Don't Call Me Angel

"Don't Call Me Angel" is a song by American singers Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, and Lana Del Rey. It was released on September 13, 2019, by Republic Records as the lead single from the soundtrack to the film Charlie's Angels, based on the television series of the same name created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts. The song reached number one in Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Lebanon, Scotland and Israel, as well as the top five in eleven other countries.

Background and composition

Grande, Cyrus, and Del Rey had collaborated on the theme song for the 2019 film Charlie's Angels. The song was written by Grande, Alma-Sofia Miettinen, Ilya Salmanzadeh, Del Rey, Max Martin, Cyrus and Savan Kotecha. "Don't Call Me Angel" is a pop and trap song with "lightly hip-hop-infused production".

Critical reception

The song received a lukewarm reaction from critics. Vulture's Craig Jenkins wrote that the single "blends styles that sound fine alone but struggle to jell together ... such is the vastness of the space between the singers present". Stacy Anderson of Pitchfork stated that the pop stars "meet at a lower creative common denominator than they've enjoyed lately" while adding that the song has "distinct flatness". Writing for NME, Rhian Daly claimed it was "definitely not the follow-up to Destiny's Child's own Charlie's Angels theme" and that the collaboration was "far less potent".

Commercial performance

"Don't Call Me Angel" debuted at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart becoming Grande's 20th top 20 song, Cyrus' 14th, and Del Rey's third. The song also became Del Rey's highest-charting song since "Summertime Sadness", which reached number six in 2013; as well as Cyrus' highest since "Malibu", which peaked at number 10 in 2017. The track started at number two on the Digital Songs chart with 26,000 downloads sold within its first week, and number eleven on the Streaming Songs chart with 26.3 million streams. With 7.5 million airplay audience impressions, "Don't Call Me Angel" also debuted at number 33 on the Mainstream Top 40 following a complete tracking week.

Music video

The music video and the song were both released on September 13, 2019. It features the singers dressed up in black angel costumes and wearing wings on their backs. The ending featured Elizabeth Banks showcasing her role as Rebekah Bosley from the film. The video has since surpassed the 100 million view mark becoming Grande's first video since "7 Rings" to do so, Del Rey's first since "Lust for Life" and Cyrus' first since "Malibu".

Lyric video

A lyric video was released on September 16, 2019, which shows scenes from the film.

Live performance

"Don't Call Me Angel" was first performed live by Cyrus during her set on iHeartRadio Music Festival on September 21, 2019.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal:

• Ariana Grande – vocals, songwriting
• Miley Cyrus – vocals, songwriting
• Lana Del Rey – vocals, songwriting
• Ilya – production, songwriting, bass, drums, keyboards
• Max Martin – production, songwriting, bass, drums, keyboards
• Alma – songwriting
• Savan Kotecha – songwriting
• Daniel Changel – songwriting, samples
• Cory Bice – record engineering
• Jeremy Lertola – record engineering
• Sam Holland – record engineering
• John Hanes – mixing engineering
• Serban Ghenea – mixing

Charts

Certifications

Release history

References