Salt (song)

"Salt" is a song by American singer Ava Max. It was released as the fourth single from her debut studio album Heaven & Hell (2020) on December 12, 2019, through Atlantic Records on streaming services. "Salt" was initially released on YouTube and SoundCloud in 2018, and was written by Max, Autumn Rowe, Madison Love, Nicole Morier, and the producer Cirkut. The dance-pop song was regarded as a "fan favorite" by several publications, who praised the upbeat production. "Salt" peaked at number one in Poland, and charted in the top 10 in Austria, Finland, Germany, Norway, Russia, Ukraine, and Switzerland. It has received a triple platinum and platinum music recording certification, as well as a gold certification in five countries.

"Salt"
Re-released 2019 cover artwork
Single by Ava Max
from the album Heaven & Hell
Released	December 12, 2019
Genre	Dance-pop
Length	3:00
Label	Atlantic
Songwriter(s)	Amanda Koci Autumn Rowe Henry Walter Madison Love Nicole Morier
Producer(s)	Cirkut
Ava Max singles chronology
"Tabú" (2019) "Salt" (2019) "Alone, Pt. II" (2019)
Alternate cover
Original 2018 cover artwork
Audio video
"Salt" on YouTube

Background and composition

"Salt" was initially released on YouTube and SoundCloud in 2018, where it gained 4 million views on the former by December 2019.[1][2] On December 5, 2019, Max revealed the release date on social media,[3] which was subsequently re-released as a single on several streaming services on December 12, 2019.[4] She acknowledged that the song's re-release was due to its high streaming numbers, despite containing no prior marketing or promotion.[5] It was written by Max, Autumn Rowe, Madison Love, Nicole Morier, and the producer Cirkut.[6]

"Salt" is a dance-pop song,[2] with elements of disco.[1] It contains "pumping disco beats from the seventies and eighties" blended with Max's "vocal inflexions". A violin is heard in the introduction, while Wonder Woman and Marilyn Monroe are lyrically mentioned throughout the song, due to their icon status in femininity.[7] It is based on ⁴
₄ common time, the tempo is 128 BPM and is played in the key of D-sharp minor.[8] The song's lyrics describes the carefree nature of not crying over an ex.[9][10]

Critical reception

Several publications have regarded "Salt" to be a "fan-favorite" since its 2018 release.[1][2][4] Rania Aniftos of Billboard described the song as an "upbeat, sassy track about having fun after a sad spell",[4] while Madeline Roth of MTV News called it "dance-pop blissfulness".[2] Writing for Stereogum, Chris DeVille wrote that "Salt" was the best song out of Max's discography despite sounding similar to Lady Gaga.[9] Shaoni Das of Music Talkers stated that the song is an "exhilarating dance number, awash in pools of glitter, glamour, and confidence".[7] However, Nicholas Hautman of Us Weekly criticized the song's lyrics for being cliché, specifically noting that it is "about crying so much that you literally run out of the electrolytes needed to form tears".[11]

Commercial performance

"Salt" topped the Polish Airplay Top 100 on the chart issued April 4, 2020, where it was ultimately certified triple platinum by the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry (ZPAV) for track-equivalent sales of 60,000 units on January 13, 2021.[12][13] In Norway, the song debuted at number 37 on the VG-lista, before peaking at number five.[14] On the Ö3 Austria Top 40 chart, "Salt" debuted on the chart dated March 13, 2020, at number 71. It peaked at number eight on the chart dated April 17, 2020, and was certified platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) for track-equivalent sales of 30,000 units.[15][16] In Germany, the song debuted on the Offizielle Deutsche Charts dated February 21, 2020, at number 99, eventually peaking at number 10 on the chart issued April 10, 2020.[17] It eventually received a gold certification by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI) for track-equivalent sales of 200,000 units.[18] "Salt" charted in the top 10 in Finland, Russia, Ukraine, and Switzerland,[19][20][21][22] while receiving gold certifications in Brazil, Denmark and France.[23][24][25]

Track listing

Digital download – single[26] No. Title Length 1. "Salt" 3:00 Digital download – acoustic[27] No. Title Length 1. "Salt" (Acoustic) 3:10 Digital download – The Remixes[28] No. Title Length 1. "Salt" (Syn Cole Remix) 3:11 2. "Salt" (Toby Green Remix) 2:47

Spotify streaming[29] No. Title Length 1. "Salt" 3:00 2. "Torn" 3:18 3. "Freaking Me Out" 3:12

Personnel

• Amanda Ava Koci – vocals, songwriting
• Henry Walter – songwriting, production, mixing, programming
• Autumn Rowe – songwriting
• Madison Love – songwriting
• Nicole Morier – songwriting
• Chris Gehringer – mastering
• Serban Ghenea – mixing
• John Hanes – engineering

Credits adapted from Tidal.[6]

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for "Salt" Chart (2019–2020) Peak position Australia Airplay (Radiomonitor)[30] 40 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[15] 8 Belarus (Radiomonitor)[31] 5 Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[32] 23 Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)[33] 9 CIS (Tophit)[34] 2 Croatia (HRT)[35] 29 Cyprus (Mix FM Cyprus)[36] 9 Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[37] 85 Denmark (Tracklisten)[38] 25 Estonia (Radiomonitor)[39] 9 Euro Digital Songs (Billboard)[40] 15 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[19] 6 France (SNEP)[41] 38 Germany (Official German Charts)[17] 10 Greece (IFPI)[42] 66 Hungary (Dance Top 40)[43] 13 Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[44] 15 Hungary (Single Top 40)[45] 8 Hungary (Stream Top 40)[46] 22 Ireland (IRMA)[47] 98 Latvia (Latvijas Top 40)[48] 37 Lithuania (AGATA)[49] 34 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[50] 16 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[51] 35 Norway (VG-lista)[14] 5 Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)[12] 1 Poland (Video Chart)[52] 5 Romania (Airplay 100)[53] 52 Russia Airplay (Tophit)[20] 3 Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[54] 1 Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[55] 40 Slovenia (SloTop50)[56] 3 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[57] 33 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[22] 8 Ukraine Airplay (Tophit)[21] 7

Year-end charts 2020 year-end chart performance for "Salt" Chart (2020) Position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[58] 30 CIS (Tophit)[59] 8 Cyprus (Top 100)[60] 12 Denmark (Tracklisten)[61] 43 Germany (Official German Charts)[62] 33 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[63] 59 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[64] 100 Poland (ZPAV)[65] 4 Russia Airplay (Tophit)[66] 6 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[67] 34 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[68] 23 Ukraine Airplay (Tophit)[69] 37

Certifications

Certifications and sales for "Salt"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Austria (IFPI Austria)[16]	Platinum	30,000
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[23]	Gold	20,000
Canada (Music Canada)[70]	Gold	40,000
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[24]	Gold	45,000
France (SNEP)[25]	Gold	100,000
Germany (BVMI)[18]	Gold	200,000
Norway (IFPI Norway)[71]	2× Platinum	120,000
Poland (ZPAV)[13]	3× Platinum	60,000
sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

See also

• List of number-one singles of 2020 (Poland)

References

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3. Ava Max [@AvaMax] (December 5, 2019). "Your wish is my command ❣️🚀" (Tweet). Archived from the original on December 6, 2019. Retrieved December 26, 2019 – via Twitter.
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