Ariana Grande Ft. The Weeknd: Love Me Harder (2014) Online

Ariana Grande Ft. The Weeknd: Love Me Harder (2014) Online

The video opens with "dramatic lightning in a sky boiling over with orange clouds." Throughout the music video, Ariana and The Weeknd "withstand earth, wind and water, symbolizing what one would do for love". Grande writhes around on a sandy floor, the Weeknd walks nonchalantly through an indoor rain storm, and toward the end, we find Ariana in a pool of water with an air of confidence. At one point, they sing back-to-back, ultimately illustrating what the song is about - being unable to face the wants and needs of a relationship.

The song was written by Max Martin, Savan Kotecha, Peter Svensson, Ali Payami, Abel Tesfaye and Ahmad Balshe.

The song was produced by Payami and Peter Carlsson, with Svensson serving as a vocal producer.

The song was released by Republic Records on September 30, 2014 as the fourth single from the album.

"Love Me Harder" is a synth-pop and R&B track, with "throbbing', electro-heavy chorus", guitar riff and "big vacuum-esque synths zip".

Lyrically, the song focuses on a deeper understanding of love as an emotional and physical state, having double entendres about rough sex.

In the United States, the song peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Grande's fourth consecutive top-ten single off the album and making her the artist with the most top-ten singles in 2014.

The Hannah Lux Davis-directed video finds Grande and The Weeknd in an abandoned house in the desert filled with sand.

As of March 2016, the song has sold 1.2 million copies in the United States.

The collaboration between Grande and The Weeknd was pushed by their mutual label, Republic Records.

The song is composed in the key of C minor with a moderately tempo of 100 beats per minute.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic noted that Grande allowed The Weeknd to "suck up" the spotlight on the track.

Jason Lipshut of Billboard noted that "the pairing somehow makes sense," praising Weeknd's "ultra-sincere crooning" and the "driving guitar riff" for being "delicious 80's cheese".

In the United States, after spending a couple weeks on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, "Love Me Harder" made its official debut on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 79. The following week it jumped to number 57 and on its third week it moved up to number 37, becoming The Weeknd's first top-40 single on the chart. On the fifth week, after the music video's official release, it soared to its peak of number seven, becoming Grande's fourth consecutive top-ten single from My Everything, and fifth overall.

By becoming her fourth top ten single, Grande became the singer with most top ten singles of 2014, along with her past top ten singles "Problem", "Break Free", and "Bang Bang".

"Love Me Harder" became The Weeknd's first top ten single on the Billboard Hot 100.

As of March 2016, the song has sold 1.2 million copies in the United States and has been certified triple platinum by the RIAA.

In Canada, the single reached the top ten, and entered the top twenty in many other countries such as Australia, Finland, Italy and the Netherlands.

The music video premiered on Vevo on November 3, 2014, and surpassed 478 million views on July 27, 2017.

Grande and The Weeknd performed the song together live for the first time on the season 40 premiere of Saturday Night Live on September 27, 2014.

Grande performed part of the song as part of a medley at the 2014 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, which aired on December 9, 2014 on CBS.