In the early days of her career, Nicki Minaj had a prolific run of collaborations to help get her name out into the world. In recent years a Nicki feature is the golden seal of approval from the Queen of Rap. However, 2023 brings some new and exciting developments to that idea. As the second release from Heavy On It Records, Nicki Minaj teamed up with Kim Petras on the new single “Alone.”
Petras is a German artist based out of LA who got her start back in 2008. Petras finally made her debut in 2017 and made waves with her debut single “I Don’t Want It at All.” The collaboration between Petras and Minaj may bring up a bit of old-school Barb nostalgia as Petras’ sound is very similar to that of David Guetta, taking us back to 2011/12’s when we first got a taste of Onika’s versatility.
This new single from Petras’ debut album samples Alice DeeJay’s 1998 hit “Better Off Alone.” But Kim doesn’t think she’d be “better off alone,” quite the contrary, the song is about wanting to get her suitor alone for some private time. Produced by Dr. Luke and Rocco Did it Again!, “Alone” was released on April 21, 2023, marking the third song featuring Nicki Minaj to drop in April of this year.
“Alone” Single Review
The new Petras single featuring Nicki Minaj has a poppy, upbeat vibe to it, reminiscent of Minaj’s “Automatic” (2012) or “The Night is Still Young” (2015). “Alone” hits the ground running by bringing the hook front and center as the song opens with these lines:
“I’ve been tryna give it to you all night
What’s it gonna take to get you all alone?
I just want you here by my side
I don’t wanna be here, baby, on my own“
Verse one is very upfront with Kim’s intentions, ending the verse with:
“I could ride it, ride it, ride it, ride it all night
Watch me ride it, ride it, ride it, ride it all night
Wanna feel the rush
Wanna feel your touch“
After another rousing round of the chorus, Minaj comes in for verse two, keeping the theme of the song with iconic bars like:
“Puff, puff, pass ’cause you know we blazing (Blazing)
When I put it on him, he say, “It’s amazing” (Amazing)
All this cake, he doin’ a tasting (Tasting; mm)“
Before giving us the chorus one last time as the fun dance track fades out. The short track is entirely addictive and will have you singing along by the end of it. The message of this song is definitely on point, leaving the listener absolutely aglow with positive vibes.
“Alone” has the potential to be one of the 2023 Summer Anthems and deserves to be on all your favorite EDM playlists.