"Salt" is a song by American singer Ava Max, released on December 12, 2019, through

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

as the first promotional single from her debut studio album, '' Heaven & Hell'' (2020). The song was initially released on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

and

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

in 2018, before being re-released on

streaming services An over-the-top media service is a streaming media service offered directly to viewers via the Internet. OTT bypasses cable, broadcast, and satellite television platforms, the companies that traditionally act as a controller or distributors of s ...

. It was written by Max, Autumn Rowe,

Madison Love Madison Emiko Love is an American singer and songwriter. She is signed to Artist Publishing Group. Early life Madison Emiko Love was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Her father, Roger Love, is a vocal coach. Love moved to New York ...

Nicole Morier Nicole "Coco" Morier (lives in Los Angeles, California, United States) is an American singer-songwriter and producer. She began her career in 2002 as one half of the electronic rock duo Electrocute before becoming a songwriter for artists includ ...

, and the producer

Cirkut Henry Russell Walter (born April 23, 1986), known professionally as Cirkut, is a Canadian record producer and songwriter. He has co-produced and co-written for Dr. Luke, Katy Perry, Becky G, Ava Max, Nicki Minaj, R. City, The Weeknd, Kesha, Ciar ...

. The

dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

song is regarded as a "fan-favorite" by several publications, who praised the upbeat production. "Salt" peaked at number one in Poland, and charted in the top 10 in Austria,

CIS Cis or cis- may refer to: Places * Cis, Trentino, in Italy * In Poland: ** Cis, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, south-central ** Cis, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, north Math, science and biology * cis (mathematics) (cis(''θ'')), a trigonome ...

, Finland, Germany, Norway, Russia, Ukraine, and Switzerland. The song received a quadruple platinum

certification Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

in Poland and Norway, and was certified platinum in four countries.

Background and composition

"Salt" was initially released on

and

in 2018, where it gained 4 million views on the former by December 2019. On December 5, 2019, Max revealed the release date on social media, which was subsequently re-released as a digital single on several

on December 12, 2019. She acknowledged that the song's re-release was due to its high streaming numbers, despite containing no prior marketing or promotion. It was written by Max, Autumn Rowe,

, and the producer

. "Salt" is a

song, with elements of

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

. It contains "pumping disco beats from the

seventies File:1970s decade montage.jpg, Clockwise from top left: U.S. President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office following the Watergate scandal in 1974; The United States was still involved in the Vietnam War i ...

and

eighties File:1980s replacement montage02.PNG, 420px, From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, '' Columbia'', lifts off in 1981; US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev ease tensions between the two superpowers, leading to t ...

" blended with Max's "vocal inflexions". A violin is heard in the introduction, while

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...

and

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

are lyrically mentioned throughout the song, due to their icon status in femininity. The song's lyrics describes the carefree nature of not crying over an ex.

Critical reception

Several publications have regarded "Salt" to be a "fan-favorite" since its 2018 release. Rania Aniftos of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' described the song as an "upbeat, sassy track about having fun after a sad spell", while Madeline Roth of

MTV News MTV News is the news production division of MTV. The service is available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network. In February 2016, MTV Networks confirmed it would refresh the MTV News brand in 2016, to compete with the likes ...

called it "dance-pop blissfulness". Writing for ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...

'', Chris DeVille wrote that "Salt" is the best song out of Max's discography despite sounding similar to

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

. Shaoni Das of ''Music Talkers'' stated that the song is an "exhilarating

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

number, awash in pools of glitter, glamour, and confidence". However, Nicholas Hautman of ''

Us Weekly ''Us Weekly'' is a weekly celebrity and entertainment magazine based in New York City. ''Us Weekly'' was founded in 1977 by The New York Times Company, who sold it in 1980. It was acquired by Wenner Media in 1986, and sold to American Media Inc ...

'' criticized the song's lyrics for being cliché, specifically noting that it is "about crying so much that you literally run out of the

electrolyte An electrolyte is a medium containing ions that is electrically conducting through the movement of those ions, but not conducting electrons. This includes most soluble salts, acids, and bases dissolved in a polar solvent, such as water. Upon dis ...

s needed to form tears".

Commercial performance

"Salt" topped the Polish Airplay Top 100 on the chart issued April 4, 2020, where it was ultimately certified quadruple platinum by the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry (ZPAV) for track-equivalent sales of 80,000 units on August 11, 2021. In Norway, the song debuted at number 37 on the

VG-lista VG-lista is a Norwegian record chart. It is presented weekly in the newspaper '' VG''. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continents around the world. The data are collected by Nie ...

, before peaking at number five. On the

Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Tuesdays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as ...

chart, "Salt" debuted at number 71 on the chart dated March 13, 2020. It peaked at number eight on the chart dated April 17, 2020, and was certified platinum by the

International Federation of the Phonographic Industry The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a non-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland and founded in Italy in 19 ...

(IFPI) for track-equivalent sales of 30,000 units in the country. In Germany, "Salt" debuted at number 99 on the

Offizielle Deutsche Charts The GfK Entertainment charts are the official music charts in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustr ...

dated February 21, 2020, and peaked at number 10 on the chart issued April 10, 2020. The song received a platinum certification by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI) for track-equivalent sales of 400,000 units in the country. "Salt" charted in the top 10 in Finland, Russia, Ukraine, and Switzerland, while receiving a platinum certification in Brazil, and gold certifications in France and the United States.

Track listing

Digital download /

streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

# "Salt" 3:00 Digital download / streaming – acoustic # "Salt" (Acoustic) 3:10 Digital download / streaming – The Remixes # "Salt" (

Syn Cole Rene Pais (born 25 March 1988), better known by his stage name Syn Cole is an Estonian DJ and record producer. Syn Cole started out on Avicii LE7ELS record label and management. His singles and remixes have amassed over 1 billion total streams o ...

Remix) 3:11 # "Salt" (Toby Green Remix) 2:47

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

# "Salt" 3:00 # "

Torn Torn may refer to: Film and television * ''Torn'' (2009 film), an American film by Richard Johnson * ''Torn'' (2013 American film), directed Jeremiah Birnbaum * ''Torn'' (2013 Nigerian film), directed by Moses Inwang * ''Torn'' (TV series), a ...

" 3:18 # " Freaking Me Out" 3:12

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from "

" German CD single and

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 * ...

. Recording * Recorded at A Studios,

West Hollywood, California West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most ...

Personnel * Amanda Ava Koci vocals, songwriting * Henry Walter songwriting, production, mixing, programming, vocal recording * Autumn Rowe songwriting * Madison Love songwriting * Nicole Morier songwriting * Chris Gehringer mastering * Serban Ghenea mixing * John Hanes engineering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Ava Max 2019 singles 2018 songs Atlantic Records singles Ava Max songs Number-one singles in Poland Songs written by Cirkut (record producer) Songs written by Nicole Morier Songs written by Autumn Rowe Songs written by Madison Love Song recordings produced by Cirkut (record producer) Songs written by Ava Max