Bed of Lies (song)

"Bed of Lies"
Single by Nicki Minaj featuring Skylar Grey
from the album The Pinkprint
Released	November 16, 2014[1]
Format	Digital download
Recorded	2014
Genre	Hip hop pop[2][3]
Length	4:29 3:55 (album edit – international deluxe)
Label	Young Money Cash Money Republic
Writer(s)	Onika Maraj Holly Hafermann Daniel Johnson Jeremy Coleman Breyan Isaac Vinay Vyas Justin Davey
Producer(s)	Alex da Kid Kane Beatz TODAY Breyan Isaac JMIKE
Nicki Minaj singles chronology
"Only" (2014) "Bed of Lies" (2014) "Throw Sum Mo" (2014) Skylar Grey singles chronology "New National Anthem" (2014) "Bed of Lies" (2014)

"Bed of Lies" is a song by Trinidadian-American rapper Nicki Minaj, taken from her third studio album, The Pinkprint (2014). The song was first premiered at the 2014 MTV EMAs in Glasgow, Scotland and was later released on November 16, 2014 by Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Republic Records as the fourth single from the album. The track features American singer-songwriter Skylar Grey on the chorus plus additional vocals on the verses as well as piano playing and was written by the latter along with Minaj. "Bed of Lies" features a restrained keyboard and lyrics that touch upon themes of "heartfelt litany of grievances" about an ex-lover.^[4]

Upon release "Bed of Lies" met positive reviews from music critics, who commended Grey's hook and Minaj's ability to show off her vulnerable side while remaining confident. The song peaked at number 62 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and became Minaj's 56th Hot 100 entry, tying her with Madonna and Dionne Warwick for the third-most entries among women. It peaked at number seven in Australia and number 13 in New Zealand. "Bed of Lies" was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association and gold by Recorded Music NZ.

Background

Minaj debuted the song at the 2014 MTV EMAs in Glasgow, Scotland with Skylar Grey. In an interview with Billboard, Grey revealed that she had written and recorded a demo version of the track before it had been sent to Minaj who wrote and recorded verses of her own to the song. Grey commented, "She liked the demo of it enough to keep me on the song. I knew it was maybe gonna happen, but she released a lot of different singles first. So I didn’t really know when she was gonna drop this song. And then about a week ago I got a call from her team and they wondered if I could come to Scotland and do the song with them."^[5] On November 15, the full song premiered on Saturday Night Online; it was made available on iTunes the next day.

Composition

"Bed of Lies" is written in the key of B major with a moderate tempo of 86 beats per minute. The vocals in the song span from G♯₃ to B₄, and the song follows a chord progression of B – F♯/A♯ – G♯m – F♯/A♯ – B.^[6]

Critical reception

	"Bed of Lies" A 27-second sample of "Bed of Lies" by Nicki Minaj featuring Skylar Grey, where the chorus is heard.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"Bed of Lies" received positive reviews from critics, praising Grey's hook and Minaj's ability to show off her vulnerable side while remaining confident along with her rapid flow. Deniqua Campbell from The Source gave the song a positive review, saying Minaj has yet to let up her unrelenting push to re-ignite her rapping flame and that "Bed of Lies" "appeals to Minaj’s more serene nature".^[7] Caitlin White from MTV News praised the song, saying "Nicki has always done emotional with just the right touch of vulnerability and strength".^[8] Christina Lee from Idolater called it "a more pointed and detailed version of debut Pinkprint single 'Pills N Potions'".^[9] Lindsey Weber from Vulture said "Nicki takes a sickly sweet Skylar Grey hook and wraps a nasty ode around it".^[10] Sharan Shetty from Slate called "Bed of Lies" "perhaps the most confessional song Minaj has ever made" and praised the fact that Minaj didn't come off as having a "pity party".^[11] Eliza Thompson from Cosmopolitan praised the song and said Grey's hook was "all pretty and wistful".^[12]

Commercial performance

"Bed of Lies" debuted at number seventy on the US Billboard Hot 100, in doing so it became Minaj's 56th entry on the chart, tying her with Madonna and Dionne Warwick for the third-most entries among women since the chart began in 1958.^[13] On January 16, 2015, ARIA certified the single Platinum in Australia for sales of 70,000.

Live performances

On November 9, 2014, Minaj and Grey debuted the song performing at the 2014 MTV EMA.^[14] They also performed the song on November 23, 2014 at the 2014 AMAs and on December 6, 2014 on Saturday Night Live.^{[15] [16]} On December 15, 2014, they performed the track at The Ellen DeGeneres Show.^[17] On December 16, 2014, they performed the song twice, first on Today and after on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.^[18][19]

Charts

Weekly

Chart (2014–15)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[20]	7
Australian Urban (ARIA)[21]	3
Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[22]	50
Belgium Urban (Ultratop Flanders)[23]	23
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[24]	41
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[25]	74
France (SNEP)[26]	134
Ireland (IRMA)[27]	56
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[28]	13
Norway (VG-lista)[29]	10
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[30]	11
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[31]	73
UK R&B (Official Charts Company)[32]	4
US Billboard Hot 100[33]	62
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[34]	19
US Rhythmic (Billboard)[35]	38

Year-end

Year	Chart	Position
2014	Australia Urban (ARIA)[36]	17
2015	Australia Urban (ARIA)[37]	21
	Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[38]	91

Certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[39]	Platinum	70,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)[40]	Gold	7,500
Norway (IFPI Norway)[41]	Platinum	10,000
Sweden (GLF)[42]	Platinum	40,000
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Radio and release history

Region	Date	Format	Label
Unknown	November 16, 2014	Digital download	Young Money Cash Money Republic
United States[43][44]	November 18, 2014	Rhythmic radio
United Kingdom	December 15, 2014	Digital download
Italy	December 19, 2014	Mainstream radio

References

1. "iTunes - Music - Bed of Lies (feat. Skylar Grey) - Single by Nicki Minaj". iTunes. November 16, 2014. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
2. "Nicki Minaj". exclaim.ca. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
3. Los Angeles Times (15 December 2014). "Review: The many moods of Nicki Minaj on 'The Pinkprint' - LA Times". latimes.com. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
4. "Nicki Minaj Pours Her Heart Out on 'Bed of Lies'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
5. Steve Baltin (November 11, 2014). "Skylar Grey on Nicki Minaj Collaboration 'Bed Of Lies': 'It's a Nice Contrast to Her Other Singles'". Billboard.
6. Onika, Maraj,. "Bed of Lies". www.musicnotes.com. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
7. "Listen To Nicki Minaj’s "Bed Of Lies," f/ Skylar Grey". The Source. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
8. "Nicki Minaj Calls Out An Ex On The Full Version Of New Track ‘Bed Of Lies". MTV. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
9. "Nicki Minaj Debuts "Bed Of Lies" Featuring Skylar Grey: Listen". Idolater. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
10. "Nicki Minaj Gets Emotional on Her New Single, ‘Bed of Lies’". Vulture. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
11. "Nicki Minaj Teams Up With Skylar Grey for the Heartbreaking, Deeply Personal "Bed of Lies"". Slate. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
12. "Nicki Minaj Shares Full "Bed of Lies," It's Perfect". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
13. "Hot 100 Chart Moves: Band Aid 30 Debuts, Nicki Minaj Ties Madonna's Hit Total". Billboard. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
14. Erika Ramirez (November 9, 2014). "Nicki Minaj Debuts Skylar Grey Collabo 'Bed of Lies' at 2014 MTV EMA Awards: Watch". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
15. Gia Peppers (November 23, 2014). "Nicki Minaj AMA Performance 2014: Rapper Gets Emotional, Performs 'Bed of Lies' with Skylar Grey After Lil' Wayne & Christina Milian [VIDEO]". Enstars. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
16. "NICKI MINAJ PERFORMS ON ‘SNL’". Rap-Up. December 7, 2014. Retrieved December 7, 2014.
17. "NICKI MINAJ PERFORMS ‘BED OF LIES’ ON ‘ELLEN’". Rap-Up. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
18. "NICKI MINAJ PERFORMS ‘BED OF LIES’ ON ‘TODAY’". Rap-Up. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
19. "NICKI MINAJ VISITS ‘THE TONIGHT SHOW’". Rap-Up. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
20. "Australian-charts.com – Nicki Minaj feat. Skylar Grey – Bed of Lies". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
21. "ARIA Australian Top 40 Urban Singles - ARIA Charts". ARIA Charts. 29 December 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
22. "Ultratop.be – Nicki Minaj feat. Skylar Grey – Bed of Lies" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
23. "Ultratop.be – Nicki Minaj feat. Skylar Grey – Bed of Lies" (in Dutch). Ultratop Urban. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
24. "Nicki Minaj – Chart history" Canadian Hot 100 for Nicki Minaj. Retrieved November 28, 2014.
25. "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201451 into search. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
26. "Lescharts.com – Nicki Minaj feat. Skylar Grey – Bed of Lies" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved November 30, 2014.
27. "Chart Track: Week 51, 2014". Irish Singles Chart.
28. "Charts.org.nz – Nicki Minaj feat. Skylar Grey – Bed of Lies". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved November 28, 2014.
29. "Norwegiancharts.com – Nicki Minaj feat. Skylar Grey – Bed of Lies". VG-lista. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
30. "Swedishcharts.com – Nicki Minaj feat. Skylar Grey – Bed of Lies". Singles Top 100. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
31. "Nicki Minaj: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
32. "Archive Chart: 2014-12-27" UK R&B Chart. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
33. "Nicki Minaj – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Nicki Minaj. Retrieved November 28, 2014.
34. "Nicki Minaj – Chart history" Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for Nicki Minaj. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
35. "Nicki Minaj – Chart history" Billboard Rhythmic Songs for Nicki Minaj. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
36. "ARIA Charts - End Of Year Charts - Top 50 Urban Singles 2014". ARIA. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
37. "ARIA Charts - End Of Year Charts - Top 50 Urban Singles 2015". ARIA. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
38. "Årslista Singlar - År 2015" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Swedish Recording Industry Association. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
39. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2015 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
40. "New Zealand single certifications – Nicki Minaj feat. Skylar Grey – Bed of Lies". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
41. "Troféoversikt" (If necessary, enter Nicki Minaj in the Søk box and click on Søk ) (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
42. "Nicki Minaj, Bed of Lies - Certifikat" (Enter Bed of Lies in the Sök bar, then click on the Visa button below the single's icon ) (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan.se. Retrieved April 26, 2014.
43. "Crossover - HITS Daily Double". HITS Daily Double. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
44. "HITS Daily Double : Rumor Mill - YOUR RADIO ADD RECAP". HITS Daily Double. Retrieved 26 August 2015.