Who wrote Baby I? Ariana Grande's Platinum-certified song was originally offered to Beyoncé 

Ariana Grande has been making music for over a decade, with many of her tracks topping the Billboard charts. Her breakout song, Baby I, from her debut studio album, helped her stay on the charts for years. Unlike many of her other songs, Baby I wasn't written by Grande but by Kenneth Brian Edmonds, known as Babyface. Antonio Dixon and Patrick "J. Que" Smith. Babyface originally wrote the song for Beyoncé, who passed on it, allowing Grande to take it.

While Baby I landed at number 21 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, the song gained much more popularity in Japan, peaking at number six there, earning a Gold certification by RIAJ. The RIAA has also granted the track a Platinum certification.

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Babyface also produced Ariana Grande's debut studio album, Yours Truly

Aside from writing Baby I, Babyface was also the producer of Ariana Grande's debut studio album, Yours Truly.

Soon after the release of the track, Ariana Grande talked about its nostalgic vibe in an MTV interview, admitting that she loved it all the more for that. The 7 Rings singer further added:

"It felt like '90s, Aaliyah, Destiny's Child. I like that it has that throwback feeling to it. And that's when I grew up and it was such a feel-good song to me. And I love what it says. I love it's about loving somebody so much that you just don't know what to say. I think that's really cute. I laughed the first time I heard the lyrics. I like that I get to sing a little more on it... It's quirky."

Further in the MTV interview, Ari discussed the essence of the song, which was the inability to express yourself fully to someone special. When asked if the singer-songwriter could relate to that feeling, Grande said:

"Personally when it comes to me expressing myself with other people, especially if it's towards the beginning of a crush or the beginning of a relationship, I'm so awkward and so flustered in that way."

The Side to Side singer further added that because of how nervous she felt in expressing herself, it was "a very me song" for her.

At one point in the interview, Ariana also compared Baby I to the lead single from her debut album -The Way, calling the former "slightly more sophisticated" than the latter, which she had sung in collaboration with her late ex-boyfriend, Mac Miller.

On the subject, Ariana Grande further said:

"I wanted to take the opportunity while everyone was waiting to see what I was doing next to show them something different. And I think that it's different, a little more mature and I liked that."

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Babyface said Ariana Grande was happy to "take a Beyoncé leftover"

In September 2023, Babyface was interviewed by the GQ for his comeback in the music industry. When the subject of Ariana Grande came up in the interview, Babyface said that she "was always very connected to her music and connected to how she sang, how she sounded".

Further talking about Baby I, which the producer confessed was originally written for Beyoncé, Babyface said:

"I don't know if we actually demoed it, but I played it for her. She almost did it. And then she ultimately decided not to do it. And that went to Ariana who said, 'I'll do that. I'll take a Beyoncé leftover'."

Babyface also recalled how, when he had first asked Ariana Grande what she really wanted to do, the singer admitted to being into musicals. He added:

"Now she's doing Wicked. So I find that very interesting that she finally found her way there."

In other news, Ariana Grande focused solely on the production of the musical Wicked in 2022 and 2023 until shooting wrapped up earlier this year. The Jon M. Chu-directed film released its official trailer in May and will hit theaters on November 22, 2024, around Thanksgiving. The musical fantasy will be a two-part series, with the second part set to be released in November 2025.