"Imagine" (stylized in

all lowercase Letter case is the distinction between the letters that are in larger uppercase or capitals (or more formally ''majuscule'') and smaller lowercase (or more formally ''minuscule'') in the written representation of certain languages. The writing ...

) is a song recorded by American singer

Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received ...

. The song was written by Grande, Jameel Roberts and

Priscilla Renea Priscilla Renea Hamilton (born September 14, 1988), known professionally as Muni Long (pronounced "money long"), is an American singer and songwriter. Under her birth name, her solo debut studio album, ''Jukebox'', was released through Capitol R ...

alongside its producers Andrew "Pop" Wansel and Happy Perez. It was released on December 14, 2018, as the only promotional single from her fifth studio album ''

Thank U, Next ''Thank U, Next'' is the fifth studio album by American singer Ariana Grande, released on February 8, 2019, by Republic Records. It was released six months after her fourth studio album ''Sweetener'' (2018), conceived in the midst of Grande's ...

'' (2019). Commercially, the song reached the top 10 in Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Malaysia, Singapore, Slovakia and the United Kingdom, as well as the top 20 in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Scotland. The track also peaked at number 21 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Background and release

On December 11, 2018, Grande teased the song with a post on her

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

story, with a countdown of its official release. The song was previewed a day later, with Grande tweeting the title using

Chinese characters Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanji' ...

. The song and its official lyric video were released simultaneously on December 14, 2018, with the lyrics set to a glitching background of a collapsing glacier made by glitch artist Thomas Collet.

Composition

"Imagine" is an R&B/ pop ballad with a

trap A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research. Trap or TRAP may also refer to: Art and entertainment Films and television * ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...

-inspired rhythm. It is written in the key of

F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature consists of four flats. Its relative major is A-flat major and its parallel major is F major. Its enharmonic equivalent, E-sharp mi ...

, and has a tempo of 125 BPM. The song features multiple whistle notes, and Grande's vocals span from F₃ to C₇. Lyrically, the song speaks about Grande's denial of failed relationships, specifically her relationship with

Mac Miller Malcolm James McCormick (January 19, 1992 – September 7, 2018), known professionally as Mac Miller, was an American rapper and record producer. Miller began his career in Pittsburgh's hip hop scene in 2007, at the age of fifteen. In 2010, h ...

. Grande described the song as being about "a simple, beautiful love that is now (and forever) unattainable."

Commercial performance

"Imagine" proved to be Grande's most successful promotional single. On the issue dated December 29, 2018, "Imagine" debuted at number 24 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 as the highest new entry of the week, while starting on the

Streaming Songs The Streaming Songs chart is released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists each week's top streamed radio songs, on-demand songs and videos on leading online music services in the United States. The chart represents one of the three component ...

at number 21 and the

Digital Songs The Digital Songs or Digital Song Sales chart (previously named Hot Digital Songs) ranks the best-selling digital songs in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published by '' Billboard'' magazine. Although it originally sta ...

at number two. "Imagine" fell to number 71 in its second week on the Hot 100, however rebounded and surged to number 63 in its third week. It spent an additional week there and departed the region after four consecutive weeks. Following the release of Grande's own "

7 Rings "7 Rings" (stylised in all lowercase) is a song by American singer Ariana Grande, from her fifth studio album ''Thank U, Next''. It was released as the album's second single on January 18, 2019, through Republic Records. The song was written by ...

", "Imagine" re-entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 99 due to strong digital downloads, spending a fifth week there. After the release of the parent album ''

'', "Imagine" re-entered the US charts for a third time at a new peak of number 21, consequently becoming the sixth highest-charting track from the album and third highest-charting non single behind " Needy" and "

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

" which debuted at numbers 14 and 17 the same week, respectively. The track ultimately charted for a total of eight weeks on the Hot 100. Internationally, "Imagine" reached the top ten in Belgium, Hungary, Ireland, Singapore, Slovakia and the United Kingdom, where it debuted at number eight on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The track also peaked at number 15 on the Australian

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

, number 16 on the

New Zealand Singles Chart The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Music ...

, and number 17 on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record chart in Canada; a n ...

. Its lowest position was in France, where it reached number 110.

Live performances

Grande performed "Imagine" for the first time on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh incar ...

'' on December 18, 2018. The song was excluded from the set list of the

Sweetener World Tour The Sweetener World Tour was the fourth concert tour and third arena tour by American singer, songwriter and actress Ariana Grande in support of her fourth and fifth studio albums, ''Sweetener'' (2018) and ''Thank U, Next'' (2019). Led by Live Na ...

because it was "too heavy" to perform, according to Grande. On January 26, 2020, Grande performed the song in a medley with "

", " My Favorite Things", and "

" at the

62nd Annual Grammy Awards The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 26, 2020, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from October 1, 2018, to August 31, 2019. Al ...

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from

Tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * Tidal (album), ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * ...

. *

–

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

, songwriting, vocal production * Andrew "Pop" Wansel – production, songwriting, keyboard, programming * Nathan Perez – production, songwriting, guitar, keyboard, programming *

– songwriting * Jameel Roberts – songwriting * John Hanes – mixing engineer *

Serban Ghenea Șerban Ghenea (born October 13, 1969) is a Grammy award-winning Romanian-Canadian audio engineer and mixer. Early life and education Ghenea was born in Bucharest, Romania in 1969. In 1976 he moved to Montreal with his family. He later attended ...

– mixing * Brendan Morawski – recording engineer * Joe Gallagher – recording engineer * Sean Klein – assistant recording engineer * Andrew Luftman – production coordinator * Sarah Shelton – production coordinator * Zvi Edelman – production coordinator

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2010s ballads 2018 songs Contemporary R&B ballads Pop ballads Songs written by Ariana Grande Songs written by Happy Perez Songs written by Pop Wansel Songs written by Muni Long