"Alone" is a song by German singer

Kim Petras Kim Petras (, ; born 27 August 1992) is a German singer and songwriter based in Los Angeles. Between 2016 and 2020, she released music as an independent artist under her own imprint, BunHead Records, before signing with Amigo and Republic Reco ...

and Trinidadian rapper

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...

. It was released on 21 April 2023 through Amigo Records and

Republic Records Republic Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Based in New York City, it was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially ...

as the lead and only single from Petras' debut studio album, '' Feed the Beast'' (2023). The song was produced by

Dr Luke Łukasz Sebastian Gottwald (born September 26, 1973), known professionally as Dr. Luke, Tyson Trax, and Made in China, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He began his professional music career as the Saturday Night Live ...

and

Rocco Did It Again! Rocco Valdes, known professionally as Rocco Did It Again!, is an American record producer, songwriter, music publisher, and music executive from Hialeah, Florida. Valdes co-founded the record label Chase Records (or Chase Entertainment) in 2004 ...

. The song became a top 10 hit in Turkey and a top 40 hit in Slovakia on the United Kingdom Singles Chart and

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...

Background

Kim Petras' admiration for rapper Nicki Minaj dated back as far as 2011. First speculations about a collaboration arose in early March 2023, after Petras started commenting on Minaj's

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

. In an interview with ''

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 advertis ...

'', the singer also mentioned Minaj as part of her dream girl group. On 9 March and 15 March, Petras posted snippets of the song to her

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

account. The singer announced the collaboration with Minaj on 6 April. She is seen answering a phone and lip-synching over Minaj's part of the song. The song samples "

Better Off Alone "Better Off Alone" is a song by Alice Deejay, the Eurodance project of Dutch producer DJ Jurgen in collaboration with Wessel van Diepen, Dennis van den Driesschen, Sebastiaan Molijn and Eelke Kalberg (Pronti & Kalmani). In 1997, the song was ...

" (1999) by

Alice Deejay Alice Deejay are a Dutch Eurodance project founded and produced by Wessel van Diepen, Dennis van den Driesschen, Sebastiaan Molijn and Eelke Kalberg (Pronti & Kalmani), fronted by singer Judith Anna Pronk. They are best known for their 1998 sing ...

. Musically, it has been described as a

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

track.

Music video

The music video for the song was directed by Arrad. They stated: "Inspiration was drawn from the quintessential early 2000s

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 ...

music videos by artists such as

Fedde Le Grand Fedde Le Grand (, ; born 7 September 1977) is a Dutch House music, house DJ, record producer and remixer. In 2006, his single "Put Your Hands Up 4 Detroit" reached the top five on the Dutch Top 40, number one on the UK Singles Chart and staye ...

and

Alex Gaudino Alessandro Alfonso Fortunato Gaudino (; born 23 January 1970 in Salerno, Campania), better known by his stage name Alex Gaudino, is an Italian DJ and record producer. Biography Early career (1993–2006) Alessandro Alfonso Fortunato Gaudino was ...

."Kim Petras - The Making of 'Alone' (Vevo Footnotes) ft. Nicki Minaj
/ref> Petras stated: "I wanted a really German techy vibe, and was so happy Nicki was down. The harness was custom made by Zana Bayne."

Critical reception

"Alone" received generally positive reviews from critics. Tyler Damara Kelly of ''

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 "club-ready

dance-pop Dance-pop is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music 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 ra ...

track" that "elevates Petras’ penchant for glossy hooks with Minaj's effortless rap verses." Jeff Nelson from ''

People The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...

'' praised the track for sampling the iconic 1999 hit "Better Off Alone" by Alice Deejay and called it "an infectious bop that blends nostalgic dance with a modern twist." Charlotte Manning of ''

Attitude Attitude or Attitude may refer to: Philosophy and psychology * Attitude (psychology), a disposition or state of mind ** Attitude change * Propositional attitude, a mental state held towards a proposition Science and technology * Orientation ...

'' wrote that Petras and Minaj "absolutely deliver" on the "ultimate dance banger" and highlighted the song's catchy beat and Minaj's "spicy verse." In a review for ''Euphoria'', Nmesoma Okechukwu commended the collaboration for delivering "undeniable chemistry between Petras and Minaj," noting that "Alone" is a "catchy dance-pop anthem" destined for club and radio success. On the other hand, some critics were more critical of the song. Mosi Reeves of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' pointed out that while Minaj's performance was strong, the track's "repetitive hooks" and "overly polished production" lacked the originality found in both artists' previous works. Mano Sundaresan of ''

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

'' criticized the track for being "void of personality" and called Minaj's verse "a well-worn rhyme scheme with platitudes about money and private jets." Sundaresan concluded that the collaboration between Petras and Minaj ultimately didn't live up to its promise.

Track listing

Streaming/digital download – single #"Alone" – 3:05 #"Alone" (a cappella) – 3:04 #"Alone" (extended) – 4:01 Streaming/digital download – sped up and slowed version #"Alone" (sped up) – 2:35 #"Alone" (slowed) – 3:23 Streaming/digital download – remixes #"Alone" – 3:05 #"Alone" (2.0) – 3:05 #"Alone" (

DallasK Dallas James Koehlke (born 1991), better known by his stage name DallasK, is an American DJ, record producer, and singer based in Los Angeles. Active since 2010, he co-wrote and produced Fifth Harmony's 5× platinum single, " Work From Home," as ...

remix) – 3:41 #"Alone" (Alex Chapman remix) – 3:22 #"Alone" (

Tommie Sunshine Tommie Sunshine (born Thomas Lorello; March 26, 1971) is a record producer, remixer, DJ and songwriter of electronic music from Chicago currently living in Brooklyn, New York. He is known for creating dance remixes to popular rock and alternativ ...

& On Deck remix) – 5:10 #"Alone" (extended) – 4:01 #"Alone" (sped up) – 2:35 #"Alone" (slowed) – 3:23 #"Alone" (a cappella) – 3:04 #"Alone" (instrumental) – 3:04 Streaming/digital download –

James Hype James Edward Lee Marsland (born 26 November 1989), known professionally as James Hype, is an English DJ and record producer. Biography James Hype was born James Edward Lee Marsland on 26 November 1989 in Wirral, Merseyside, England. He att ...

remix #"Alone" (James Hype remix) – 3:00 Streaming/digital download –

Major Lazer Major Lazer is an American electronic dance music and DJ trio, which includes record producer Diplo, and DJs Walshy Fire and Ape Drums. They were founded in 2008 by Diplo and Switch, with Switch leaving after three years in 2011. He was the ...

remix #"Alone" (Major Lazer remix) – 2:48

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Nicki Minaj songs 2023 singles 2023 songs Kim Petras songs Nicki Minaj songs Republic Records singles Song recordings produced by Dr. Luke Song recordings produced by Rocco Did It Again! Songs written by Dr. Luke Songs written by Eelke Kalberg Songs written by Kim Petras Songs written by Nicki Minaj Songs written by Rocco Did It Again! Songs written by Ryan Ogren Songs written by Sebastiaan Molijn