2024 single by Marshmello and Anne-Marie
"F-R-I-E-N-D-S" redirects here. For the television series, see Friends
"Friends" (stylized in all caps) is a📈 song by American DJ and producer Marshmello and English singer Anne-Marie. It was written by the artists, and Nat Dunn.📈 [2] The song was released via Joytime Collective and Asylum Records on February 9, 2024, as the fifth single from📈 Anne-Marie's debut studio album, Speak Your Mind (2024). A lyric video was released on the same day. The song peaked📈 at number four on the UK Singles Chart and at number 11 on the US Billboard Hot 100.[3][4] "Friends" was📈 the ninth best-selling single of 2024 with sales of 9.6 million track-equivalent units according to the International Federation of the📈 Phonographic Industry (IFPI).[5]
Background and release [ edit ]
In 2024, Marshmello remixed Anne-Marie's song "Alarm".[6][7] Fond of the remix, Anne-Marie wanted📈 to collaborate with Marshmello, and eventually they met in a studio in London, where production of the song commenced.[8] Initially📈 Marshmello played some guitar, piano, synth and drum loops; listening to every single one they decided to proceed with guitar.📈 Anne-Marie wrote the lyrics for the song corresponding to the loop. The major lyrics and drum sessions were completed in📈 thirty minutes. Following next two hours, they completed the entire lyric session and the whole song was completed in three📈 hours.[7]
On February 4, 2024, both artists posted a teaser image for the single on social media, revealing the song's release📈 date.[9][10] They later posted a short audio clip on February 7, 2024.[11] Speaking about the song with London Evening Standard,📈 Anne-Marie said: "The idea came from a boy that I know that's my friend and he kind of he wanted📈 to be more than my friend and I was like 'look brother how many times do I have to tell📈 you we're just friends'. I thought it would be funny to write a song about it and there weren't that📈 many songs about it and it works for Valentine's day for all the people who are single. I don't ever📈 want him to know that it's about him because it's awkward. I do feel a bit bad but I'm trying📈 to forget that it's about him and think about how funny it is about the situation."[12]
Anne-Marie wrote on Genius: "I📈 think this is the friend-zone anthem because I don't think there's been any other songs like this. I don't know📈 if I've heard this, like this blatant in a song before. Like if you're trying to put someone in the📈 friend zone, you can send them this song. And then everything will be sweet. That's why I feel like it's📈 the friend-zone anthem."[13]
Two clean versions exist; radio stations play a version where the swear word in “That’s how you f***ing📈 spell friends” uses a radio-style censor, while the original censor of the word is left in for digital download.
Composition [📈 edit ]
"Friends" is an EDM-pop song performed in the key of A minor using 4
4 time with a tempo of📈 95 beats per minute.[14] The vocals span from D 4 to C 6 .[15]
Critical reception [ edit ]
The song received📈 generally positive reviews. Kat Bein of Billboard described the song as a blend of a wide variety of genres, writing:📈 "The English singer delivers a bossy performance that would put any dog's tail between its legs, while Marshmello plays clever📈 on acoustic guitar over a bumpin' electronic beat and even works in some G-Funk, West Coast synth work."[16] Caitlin White📈 of Uproxx called the song "a banger" that reaches "the level of unescapable that I most closely associate with the📈 first time I heard The Chainsmokers wobbly pop ballad 'Paris'", stating that Anne-Marie "strikes the perfect balance between disdain and📈 aggression".[17] James Shotwell of Substream Magazine wrote: "'Friends' finds Marshmello abandoning the world of EDM for a far more traditional📈 pop sound that perfectly pairs with vocalist Anne-Marie's entrancing croon."[18] Brad McCrea of iHeartRadio deemed the song a combination of📈 "strong dance beats" and "pop vocals from Anne-Marie".[14] Mike Wass of Idolator noted that the song does not belong to📈 the "sub-genre of pop songs about friends who become lovers", but instead is "a musical reminder to stop making a📈 fool of yourself", calling the song "Marshmello's third big hit in a row", following "Silence" and "Wolves".[19]
Music videos and promotion📈 [ edit ]
A lyric video to "Friends" was first released on YouTube on February 9, 2024, at a total length📈 of three minutes and twenty six seconds. As of October 2024 , the lyric video has received over 1 billion📈 views on YouTube. The music video, directed by Hannah Lux Davis, was released on February 16, 2024.[20] In the video,📈 Anne-Marie and a group of female friends host a house party. As the party comes to an end, Marshmello starts📈 cleaning the house to avoid being asked to leave. However, Anne-Marie insists to kick him out, but he keeps finding📈 ways to get back into the house, which annoys Anne-Marie and her friends.[21][22][23] It echoes the song's lyrical content, by📈 exploring the theme of being friend zoned, with Marshmello attempting to win Anne-Marie's love, but she just wants to be📈 friends with him.
An alternate video was filmed at the Happy Place pop-up museum in Los Angeles and shows them in📈 an upside down room, a yellow bathtub surrounded by rubber duckies, a giant neon XO with lip print wallpaper, a📈 confetti-filled dome and a room filled with flowers.[24] On March 7, 2024, Marshmello and Anne Marie joined to perform the📈 song on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.[25] The pair also performed a medley version of "Friends" alongside the single📈 "Happier", with British band Bastille, at the 2024 MTV Europe Music Awards on November 4, 2024.[26]
Track listing [ edit ]
Digital📈 download[2]
"Friends" – 3:22
Digital download – acoustic version[27]
"Friends" (acoustic) – 3:29
Digital download – R3hab remix[28]
"Friends" (R3hab remix) – 2:37
Digital download –📈 Sikdope remix[29]
"Friends" (Sikdope remix) – 2:43
Digital download – Borgeous remix[30]
"Friends" (Borgeous remix) – 3:22
"Friends" (A Boogie wit da Hoodie remix)📈 – 3:22
Digital download – Justin Caruso remix[32]
"Friends" (Justin Caruso remix) – 3:14
Personnel [ edit ]
Credits adapted from Tidal.[2]
Marshmello – production,📈 programming
Anne-Marie – vocals
Stuart Hawkes – master engineering
Cameron Gower-Poole – engineering
Michael Freeman – mix engineering assistance
Spike Stent – mixing
Charts [ edit📈 ]
Certifications [ edit ]
Release history [ edit ]
See also [ edit ]
