. This also makes Grande the first top 10 arrival for a lead female artist making her first Hot 100 appearance since Yael Naim, who launched with "New Soul" back in 2008. "The Way" holds the second best-selling first-week sales figure of 2013 with the Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z collaboration "Suit & Tie" being the top seller & surpassing previous best seller Demi Lovato's "Heart Attack" which debuted with 215,000 units sold in its first week. Along with the lead single's Hot 100 position, it debuted at number 6 on the Digital Songs chart and debuting at number 35 on the newly implemented Streaming Songs chart. It also appeared on 102.7 KIIS FM's top 9 @ 9.

Lawsuit[]

On December 20, 2013, Minder Music claimed that Grande stole lyrics for "The Way" from the song “Troglodyte” by The Jimmy Castor Bunch, which released back in 1972. Apparently, the lyrics Grande "stole" were "What we’re gonna do right here is go back, way back, back into time" from the song "Troglodyte". Grande denied the allegations and asked a judge to deny their request for an injunction, wanting the lawsuit dismissed.[9] In February 2015, Minder Music agreed to dismiss the lawsuit.[10]

Music video[]

The music video was filmed on February 10 and 11, 2013. On March 16, 2013, the first teaser for the song was released on to her YouTube page, just Mac and being silly while Grande hits him with balloons singing part of the song starting from the line "Got a bad boy must admit it". The second teaser was released on Ryan Seacrest's website two days later, and later on Grande's page. It was a teaser of the music video, for 20 seconds. The teaser ended just before Mac started singing. The full video was released on March 28, 2013 at 12/3 am PST/EST. The video consists of Grande, Miller, and a group of dancers. Grande poses for pictures taken by Miller on various cameras, while dancing around a room filled with balloons and having fun while their image being projected on the wall. At the end of the video Miller and Grande kiss, and Grande explains it as "quite a statement" of growing up.[11]

Acoustic Video[]

Ariana shared a video where she sing "Baby I" and "The Way" acoustic with Dan Kanter.

Live performances[]

Grande performed "The Way" at several Top 50 radio concerts, including KIIS-FM's Wango Tango concert on May 11, 2013 in Los Angeles, 101.3 KDWB's Star Party concert on May 17, 2013 in Minneapolis, Kiss 108's Kiss Concert 2013 event in Boston, 103.3 AMP Radio's Birthday Bash concert on June 30, 2013 also in Boston, and Mix 93.3's Red White & Boom concert on July 5, 2013 in Kansas City. She was scheduled to perform the song at B96's Summer Bash concert on June 15, 2013 in Chicago, but had to cancel due to being sick.

Her first televised performance of the song was aired on May 29, 2013 on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Her second televised performance aired on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on June 14, 2013. Grande performed "The Way" during Justin Bieber's Believe Tour on August 8, 2013.[12]

Trivia[]

  • Brenda Russell tweeted about the piano sample on "The Way" from her song "A Little Bit of Love".[13]
  • The song was intended for Jordin Sparks to record herself, as she tells The Hollywood Reporter: "I wrote it with Sevyn Streeter, Sherrod Lambert and producer Harmony Samuels for my upcoming album. It was definitely written about my love, Jason [Derulo]. We had a blast writing it. Ariana's team heard it and she loved it! So she cut it. She did an amazing job and she kills it live!".[14]
  • Ariana bribed Mac to record the song by making him cookies and which she later posted a photo of the cookies.[1][2]
  • "The Way" is featured on Ubisoft's dance game Just Dance.
  • "The Way" was included in the set list for the Rift Tour*
  • The music video "The Way" was the most fun for Grande to film. [15]

Merchandise[]

Physical Releases[]

Videos[]

Gallery[]

Lyrics[]

[Intro: Mac Miller]
What we gotta do right here is go back, back into time

[Ariana Grande]
I love the way you make me feel
I love it, I love it
I love the way you make me feel
I love it, I love it

[Pre-Verse: Mac Miller]
Say, I’m thinking ’bout her every second, every hour
Do my singing in the shower
Picking petals off the flowers like
"Do she love me, do she love me not?" (love me not)
I ain’t a player, I just crush a lot (crush a lot)

[Verse 1: Ariana Grande]
You give me that kind of something
Want it all the time, need it every day
On a scale of one to ten I’m at 100
Never get enough, I can’t stay away

[Pre-Hook]
If you want it, I got it, I got it every day
You can get whatever you need from me
Stay by your side, I’ll never leave you
And I ain’t going nowhere 'cause you’re a keeper

[Hook]
So don’t you worry, baby you got me
I got a bad boy, I must admit it (Hey!)
You got my heart, don’t know how you did it (Hey!)
And I don’t care who sees it, babe
I don’t wanna hide the way I feel when you're next to me (Hey!)

I love the way (I love the way you make me feel)
I love the way (I love it, I love it...)
Baby, I love the way (I love the way you make me feel)
I love the way (I love it, I love it...)
The way you love

[Verse 2]
Oh, it's so crazy you get my heart jumping
When you put your lips on mine
And honey it ain’t a question, (quick question)
Cause boy I know just what you like

[Pre-Hook]
So If you need it, I got it, I got it everyday
Be your lover, your friend, you’ll find it all in me
Stay by your side, I’ll never leave you
So and I ain’t going nowhere 'cause you’re a keeper

[Hook]
So don’t you worry, baby you got me
I got a bad boy, I must admit it (Hey!)
You got my heart, don’t know how you did it (Hey!)
And I don’t care who sees it, babe
I don’t wanna hide the way I feel when you're next to me (Hey!)

I love the way (I love the way you make me feel)
I love the way (I love it, I love it...)
Baby, I love the way (I love the way you make me feel)
Ooh, I love the way (I love it, I love it...)
The way I love you

[Verse 3: Mac Miller]
Uh, I make you feel so fine, I make you feel so fine
I hope you hit me on my celly when I sneak in your mind
You’re a princess to the public, but a freak when it’s time
Said your bed be feeling lonely, so you’re sleeping in mine
You come and watch a movie with me
“American Beauty” or “Bruce Almighty” that's groovy
Just come and move closer to me
I got some feelings for you, I’m not gonna get bored of
But baby you’re an adventure so let me come explore you

[Hook/Outro]
So don’t you worry, baby you got me
I got a bad boy, I must admit it (Hey!)
You got my heart, don’t know how you did it (Hey!)
And I don’t care who sees it babe
I don’t wanna hide the way I feel when you're next to me (Hey!)

I love the way (I love the way)
I love the way (I love the way)
Baby, I love the way (I love the way)
Ooh, I love the way (I love it, I love it...)

I love the way (I love the way you make me feel)
I love the way (I love it, I love it...)
Baby, I love the way (I love the way you make me feel)
I love the way (I love it, I love it...)
The way I love you

The way I love you
The way I love you, you, you, yeah

I love the way you make me feel
I love it, I love it
I love the way you make me feel
I love it
The way I love you

[Intro]
I love the way you make me feel
I love it, I love it
I love the way you make me feel
I love it, I love it

[Verse 1]
You give me that kind of something
Want it all the time, need it every day
On a scale of one to ten I’m at 100
Never get enough, I can’t stay away

[Pre-Hook]
If you want it, I got it, I got it every day
You can get whatever you need from me
Stay by your side, I’ll never leave you
And I ain’t going nowhere 'cause you’re a keeper

[Hook]
So don’t you worry, baby you got me
I got a bad boy, I must admit it (Hey!)
You got my heart, don’t know how you did it (Hey!)
And I don’t care who sees it, babe
I don’t wanna hide the way I feel when you're next to me (Hey!)

I love the way (I love the way you make me feel)
I love the way (I love it, I love it...)
Baby, I love the way (I love the way you make me feel)
I love the way (I love it, I love it...)
The way you love

[Verse 2]
Oh, it's so crazy you get my heart jumping
When you put your lips on mine
And honey it ain’t a question, (quick question)
Cause boy I know just what you like

[Pre-Hook]
So If you need it, I got it, I got it everyday
Be it, be it for free, you’ll find it all in me
Stay by your side, I’ll never leave you
So and I ain’t going nowhere 'cause you’re a keeper

[Hook]
So don’t you worry, baby you got me
I got a bad boy, I must admit it (Hey!)
You got my heart, don’t know how you did it (Hey!)
And I don’t care who sees it, babe
I don’t wanna hide the way I feel when you're next to me (Hey!)

I love the way (I love the way you make me feel)
I love the way (I love it, I love it...)
Baby, I love the way (I love the way you make me feel)
Ooh, I love the way (I love it, I love it...)
The way I love you

[Hook/Outro]
So don’t you worry, baby you got me
I got a bad boy, I must admit it (Hey!)
You got my heart, don’t know how you did it (Hey!)
And I don’t care who sees it babe
I don’t wanna hide the way I feel when you're next to me (Hey!)

I love the way (I love the way)
I love the way (I love the way)
Baby, I love the way (I love the way)
Ooh, I love the way (I love it, I love it...)

I love the way (I love the way you make me feel)
I love the way (I love it, I love it...)
Baby, I love the way (I love the way you make me feel)
I love the way (I love it, I love it...)
The way I love you

The way I love you
The way I love you, you, you, yeah

I love the way you make me feel
I love it, I love it
I love the way you make me feel
I love it
The way I love you

[Intro: Ariana Grande]
I love the way you make me feel
I love it, I love it
Tú eres todo para mí
Te amo, I love it

[Pre-Verse: Mac Miller]
Say, I’m thinking ’bout her every second, every hour
Do my singing in the shower
Picking petals off the flowers like
Do she love me, do she love me not?
I ain’t a player, I just...

[Verse 1: Ariana Grande]
You give me that kinda something
Want it all the time, need it every day
On a scale of one to ten I’m at 100
Never get enough, I can’t stay away

[Pre-Hook: Ariana Grande]
If you want, I got it, I got it every day
You can get whatever you need from me
Stay by your side, I’ll never leave you
And I ain’t going nowhere cause you’re a keeper

[Hook: Ariana Grande]
So don't you worry, te necesito
I got a bad boy, must admit it
You got my heart, don’t know how you did it
And I don't care who sees it, babe
I don't want to hide the way I feel when you're next to me
I love the way you make me feel
I love the way
(I love the way)
No se vivir (tú eres todo para mí) ooo no se vivir (te amo, I love it)
The way I love you

[Verse 2: Ariana Grande]
Oh, estoy loca
No no no no puedo ya dejarte de pensar
Y tú me llevas hasta el cielo (el cielo)
Con tu modo de hablar
Dame un beso, mi amor, y acariciame
Llevame al cielo, enamorame
Baby, yo quiero (estar contigo)
No te vayas, escucha lo que digo

[Hook: Ariana Grande]
So don't you worry, te necesito
I got a bad boy, must admit it
You got my heart, don’t know how you did it
And I don't care who sees it, babe
I don't want to hide the way I feel when you're next to me
I love the way you make me feel
I love the way
(I love the way)
No se vivir (tú eres todo para mí) ooo no se vivir (te amo, I love it)
No se vivir, no

[Verse 3: Mac Miller]
Uh, I make it feel so fine, I make it feel so fine
I hope you hit me on my celly when I sneak in your mind
You’re a princess to the public, but a freak when it’s time
Said your bed be feeling lonely, so you’re sleeping in mine
You come and watch a movie with me
“American Beauty” or “Bruce Almighty” that groovy
Just come and move closer to me
I got some feelings for you, I’m not gon’ get bored of
But baby you’re an adventure so let me come and explore ya

[Hook: Ariana Grande]
So don't you worry, te necesito
I got a bad boy, must admit it
You got my heart, don’t know how you did it
And I don't care who sees it, babe
I don't wanna hide the way I feel when you're next to me
I love the way (you make me feel)
I love the way
I love the way
I love the way
(I love it, I love it)
No se vivir (tú eres todo para mí) ooo no se vivir (te amo, I love it)
I love the way (you make me feel)
I love the way
(I love it, I love it)
No se vivir (tú eres todo para mí) ooo no se vivir (te amo, I love it)
The way I love you

The way I love you, you, you, yeah, the way
I love the way you make me feel (te amo, te amo)
I love the way you make me feel (te amo) no se vivir
The way I love you

References[]

Navigation[]

Yours Truly
August 30, 2013 • 46:28 • Republic Records
Songs
Released Almost Is Never EnoughBaby IBetter Left UnsaidDaydreamin'Honeymoon AvenueLovin' ItPianoPopular SongRight ThereTattooed HeartThe WayYou'll Never Know
Unreleased 3OH!3 Outtake 13OH!3 Outtake 2Boyfriend MaterialButterfliesDo You Love MeFirst TimeHumanILABLa Vie En RoseNobody Does It BetterOh, DarlingParachutePink ChampagnePlease Don't Let Me GoPut Your Hearts UpRealSandmanSaturday Love'Til We Finally MeetUnknown Nick Jonas DuetUnknown Nick Jonas BalladUnknown Sean Kingston CollaborationVoodoo LoveYoung LoveYou're My Only Shawty
Artists
Ariana GrandeBig SeanDemi LovatoGreyson ChanceJ BalvinJade NovahKing LosMac MillerMIKANathan SykesPebe SebertSean KingstonSky BluTaro HakaseThe Dap Kings
Tour
The Listening Sessions
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