User:Andrea353/sandbox

Origins and recording
After moving to Los Angeles in 2010, producer Harmony Samuels became dissatisfied with how omnipresent dance music had become and intended to recreate a 1990s R&B sound with "The Way". He developed the track's beat, wanting "people to be excited, to feel like they can party and be in love and just enjoy it." Similarly, co-writer Sevyn Streeter envisioned the song as "reminiscent of that feeling you had when it was the last day of school, and it was summertime, and the sprinklers were going." Streeter and Jordin Sparks wrote the lyrics, although the process was slow and Samuels had to invite Al Sherrod Lambert to assist with ideas, concepts and melodies. Sparks recorded "The Way" with plans for a feature from rapper Big Sean. However, the singer's record label disliked the track's style and it was scrapped from her album Right Here Right Now.

Shortly after Samuels produced three songs for singer Kelly Rowland, her label Republic Records asked him to work with Grande. They met at his studio where he asked if she was interested in recording a pop song; she declined, wanting an edgier R&B track instead. Grande then played Samuels her demo of "Honeymoon Avenue" and cover of Mariah Carey's 1991 single "Emotions", but Samuels felt she needed a track that would better showcase her vocals. Samuels pitched "The Way" first to Grande (after having it on his computer for nearly two years), believing it was ideal for her voice and his intention of reintroducing R&B to the mainstream. Upon first listen, Grande was brought to tears and wanted to record it the following day as her first single. Although the track's sample was before her time, Grande would have excluded it had it not resonated with her.

Grande later asked rapper Mac Miller to feature on "The Way" and engineered the session, recording Miller's verses at his house while baking cookies at the same time. Miller began his first verse when the baking had started and finished his intro before the first batch of cookies came out the oven. Grande used Pro Tools which Miller taught her during the session.

Other
Ariana interviews: https://arianatoday.wordpress.com/2013/09/06/ariana-grande-interviewed-on-hollywood-life/
 * Complex source: Music video
 * Rolling stone: Mariah comparisons