Ariana Grande’s ‘God Is a Woman’ was initially considered for Beyoncé and JAY-Z before the hit found its home on Sweetener, according to songwriter and producer Ilya Salmanzadeh. The revelation offers a fresh look at how one of Grande’s best-known songs took shape, including the moment the singer decided she wanted the track for herself.
Salmanzadeh, professionally known as ILYA, shared the story during an appearance on Ross Golan’s And The Writer Is… podcast, released on October 13, 2026. His account reveals that the song’s journey involved a possible collaboration with the music power couple before Grande’s creative direction changed the plan.
How Beyoncé and JAY-Z Entered the Picture
During the podcast conversation, Salmanzadeh explained that God Is a Woman had initially been considered for Beyoncé and JAY-Z, who released their joint album, Everything Is Love, as The Carters in June 2018.
The collaboration did not happen. Salmanzadeh confirmed the outcome, saying, “It didn’t happen,” while recalling the original idea.
The song was eventually revisited with Grande, but the plan was not initially for her to perform the entire track alone. The team considered having her sing the chorus while another performer, potentially a rapper, contributed a separate section.
Salmanzadeh explained: “When we started again with Ari, we were thinking maybe it could be her singing the chorus, and we’d get a rap feature.”
That arrangement could have produced a very different version of the song. However, Grande had another idea as soon as she heard it.
Ariana Grande Claimed the Song for Herself
According to Salmanzadeh, Grande made her position clear during the creative process.
He recalled her response: “No, we’re writing this for me.”
The producer said he accepted her decision, replying, “Okay, fine.”
Rather than treating the song as a track built around a guest appearance, Grande wanted to take ownership of the full performance. Salmanzadeh said she went on to write the verses, pre-chorus and distinctive layered harmonies that became important features of the finished recording.
“She just wrote all the verses and the pre-chorus and all those crazy harmonies that are in there,” he said. “She did it all that day.”
The account highlights Grande’s contribution beyond delivering the vocals. She was one of the song’s credited writers, alongside Salmanzadeh, Max Martin, Savan Kotecha and Rickard Göransson.
Her decision also helped establish the track as a solo performance rather than a collaboration featuring a separate rap verse.
How ‘God Is a Woman’ Became a ‘Sweetener’ Hit
Grande released God Is a Woman on July 13, 2018, as the second single from her fourth studio album, Sweetener.
An official Universal Music Canada announcement dated the release and confirmed that the song was produced by ILYA for MXM. It also listed Grande, Martin, Kotecha, Göransson and Salmanzadeh among the songwriters.
The single arrived ahead of Sweetener, which was released on August 17, 2018. The album marked an important period in Grande’s career, combining pop production with songs that placed greater emphasis on her vocal arrangements and personal creative choices.
On God Is a Woman, the layered harmonies help give the recording its expansive sound. Salmanzadeh’s account is particularly revealing because it identifies Grande as the person who developed those harmonies during the writing session.
The song subsequently reached No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming one of the notable commercial successes associated with the album.
Its title and presentation also helped it stand out among Grande’s releases, with the singer using the track to explore female power and confidence.
The Beyoncé Connection Did Not End There
The story also recalls another Sweetener track with an earlier connection to Beyoncé.
R.E.M., which appears on the album, developed from a Pharrell Williams demo previously considered for Beyoncé. The song’s history illustrates how tracks can move between artists and projects before reaching their final form.
However, the circumstances surrounding R.E.M. differ from those Salmanzadeh described for God Is a Woman. The latter’s story centres on Grande’s decision to perform the full song herself and her work on its vocal sections.
Neither early consideration guarantees that a song will ultimately suit the artist for whom it was first imagined. In this case, Grande’s response helped determine the direction of the finished recording.
Why the Revelation Matters
The account offers a reminder that a hit song’s eventual identity can depend on decisions made during a writing session, not simply on who first considered recording it.
Had the original idea developed differently, God Is a Woman might have featured a guest rapper or followed another creative direction. Instead, Grande claimed the song, contributed its verses and pre-chorus, and developed its layered harmonies in a single day.
The Beyoncé and JAY-Z connection adds an unexpected chapter to the song’s history, but Salmanzadeh’s account ultimately centres on Grande’s creative decision.
Released as part of Sweetener, God Is a Woman became closely associated with Grande’s catalogue. The new details explain how a track that had been considered for another musical pairing eventually became one of her signature solo releases.
