Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber Speak Out After ‘Stuck With U’ Hits No. 1

Following the announcement that Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber’s collab “Stuck With U” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Grande her third Hot 100 topper and Bieber his sixth, Grande wrote a lengthy Instagram note addressed to fans and even some skeptics about the success of the charitable single, which will benefit the First Responders Children’s Foundation.

“Thank u to everybody who supported this song, this cause and made this happen. we love uuuuu so much,” Grande wrote Monday (May 18) afternoon. “There’s so much to celebrate today. However, i would like to say a few things. anyone who knows me or has followed me for a while knows that numbers aren’t the driving force in anything i do. i’m grateful to sing. grateful to have people who want to listen. grateful to even be here at all. i didn’t have a number one for the first five years of my career and it didn’t upset me at all because from the bottom of my heart, music is everything to me. my fans are everything to me. i promise i couldn’t ask for another f–king thing. so with this celebration today, i would like to address a few things which i don’t usually do (i don’t give my energy to drama or strange accusations normally but this has gone a little too far)…my fans bought the song. JUSTIN’S fans bought the song. OUR fans bought this song (never more than four copies each, AS THE RULES STATE). they are ride or die motherf–kers and i thank god every day that i have them in my life. not just when they fight for us to win (even when i ask them not to as i did this week) but because they’re some of the greatest people i know. sales count for more than streams. u cannot discredit this as hard as u try. to anybody that is displeased with their placement on the chart this week or who is spending their time racking their brain thinking of as many ways as they can to discredit hardworking women (and only the women for some reason…..), i ask u to take a moment to humble yourself. be grateful you’re even here. that people want to listen to u at all. it’s a blessed position to be in. i’ve had a lot of “almost number ones” in my career and i never said a goddamn thing because I FEEL GRATEFUL TO EVEN BE HERE. TO WANT TO BE HEARD AT ALL …. and you should feel that way too. congratulations to all my talented ass peers in the top ten this week. even number 3. and thank u to @billboard for this honor. and thank u to everybody who helped us raise a lot of money for a very important cause this week. love u all a lot.”

Bieber also commented on “Stuck With U” going No. 1, denying speculation on social media that improprieties aided the song’s chart debut. He went a step further, pointing out that if anyone had an issue, they shouldn’t go solely after Grande: “This is my song with Ariana Grande and I’m honored to work with her to help raise money for a good cause. If you gonna say her name make sure you say mine because it’s our song.”

“Stuck With U” also starts at No. 1 on the Digital Song Sales chart with 108,000 downloads sold in the week ending May 14, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. The song was on sale in a variety of physical/digital combination offerings during the tracking week, including copies autographed by Grande and Bieber. Consumers could purchase cassette, CD and vinyl singles, each with a digital download; the download would be sent to consumers upon purchase, with physical versions due to arrive at a later date.

“Stuck With U” is the first of a musical compilation benefitting charitable organizations from the duo’s manager Scooter Braun’s SB Projects that will be released over the course of the year. Following news that the song topped the Hot 100, Braun took to Instagram to congratulate both artists and hail healthcare workers during the pandemic. “Thank you to all the first responders and their families. Let’s keep raising money for them as they sacrifice for us. Nuff said,” Braun wrote.

Additional reporting by Gary Trust.