The Night Is Still Young (Nicki Minaj song)

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"The Night Is Still Young"
Single by Nicki Minaj
from the album The Pinkprint
ReleasedApril 28, 2015 (2015-04-28)
RecordedLate 2014
Genre
Length3:48
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Nicki Minaj singles chronology
"Hey Mama"
(2015) 		"The Night Is Still Young"
(2015) 		"Bitch I'm Madonna"
(2015)

"The Night Is Still Young" is a song recorded by rapper Nicki Minaj, released as the sixth single from her third studio album The Pinkprint (2014), by Cash Money and Republic. It was written by Minaj, Ester Dean, Theron Thomas and Cirkut; and produced by Cirkut. It is a dance-pop and dubstep-pop song.[1][2]

Many critics viewed the song as single material and commended the production, but criticized the composition and lyrical content. The song debuted at number 93 on the Billboard Hot 100, and reached number 31. The single was certified platinum by the RIAA for selling 1,000,000 units.

Composition[edit]

"The Night is Still Young" is written by Minaj, Ester Dean, Lukasz Gottwald, Donnie Lewis, Theron Thomas and Henry Walter, with additional production by Gottwald and Cirkut.[3] Lyrically, the song is about partying and having fun; the verses revolve around a routine night out at a club.[citation needed][4] Writing for Consequence of Sound, Michael Madden felt the composition was "unadulterated pop."[5] Garvey compared the composition to Minaj's tracks on her second studio album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded.[6] Tyler Kane from Paste Magazine commented "[The Night is Still Young”] sounded like a song hand-penned for Ke$ha, so it wasn't a surprise to discover the person behind the track was her estranged collaborator Dr. Luke, reigning king of themes like “tonight is the last night we will exist in human form, so let’s party it away at the club.”[7] Nick Levine from Time Out labelled it "digital disco" music.[8] Niki McGloster from Billboard said it was the "lovechild" of Minaj's 2010 single "Moment 4 Life" and her 2012 single "Starships". Shee commented "Minaj packs this club record with verses about seizing the night and enjoying the ride."[9] "The Night Is Still Young" is written in the key of C♯ minor with a tempo of 124 beats per minute, and Minaj's vocals range from C♯3 to C♯5.[10]

Release[edit]

Preparing for her world tour, Minaj's label Young Money Entertainment and Cash Money Records released the fifth single "Truffle Butter" from the parent album in January 2015 due to heavy airplay.[11] Originally, Republic Records wanted to release "The Night is Still Young" as the next single but after agreement with Young Money and Cash Money, they scrapped it as the fifth single[11]

Young Money and Cash Money intended to commission a music video for "Truffle Butter" to promote it, however, Republic refused because plans for "The Night is Still Young" had been set.[12] The single was released in the UK on April 6 through contemporary radio.[13] It was officially sent to contemporary radio in the US on April 28, 2015.[14] The official cover was released via Minaj's Instagram, on May 16, 2015.

Critical reception[edit]

Stereogum’s writer Tom Briehan found the lyrics and Minaj's input as "bland" and "character-free."[15] Madden felt the songwriting was "plain" but commented "melodically, it does sound like the soundtrack to a massive evening, especially once that second vocal track kicks in during the chorus [...]"[5] The Rolling Stone's Jon Dolan favored the track, calling it "victory lap-pop."[16] Levine said that the song "proves Minaj still knows how to party."[8] However, Katherine St. Asaph from Time Magazine was heavily critical on Dr. Luke's production on both this and "Only". She commented "They’re not only unwelcome — they feel tired, as if they’d have been dated years ago. They’re necessary intrusions of commercialism that belie [Minaj’s] claim she ‘ain’t gotta rely on top 40’ and undermine what's presumably meant to be a classic."[17] McGloster favored the song as single-worthy by commenting "It's safe to say she'll be adding this to her vast collection of chart-topping hits."[9]

Despite calling it "catchy pop", Jon Caramanica from The New York Times felt the song was a "poor fit" to the album.[18] Paste Magazine's Tyler Kane criticized the song's inclusion to the album, alongside album tracks "I Lied" and "Bed of Lies". He refereed the songs by saying "There’s a lot to wade through, though, and for every good moment, there’s another that should have ended on the cutting room floor."[7] Alex Macpherson from The Guardian commented "This perfunctory nod to that style is like revisiting the sites of your drunkenness through a hungover fug the following night in a doomed attempt to recapture the magic. No one’s heart is in this, [...]"[19] Breihan criticized the composition, feeling that Minaj " doesn’t always understand what she’s good at." He concluded "There’s subtext, sure, but the subtext doesn’t stop the song from being boring bottle-service music."[15]

Music video[edit]

During her interview with reporters from Capital FM, Minaj confirmed that she would appear in the single's accompanying music video.[20] The music video was shot in Downtown Los Angeles, California in March 2015.[citation needed]

A lyric video was published on Minaj's Vevo account, featuring visuals of drinking and colorful lights.[21] Madeline Roth from MTV praised the visuals of the lyric video, commenting "The clip gives the song a kaleidoscopic visual treatment that’s bursting with electric colors as Nicki assures us, “the night is still young and so are we.”[21] She also felt the song was "catchy."[21] The music video (directed by Hannah Lux Davis) was released on May 22, 2015, on Tidal. On May 26, 2015, the video was uploaded to Minaj's Vevo. Minaj's then-boyfriend Meek Mill makes a cameo appearance in the video.[citation needed] The music video has more than 197 million views, as of July 2023.

Live performances[edit]

Minaj has performed the song on her third world tour The Pinkprint Tour in 2015.[22] The song was in the segment of "dance bangers" alongside her collaboration single "Turn Me On" with French disc jockey David Guetta and her single "Starships". Levine, reporting the publication NME, commented "Ending with a succession of dance bangers including her David Guetta EDM hit 'Turn Me On', underrated 'The Pinkprint' cut 'The Night Is Still Young' and a gloriously raucous 'Starships', Nicki has 20,000 people raising their hands to the line 'We're higher than a motherf**ker', and this vast arena feels like a New York basement sweatbox."[22] She also performed the song at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards. On May 30, 2015, Minaj performed the song on the iHeartRadio Summer Pool Party 2015 in Las Vegas.[23] On July 24, 2015, Minaj performed the song on Good Morning America's Summer Concert Series.[24] Minaj also opened the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards with a performance of "Trini Dem Girls", followed by a performance of "The Night Is Still Young" and "Bad Blood" with Taylor Swift.[25]

Charts[edit]

Weekly charts[edit]

Weekly chart performance for "The Night Is Still Young"
Chart (2015)
  • Peak
  • position
Belgium Urban (Ultratop Flanders)[26] 44
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[27] 40
Canada CHR/Top 40 (Billboard)[28] 32
CIS (TopHit)[29] 171
Czech Republic (Rádio – Top 100)[30] 63
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[31] 43
Israel (Media Forest TV Airplay)[32] 4
Ireland (IRMA)[33] 98
Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[34] 71
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[35] 43
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[36] 93
US Billboard Hot 100[37] 31
US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)[38] 6
US Dance/Mix Show Airplay (Billboard)[39] 17
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[40] 14
US Rhythmic (Billboard)[41] 14
UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[42] 23

Certifications[edit]

Certifications and sales for "The Night Is Still Young"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Sweden (GLF)[43] Gold 20,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[44] Silver 200,000‡
United States (RIAA)[45] Platinum 1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history[edit]

Release dates for "The Night Is Still Young"
Region Date Format Label
Russia[46] February 18, 2015 Contemporary hit radio
United Kingdom[47] April 6, 2015
United States[14][48] April 28, 2015 Mainstream radio
Rhythmic radio

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Nicki Minaj Returns To Dance Pop With Next Pinkprint Single 'The Night Is Still Young'". Pop Dust. January 21, 2015. dancey dubstep single, which is produced by Dr. Luke
  2. ^ a b Pitchfork Staff (October 8, 2019). "The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 3, 2023. ...and the feel-good dubstep-pop of "The Night Is Still Young".
  3. ^ "The Pinkprint" (Album liner notes). Nicki Minaj. Cash Money. Young Money Entertainment. 2014.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  4. ^ Lockett, Dee. "Nicki Minaj's The Pinkprint: A Track-by-Track Breakdown". Slate. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  5. ^ a b Madden, Michael (December 22, 2014). "Nicki Minaj - The Pinkprint". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  6. ^ Garvey, Meaghan (December 16, 2014). "Nicki Minaj: The Pink Print / Album Reviews". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  7. ^ a b Kane, Tyler (December 30, 2014). "Nicki Minaj:: The Pinkprint:: Album Reviews". Paste Magazine. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  8. ^ a b Levine, Nick (December 17, 2014). "Nicki Minaj 'The Pinkprint' Album review". Time Out. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  9. ^ a b McGloster, Niki (December 15, 2014). "Nicki Minaj, 'The Pinkprint': Track-by-Track Review". Billboard Magazine. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  10. ^ Nicki Minaj "The Night is Still Young" Sheet Music musicnotes.com
  11. ^ a b Cantor, Brian (February 2015). "'Truffle Butter' Now Set as Nicki Minaj's New Pop Single". Headline Planet (Cantortainment Company). Archived from the original on February 27, 2015. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  12. ^ Cantor, Brian (January 20, 2015). "Republic confirms "The Night is Still Young" as Nicki Minaj's next pop single". Headline Planet (Cantortainment Company). Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  13. ^ "Nicki Minaj confirms new single UK release date". officialcharts.com.
  14. ^ a b "Top 40/M Future Releases - Mainstream Hit Songs Being Released and Their Release Dates ..." All Access. Archived from the original on April 25, 2015. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  15. ^ a b Breihan, Tom (December 12, 2014). "Premature Evaluation: Nicki Minaj The Pinkprint". Stereogum. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  16. ^ Dolan, Jon (December 17, 2014). "Nicki Minaj The Pinkprint Album review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  17. ^ St. Asaph, Catherine (March 5, 2015). "Review: Nicki Minaj Reinvents Herself on Personal The Pinkprint". Time Magazine. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  18. ^ Caramanica, Jon (December 20, 2014). "Nicki Minaj - The Pinkprint (review)". The New York Times. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  19. ^ Macpherson, Alex (December 12, 2014). "Nicki Minaj – The Pinkprint first-listen review: 'She has no idea what her strengths are'". The Guardian. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  20. ^ "NICKI MINAJ TO SHOOT VIDEO FOR "THE NIGHT IS..."". mypinkfriday.com. March 12, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  21. ^ a b c Roth, Madeline (March 25, 2015). "Nicki Minaj's New Lyric Video Will Make You Want To EFFIN' PARTY". MTV. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  22. ^ a b Levine, Nick (March 28, 2015). "Nicki Minaj, The 02 Arena, London". NME. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  23. ^ "CHRIS BROWN, NICKI MINAJ PERFORM AT IHEARTRADIO SUMMER POOL PARTY", Rap-Up, May 31, 2015, retrieved May 31, 2015
  24. ^ Brodsky, Rachel (July 24, 2015). "Nicki Minaj Performs 'Feeling Myself' on 'Good Morning America'". Spin. Spin Media. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  25. ^ "No 'Bad Blood' Here! Nicki Minaj Performs with Taylor Swift in MTV VMAs Opener". People. August 30, 2015. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
  26. ^ "Nicki Minaj – The Night Is Still Young" (in Dutch). Ultratop Urban. Retrieved June 06, 2015.
  27. ^ "Nicki Minaj Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  28. ^ "Nicki Minaj Chart History (Canada CHR/Top 40)". Billboard. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
  29. ^ Nicki Minaj — The Night Is Still Young. TopHit. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  30. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 201532 into search.
  31. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – SINGLES DIGITAL – TOP 100 and insert 201532 into search. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  32. ^ "מדיה פורסט - לדעת שאתה באוויר". Mediaforest.biz. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
  33. ^ "Chart Track: Week 2, 2015". Irish Singles Chart.
  34. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201538 into search.
  35. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 20153 into search.
  36. ^ "Nicki Minaj – The Night Is Still Young". Singles Top 100. Retrieved March 29, 2015.
  37. ^ "Nicki Minaj Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  38. ^ "Nicki Minaj Chart History (Hot Rap Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
  39. ^ "Nicki Minaj Chart History (Dance Mix/Show Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
  40. ^ "Nicki Minaj Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  41. ^ "Nicki Minaj Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  42. ^ "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
  43. ^ "Sverigetopplistan – Nicki Minaj" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan.
  44. ^ "British single certifications – Nicki Minaj – The Night Is Still Young". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  45. ^ "American single certifications – Nicki Minaj – The Night Is Still Young". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
  46. ^ "Nicki Minaj - The Night is Still Young". Tophit.
  47. ^ "BBC – Radio 1 – New Entries". BBC. Archived from the original on April 9, 2015.
  48. ^ "Crossover - HITS Daily Double". HITS Daily Double. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
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