Right By My Side

"Right By My Side" is a song by Trinidadian-American recording artist, Nicki Minaj, taken from her sophomore studio album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded (2012). The song also features additional vocals from R&B artist Chris Brown. "Right by My Side" was written by Ester Dean, Minaj, and Safaree Samuels, while production was handled by Andrew "Pop" Wansel, Oak, JProof, and Flip. On March 20, 2012, Minaj released the song early, tweeting the link to the song, as well as streaming it on her official website. On March 27, 2012, "Right by My Side" was given a proper release as the second official single, which included U.S. Rhythmic and Urban radio on the same day.

Musically, "Right by My Side" is an upbeat, downtempo pop ballad infused with elements of R&B and hip hop. It has been heavily compared to several other songs, including Jordin Sparks "No Air", in which Brown was featured on, Rihanna's "You Da One", and even Minaj's own track "Right Thru Me". Critics noted the songs "bubbly" persona, as well as its high quality production.

"Right by My Side" was received positively by music critics, though Brown's inclusion on the song caused mild controversy. Minaj performed the song live for the first time on 106 & Park on April 3, 2012. Minaj also performed the single during her surprise appearance at the Nokia Lumia 900 launch in Times Square. "Right by My Side" was confirmed through Minaj's official Twitter to be accompanied by a music video.

Background and composition
The song was leaked on March 20, 2012, after Nicki Minaj Tweeted "LISTEN !!! #RightByMySide ft. Chris Brown" and released the song on her website. In an interview with Ryan Seacrest, Minaj said about the song: “Toward the end of the album I wanted something more melodic that I could give to urban radio and that pop radio could enjoy as well. I actually had the beats for like 3 months just sitting in my computer and then I said, ‘You know what? This sounds like a summer, R&B classic joint’ and I just could not hear anyone else on it but Chris Brown. So I reached out to Ester Dean and I said, ‘Could you write something for Chris Brown?’ Because she’s amazing with writing and especially for his voice, she has a great skill to write for his tone and she sent it, i fell in love with it, you know cause everybody has had a relationship like this song is talking about, [so] i went in and i wrote my rap, cause i'm rapping and singing in the song, and when we put it all together and let people hear it, everybody was like, this is a hit, release this asap". "Right by My Side" is an upbeat take on a downtempo pop ballad.  The song is also heavily influenced by R&B, and features a "glossy", "bubbly" production.   Some critics found similarities between "Right by My Side" and other songs by fellow female R&B artists, specifically Jordan Sparks and Rihanna. Both Justin Ray of Billboard, Andrew Hampp of Billboard, and Robbie Daw of Idolator found the lyrics and themes similar to those of Sparks 2008 single "No Air" which also featured Brown,   Andrew Unterberger of Popdust felt the song was a more successful version of Rihanna's "You da One".

Critical reception
"Right by My Side" received mostly positive reviews from critics, who complimented the song's fun atmosphere, while others criticized it for being too "generic". Andrew Hampp of Billboard said the song sounded "sonically similar to Jordin Sparks and Brown's "No Air"", while he complimented Minaj for letting her guard down. Jesal Padania of Rap Reviews criticized the song for being weak, as well as commenting on the choice to release it as a single, saying "I guess they choose star power over star quality." Andrew Martin of Prefix Magazine was disappointed that the song featured almost no rapping, and called it another "soft-as-hell ballad." In a separate article, Justin Ray of Billboard gave a positive review of the song, and praised Brown's verse.

Music video
Minaj started filming the video on April 28, 2012. Filming ended the following day April 29, 2012 at approximately 6:30 AM. It was directed by Benny Boom. When asked what is her favorite video she shot throughout her career, Minaj replied: "Right By My Side, 4 sure". The video premiered on May 16, 2012 at 6:56 pm EST on BET, FUSE, MTV Jams, MTV Hits, and mtvU. It was then uploaded to VEVO at 7:00 PM EST. Hip-hop rapper Nas appears in the video as Minaj's love interest. American entertainer Chris Brown also makes an appearance on the video. The video has over 55 million views as of September 26, 2012.

Synopsis
The video features Nas as Nicki Minaj's love interest. In the video Minaj dons a blonde wig. The video consists mainly of the duo enjoying each other's company, featuring scenes such as the two of them going shopping, holding hands, hugging, or Nicki jumping into Nas' arms in joy. There are also cut away scenes of Chris Brown singing, Nicki Minaj and Chris Brown singing together in a grey background and Nas looking stressed as Nicki raps about arguing.

Live performances
Minaj performed "Right by My Side" live for the first time on April 3, 2012 on 106 & Park, along with "Beez in the Trap", "Roman Reloaded", "HOV Lane", "I Am Your Leader", "Champion", and "Fire Burns". She also surprised fans by performing the single for the launch of Nokia Lumia 900 in Times Square on April 6, 2012. Minaj performed the song in a mash-up with "Starships" at The Ellen DeGeneres Show on May 10, 2012. Minaj performed Right By My Side live at Radio 1's Hackney Weekend on June 23, 2012 as part of the line-up on the main stage. The song was also included in the setlist of Minaj's Pink Friday Tour.

Chart performance
Upon being released, "Right by My Side" entered US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs at 52, in its opening week, and has peaked at 21 on the chart. "Right by My Side" debuted and peaked at 51 in the Billboard Top 100. The song also peaked at number 67 on the UK Singles Chart on the week ending June 17, 2012.