six records across a decade, in both directions, and the longest-running collaboration either of them has.
the short answer
six songs: bang bang (2014, with jessie j), get on your knees (2014, minaj's album), side to side (2016, grande's album), the light is coming (2018, grande's album), bed (2018, minaj's album) and bad to you (2019, with normani). the traffic runs in both directions, which is what makes it a partnership rather than a series of features.
| song | year | whose record |
|---|---|---|
| bang bang | 2014 | jessie j's — all three credited |
| get on your knees | 2014 | minaj's, the pinkprint |
| side to side | 2016 | grande's, dangerous woman |
| the light is coming | 2018 | grande's, sweetener |
| bed | 2018 | minaj's, queen |
| bad to you | 2019 | charlie's angels soundtrack, with normani |
the two that matter
side to side is the biggest and the most misread. a dancehall pastiche built for dangerous woman, with minaj's verse doing most of the work of establishing that grande was no longer a children's television actor. it became the era's defining song and it is in her top ten by streams a decade later.
bang bang is the other. technically a jessie j record with two features, it went to three on the hot 100 in 2014 and is still one of her fifteen most streamed songs. it also did something specific for my everything: a three-way record with two established artists is a credibility transfer, and it worked.
the difficult one
why it lasted
because it runs both ways. a pop singer being featured on rap records and a rapper being featured on pop records for a decade is a different arrangement from a label pairing two names for a single. minaj put grande on the pinkprint and on queen; grande put minaj on dangerous woman and sweetener. neither was doing the other a favour.
there is also the coachella evidence. minaj came out during grande's 2019 headline set — the youngest ever at that festival — which is not something you do for somebody you have a business relationship with.
where it stands
no new collaboration since 2019, and no public falling-out either. grande's last three records have almost no features on them at all, which is a change in how she makes albums rather than a statement about anybody. the collaborations piece covers the full list of who she has recorded with.
questions people ask
how many songs do ariana grande and nicki minaj have together?
six — bang bang, get on your knees, side to side, the light is coming, bed and bad to you.
what is their biggest song?
side to side, from dangerous woman in 2016, though bang bang charted higher on release at number three.
are ariana grande and nicki minaj still friends?
there has been no public falling-out. they have not released a new collaboration since 2019, during which time grande's albums have carried almost no features at all.
which nicki minaj albums is ariana grande on?
the pinkprint, on get on your knees, and queen, on bed.
did nicki minaj appear at grande's coachella set?
yes, during grande's 2019 headline performance, alongside a partial nsync reunion.