"Best Friend" is a song by American rapper

Saweetie Diamonté Quiava Valentin Harper (born July 2, 1993), known professionally as Saweetie (), is an American rapper. After the release of her debut single "Icy Grl" in 2017, she was signed to her then-manager Max Gousse's record label Artistry Wo ...

, featuring fellow American rapper and singer

Doja Cat Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini (born October 21, 1995), known professionally as Doja Cat ( ), is an American rapper and singer. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, she began making and releasing music on SoundCloud as a teenager. Her song ...

, released on January 7, 2021 as the third single from the upcoming debut studio album '' Pretty Bitch Music''. The song was written by the two performers along with Asia Smith, Kaine,

Theron Thomas R. City (short for Rock City; and formerly Planet VI) is a Virgin Islands musical duo formed in 2003, from Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. The duo is composed of brothers Theron "Uptown AP" Thomas and Timothy "A.I." Thomas. Primarily known ...

, and producers

Dr. Luke Lukasz Sebastian Gottwald (born September 26, 1973), known professionally as Dr. Luke, Tyson Trax, and Made in China, is an American record producer and songwriter. His professional music career began in the late-night television sketch comedy ...

and Rocco Did It Again!. The song's first official remix features vocals from British rapper Stefflon Don, while the second features Chinese rapper VaVa. A third, with New Zealand rapper JessB and Australian singer Okenyo, a fourth, with South Korean singer

Jamie Jamie is a unisex name. It is a diminutive form of James or, more rarely, other names. It is also given as a name in its own right. People Female * Jamie Anne Allman (born 1977), American actress * Jamie Babbit (born 1970), American film and t ...

and South Korean/Japanese rapper

Chanmina , known professionally as , is a South Korean-Japanese rapper and pop musician. She debuted in 2016 independently, before releasing her major label debut album ''Miseinen'' in 2017. Biography Chanmina was born in South Korea, to a Japanese fa ...

, and fifth, with German rapper Katja Krasavice, were also released. The latter debuted at number one in Germany, becoming the first number-one single there for both Saweetie and Doja Cat. The single also won Saweetie her first Video Music Award for Best Art Direction. The song also received a nomination for

Best Rap Song The Grammy Award for Best Rap Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rap music genre. Honors in several c ...

at the

64th Annual Grammy Awards The 64th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on April 3, 2022. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from September 1, 2020, to September 30, ...

Background and release

On December 4, 2020, "Best Friend" was released prematurely on streaming platforms. Saweetie later took to social media to express her disappointment in her record label,

Warner Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

, in regards to handling the release. She stated: "I am extremely disappointed in my label WBR for prematurely releasing a single I was so excited about. I feel disrespected. I'm hands on with ALL of my creative & had such a dope rollout for 'best friends'. The thirst for clout & $ is real & it overrides the artists' art." The single was later taken off streaming services the following day. "Best Friend" was then officially released on January 7, 2021 for digital download and streaming. The track was sent to both contemporary hit radio and rhythmic contemporary radio in the United States on January 12, 2021.

Composition and reception

The hip hop song was described as a "danceable", "

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

-ready", and "fun,

uptempo A variety of musical terms are likely to be encountered in printed scores, music reviews, and program notes. Most of the terms are Italian, in accordance with the Italian origins of many European musical conventions. Sometimes, the special mus ...

record that celebrates friendship." Lyrically the rappers highlight and hype up each other's beauty, success, independence, wealth, and loyalty.

Accolades

Music video

Filmed in November 2020, The Dave Meyers directed music video was released alongside the song on January 7, 2021. The video consists of Saweetie and Doja Cat in various settings including driving and posing in front of a bedazzled Tesla as well as jumping off of a cliff into the ocean. The video also features an appearance from Canadian comedian

King Bach Andrew Byron Bachelor (born June 26, 1988), also known as King Bach is a Canadian-American Internet personality and actor who rose to fame on the now-defunct video sharing service Vine, where he had 16.2 million followers, making him the most fol ...

. Althea Legaspi of ''Rolling Stone'' noted that they call out

misogyny Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practice ...

and celebrate camaraderie in the music video. Upon release, Saweetie was accused of stealing the concept of the music video from "BFF" by R&B duo Ceraadi. As of November 2022, the music video has 241 million views on YouTube.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Footnotes

References

{{Authority control 2021 singles 2021 songs Saweetie songs Doja Cat songs Number-one singles in Germany Song recordings produced by Dr. Luke Songs written by Dr. Luke Songs written by Doja Cat Songs written by Saweetie Songs written by Theron Thomas Warner Records singles Music videos directed by Dave Meyers (director) Songs about loyalty Songs about friendship Songs about dancing Pop-rap songs Songs about alcohol