Ariana Grande's "Problem"

About

“Problem” is a 2014 pop song performed by American recording artist Ariana Grande featuring Australian rapper Iggy Azelea. Since its release in May, the song has spawned dozens of fan-made parodies and covers, the popularity of which can be partially attributed to Azelea releasing a hit song, ‘Fancy,’ a few months prior and Grande’s large fanbase steming from her starring role on the Nickelodeon children’s show Victorious.

Origin

On May 1st, 2014, the ArianaGrandeVevo^[1] YouTube channeled uploaded the music video for the track, which is in black and white and features the lyrics overlayed over close-ups of Grande and Azelea. Within three months, the video gained over 51 million views and 33,000 comments.

On May 30th, the YouTube channel uploaded a second music video for the song, which features a 1960s mod astetic and pyscadelic backgrounds. Within two months, the video gained over 65 million views and over 75,000 comments.

Spread

On May 20th, 2014, YouTuber Mikey Bolts^[2] uploaded a video (below, left) titles "Ariana Grande “Problem” (Family Guy/South Park Voices)," which featured him singing a parody of “Problem” as the characters on the animated television shows Family Guy and South Park. Within two months the video gained over 1.4 million views. On May 24th, 2014, YouTuber Brittani Louise Taylor^[3] uploaded a “Problem” parody (below, right) about enjoying her hotel room. Within two months the video has gained over 370,000 views.

On May 30th, 2014, YouTuber AwesomenessTV^[4] uploaded a “Problem” parody (below, left) about being glad for school to be over for summer vacation. As of July 2014, the video has gained over 150,000 views. On July 3rd, 2014, YouTuber TheKeyofAwesome^[5] uploaded a parody of “Problem” (below, right) with altered lyrics that criticized specific aspects of the song and music video. In less than a week the video gained over 1 million views.

Notable Examples

Parodies

Covers

Search Interest

External References