"Weapons" is a song by American singer and songwriter

Ava Max Amanda Ava Koci (born Amanda Koçi; February 16, 1994), known professionally as Ava Max, is an American singer and songwriter. She signed with Atlantic Records in 2016, through which she released her breakthrough single " Sweet but Psycho" in ...

from her second studio album, '' Diamonds & Dancefloors'' (2023). The song was written by Max,

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, C ...

, Lostboy,

Melanie Fontana Melanie Joy Fontana (born October 3, 1986)Joyce Cohen''New York Times'', December 26, 2004. is an American singer, composer and songwriter signed to Universal Music Group. Early life Fontana was born in Newington, Connecticut. She moved to New Y ...

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 ...

, Michel Lindgren Schulz and

Ryan Tedder Ryan Tedder (born June 26, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. As well as being the lead vocalist of the pop rock band OneRepublic, he has an independent career as a songwriter and producer for various artists since th ...

, and produced by Schulz. It was released as the third single from the album for digital download and streaming by

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

in various countries on November 10, 2022. Combining disco, electro and

europop Europop (also spelled Euro pop) is a style of pop music that originated in Europe during the mid-to-late 1960s and developed to today's form throughout the late 1970s. Europop topped the charts throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with revivals and ...

genres, the song tells a tale of cold hearts and harsh words encountered in the pursuit of love within an expansive urban setting. Upon release, it received a positive reception from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

for its lyrics, music and Max's vocal delivery. Commercially, it charted within the top 100 in Belgium, Croatia, Hungary, Sweden and Switzerland. For further promotion, an accompanying visualizer premiered on Max's

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and 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 Google, and is the second mo ...

channel on March 3, 2023.

Background and composition

Produced by Michel Lindgren Schulz, "Weapons" was written by Schulz along with Max (Amanda Ava Koci),

(Henry Walter),

and

. ''Note: Click on the three dots on the right of the track to display the credits.''

released the song for digital download and streaming on November 10, 2022 as the third single of Max's second studio album, '' Diamonds & Dancefloors'' (2023). Stating an emotional attachment, Max highlighted that "these lyrics are my favorite of any song I've released this year". Characterized by disco, electro and

genres, it tells a tale of emotional challenges articulated through the depiction of cold hearts and harsh words encountered in the pursuit of love within an expansive urban setting. Lyrics such as, "Stop using your words as weapons, They're never gonna, shoot me down, Stop, it's time that you learn a lesson, My love is gonna drown you out", emphasizes that these challenges do not waver her conviction in a positive outcome.

Reception and promotion

"Weapons" generally received a positive reception from

. Madeline Dovi from ''

Medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation *Medium bomber, a class of war plane *Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium of ...

'' highlighted the song as an "empowerment ballad" that "bursts forth with prowess and assuredness", drawing parallels to American singer

Pat Benatar Patricia Mae Giraldo ('' née'' Andrzejewski, formerly Benatar; born January 10, 1953), known professionally as Pat Benatar, is an American rock singer and songwriter. In the United States, she has had two multi-platinum albums, five platinum al ...

's song "

Love Is A Battlefield "Love Is a Battlefield" is a song by American singer Pat Benatar, recorded and released on September 12, 1983, as a single from Benatar's live album '' Live from Earth'' (1983), though the song itself was a studio recording. It was written by Ho ...

" (1983). George Griffiths for

Official Charts Company The Official Charts (legal name: The Official UK Charts Company Limited) is a British inter-professional organization that compiles various "official" record charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. In the United Kingdom, its charts in ...

complimented the song as "

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 ...

-esque". Writing for NRG Albania, the author commended Max's consistent emphasis on vocal strength in her successive releases. Reviewing ''Diamonds & Dancefloors'', Sam Franzini from ''

The Line of Best Fit ''The Line of Best Fit'' is an independent online magazine based in London, concentrating on new music. It publishes independent music reviews, features, interview, and media. Founded by Richard Thane in February 2007 and currently edited by P ...

'' described the song as a "clumsy anti-bullying anthem", comparing its sound to music "commissioned" for a "middle school". Jordi Bardají for

Jenesaispop Jenesaispop, also known as JNSP, is an online Spanish independent news and reviews website focused on pop music, although it is also dedicated to films, TV series, books and comics. It was founded in 2006 by nine friends, including various jour ...

referred to the "heroic chorus" as a "cliché within a cliché". Commercially, "Weapons" reached number 10 in the Walloon region of Belgium, number 29 in Hungary, number 32 in the Flemish region of Belgium, number 33 in Croatia, number 54 in Sweden and number 95 in Switzerland. Furthermore, the song charted at number one on the Dutch

Tipparade The Dutch Top 40 ( nl, Nederlandse Top 40) is a weekly music chart compiled by ''Stichting Nederlandse Top 40''. It started as a radio program titled "Veronica Top 40", on the offshore station Radio Veronica in 1965. It remained "The Veronic ...

ranking and number 34 on the New Zealand Hot Singles. For promotional purposes, an official visualizer for "Weapons" premiered to Max's official

channel on March 3, 2023.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from

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 ...

. *Ava Max (Amanda Ava Koci)lead artist, songwriting *Cirkut (Henry Walter)songwriting *Melanie Fontanasongwriting *Madison Lovesongwriting *Michel Lindgren Schulzproducing, songwriting *Ryan Teddersongwriting

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{Ava Max 2022 singles 2022 songs American disco songs Ava Max songs Song recordings produced by Cirkut Songs written by Ava Max Songs written by Cirkut Songs written by Madison Love Songs written by Ryan Tedder Songs written by Melanie Fontana