"Best Friend" is a song by American rapper

Saweetie Diamonté Quiava Valentin Harper (born July 2, 1993), known professionally as Saweetie (; also pronounced as simply "sweetie"), is an American rapper and singer. Her 2017 debut single, "Icy Grl", received RIAA certification, double platinum cer ...

featuring fellow American rapper and singer

Doja Cat Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini (born October 21, 1995), known professionally as Doja Cat (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, she began making and releasing music on SoundCl ...

, released on January 7, 2021 as the third single from Saweetie's upcoming debut studio album ''

Pretty Bitch Music ''Pretty Bitch Music'' (alternatively stylized as ''Pretty B*tch Music'') is the forthcoming debut studio album by American rapper Saweetie, which is expected to be released in 2025 by Artistry, Warner Records and her own label Icy Records. The ...

''. The song was written by the two performers along with Asia Smith, Kaine, Theron Thomas, and producers

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!. The song's first official remix features vocals from British rapper

Stefflon Don Stephanie Victoria Allen (born 14 December 1991), known professionally as Stefflon Don, is an English rapper. She rose to fame with her 2017 single "Hurtin' Me" (featuring French Montana), which peaked at number seven on the UK singles chart, ...

, while the second features Chinese rapper VaVa. A third, with New Zealand rapper JessB and Australian singer Okenyo, a fourth, with South Korean singer

Jamie Jamie is a unisex name. Traditionally a masculine name, it can be diminutive form of James or, more rarely, other names and is of Scottish English origin. It is also given as a name in its own right. Since the mid-20th century it has been used a ...

and South Korean/Japanese rapper

Chanmina , known professionally as , is a South Korean-Japanese rapper and pop musician. She debuted in 2016 independently, before releasing her major label debut album ''Miseinen'' in 2017. Biography Chanmina was born in South Korea, to a Japanese fa ...

, and fifth, with German rapper Katja Krasavice, were also released. The latter debuted at number one in Germany, becoming the first number-one single there for both Saweetie and Doja Cat. The single also won Saweetie her first Video Music Award for Best Art Direction. The song also received a nomination for

Best Rap Song The Grammy Award for Best Rap Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rap music genre. Honors in several c ...

at the

64th Annual Grammy Awards The 64th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on April 3, 2022. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from September 1, 2020, to September 30, ...

Background and release

On December 4, 2020, "Best Friend" was released prematurely on streaming platforms. Saweetie later took to social media to express her disappointment in her record label,

Warner Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

, in regards to handling the release. She stated: "I am extremely disappointed in my label WBR for prematurely releasing a single I was so excited about. I feel disrespected. I'm hands on with ALL of my creative & had such a dope rollout for 'best friends'. The thirst for clout & $ is real & it overrides the artists' art." The single was later taken off streaming services the following day. "Best Friend" was then officially released on January 7, 2021 for digital download and

streaming Streaming media refers to multimedia delivered through a network for playback using a media player. Media is transferred in a ''stream'' of packets from a server to a client and is rendered in real-time; this contrasts with file downl ...

. The track was sent to both

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (CHR, also known as contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top ...

and

rhythmic contemporary radio Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 20, Rhythmic Top 30, Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and upbeat R&B hits. ...

in the United States on January 12, 2021.

Composition and reception

The hip hop song was described as a "danceable", " club-ready", and "fun,

uptempo A variety of musical terms is encountered in printed scores, music reviews, and program notes. Most of the terms are Italian, in accordance with the Italian origins of many European musical conventions. Sometimes, the special musical meanings ...

record that celebrates friendship." Lyrically, the rappers highlight and hype up each other's beauty, success, independence, wealth, and loyalty.

Accolades

Music video

Filmed in November 2020, The Dave Meyers directed music video was released alongside the song on January 7, 2021. The video consists of Saweetie and Doja Cat in various settings including driving and posing in front of a bedazzled Tesla as well as jumping off of a cliff into the ocean. The video also features an appearance from Canadian comedian

King Bach Andrew Byron Bachelor (born June 26, 1988), better known by his stage name King Bach ( ), is a Canadian-American Internet comedian and actor who rose to fame on the now-defunct video sharing service Vine, on which he was the most-followed user w ...

. Althea Legaspi of ''Rolling Stone'' noted that they call out

misogyny Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against Woman, women or girls. It is a form of sexism that can keep women at a lower social status than Man, men, thus maintaining the social roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been wide ...

and celebrate

camaraderie In political contexts, comrade means a fellow party member. The political use was inspired by the French Revolution, after which it grew into a form of address between socialists and workers. Since the Russian Revolution, popular culture in the ...

in the music video. Upon release, Saweetie was accused of stealing the concept of the music video from "BFF" by R&B duo Ceraadi. As of June 2024, the music video has reached 300 million views on YouTube.

Usage in media

* The song was used in the official trailers for the 2022

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

film '' Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers''. * The song was featured in

Airbnb Airbnb, Inc. ( , an abbreviation of its original name, "Air Bed and Breakfast") is an American company operating an online marketplace for short-and-long-term homestays, experiences and services in various countries and regions. It acts as a ...

's TV ad "Girls Trip".

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Footnotes

References

{{Authority control 2021 songs 2021 singles Saweetie songs Doja Cat songs Number-one singles in Germany Song recordings produced by Dr. Luke Song recordings produced by Rocco Did It Again! Songs written by Rocco Did It Again! Songs written by Dr. Luke Songs written by Doja Cat Songs written by Saweetie Songs written by Theron Thomas Warner Records singles Music videos directed by Dave Meyers (director) Songs about loyalty Songs about friendship Songs about dancing Pop-rap songs Songs about alcohol