Ariana Grande just released an album on Friday. Her first album in 2 years titled “Positions” was a super sultry set of songs that were definitely worth the wait.
This 14 song album opens with the song “shut up” and this angelic and upbeat pop song shuts down all the people trying to tell Ariana how to live. It begins with a gorgeous chorus of violins and then she opens into her quick paced and soft verses. Some lyrics include “How you been spending your time? / How you be using your tongue? / You be so worried ‘bout mine” and “Maybe you should shut up”. This song then leads into her second track, “34+35”, that has an easy and full pop beat. She incorporates violins in this song to lead the background harmonies and has the bass lead the beat of the song. The song goes on to state the sultry scenes that she loves to get into and stay in until sunrise. This already extremely popular song has gained the reputation of comedically raunchy and it definitely lives up to it in the best way. Track 3, “motive” featuring Doja Cat and track 4, “just like magic”, continue this same sexy and happy pop flare that Ariana is known for and is very reminiscent of sweetener.
Her next track however, takes a dark turn. Track 5, “off the table” featuring The Weeknd, has a deep and heavy intro that amplifies Ariana’s question, “is love completely off the table”. This matches the next 2 tracks. “Six thirty” is sweet and low with a weird and almost electric sound. In this song, she continues to discuss the insecurity she feels in her current relationship and whether or not her person of interest is “down like sunsets”. The last song in this emotional trilogy was my personal favorite of the album, “safety net” featuring Ty Dolla $ign. Ariana states how she feels like she’s “tripping, falling, with no safety net”. This uncontrollable and ominous feeling of being unsure carried over into the sound of the song. The dark sound was mysterious and incredibly different from music that she has produced before but somehow perfectly fit into the album due to the smooth transitions into darkness provided by the songs played previously.
Her songs, “my hair” and “love language” referred back to the original sound of the album but with a retro twist. They had a modern day 70’s sound that created an upbeat and groovy vibe that were contrasted by her darker and sultry songs “nasty” and “west side”. In continuation with a flipping cycle of dark and light, Ariana’s songs, “obvious” and “pov” have that angelic and happier sound that is very nostalgic of her “My Everything” album. She discusses and ends her album with her hopeful words of true love and trust in the relationship that she is in now.
Lastly, her song album debuting single, “positions”, was track 12 of 14. It started with the plucking of a violin and was truly a perfect representation of the album because it had the darker tones of the string instruments played and the light hearted and lustful lyrics that have been carried throughout the album.
“Positions” perfectly embodies the feeling of lust and the insecurities that can arise from relationships built around it. If you are a fan of Ariana Grande or love pop and R&B, then this is definitely the album for you.