A blend of self love, trust and new romance blossoms for Ariana Grande as she release her sixth studio album, Positions.
Midst the pandemic, I recall swiping through Instagram (as most of us were) and coming across Ariana’s stories. She had been posting about the upcoming elections and details on how to register and vote.
FUN FACT: Ariana has partnered with HeadCount; a non-profit American organisation that encourages concertgoers to sign up or pledge to vote in the general U.S.A elections. Ariana has broken the record for registering more than 33,000 voters! *applause*
Whilst doing so she slipped in a clip of a primarily string band and composer recording in the studio captioning “miss u” (as seen below). I immediately sat up and watched it again delighted and extremely excited knowing that Ariana was bringing back string elements for her next album.
Midst the pandemic, I recall swiping through Instagram (as most of us were) and coming across Ariana’s stories. She had been posting about the upcoming elections and details on how to register and vote (woke queen) Whilst doing so she slipped a clip of a mostly string band and composer recording in the studio captioning “miss u” (as seen below). I immediately sat up and watched it again, delighted and extremely excited knowing that Ariana was bringing back more strings for her next album.
Ever since, I had a feeling Ariana’s upcoming album would feature her pop, R&B and trap sounds similar in her debut album Yours Truly (2013) and Sweetener (2018). I am so glad that my guess and instincts were correct, and even better than I expected!
Ariana released her lead single Positions from the same titled album a week before the album’s release. Dave Meyers, who has previously directed No Tears Left to Cry (2018), God is a Woman (2018) and over two hundred other music videos. He has partnered with Grande once again in putting together a powerful and visually stunning music video. (as seen below)
review
When listening to the stunning new album, I noticed the songs had pop, R&B and trap influences as well as 90s diva-like vocal production and melodies (my hair) with hints of blues/jazz (love language) which is angelic to hear and for that reason reminds me of Yours Truly as the subtle strings tie the whole album together.
As for the collaborations on this album, the features Doja Cat, The Weeknd and Ty Dolla $ign were actually some of my favourite collaborations Ariana has done. She could’ve easily added no features and it still would’ve been a work of art, however, It was a nice addition to the album. Doja Cat was a suitable addition to the rythemic 90s like motive and both The Weekend and Ty Dolla $ign told a story with beautfiul harmonies and more slowed down tones in off the table and safety net.
analysis
Track by Track, I listened to the full album, and it has to be the best album to have released in 2020. Every track has a story behind it and cohesively produced an album with themes of self healing, love and peace with subtle hints of doubt. With Ariana’s personal struggles publicly acknowledged, Sweetener was released with similar topics of peace, overcoming challenges and love, however after just six month later, we received thank u, next (2019) in the midst of Grande’s personal struggles with grief and loss.
Check out my review (coming soon!) for a more in depth review of the album track by track, ranking (was so hard!) and more.
Yours Truly, Maria…no pun intended.