After a two-year-long hiatus, Ariana Grande took the world by storm in 2018 with her huge comeback single No Tears Left to Cry – the ultimate healing anthem. Since then, I have been in love with her music and can’t help but dive deep into the meaning behind every single song in her discography. Many listeners tend to doubt the depth within her lyrics because of how well she hides emotion inside her high-energy pop songs. Ariana’s last three albums (Sweetener, Thank U Next, and Positions) are particularly interesting to me because they all seem to fit together like pieces of a puzzle.
Sweetener
Sweetener came out after Ariana had gone through a traumatic event during one of her concerts in Manchester. The concept of the entire project was to signify bringing light or “sweetener” to a bad situation. The album explores getting through toxic situations with tracks like “Everytime” and “Better Off,” anxiety with tracks like “Get Well Soon” and “Breathin,” and finding the light at the end of a long dark tunnel through tracks like “The Light is Coming,” “No Tears Left to Cry,” and title track “Sweetener.” This project represents the beginning of the healing process, as there are many songs pointing towards quick healing and seems to shy away from the pain.
Thank u, NExt
Not even a year later, the Thank U, Next era had begun after the media was all over Ariana’s personal life and problems. She dropped the emotional lead single “Imagine,” a song about a simple love with former boyfriend Mac Miller. Fans didn’t suspect an entire album until she surprisingly dropped the next single “Thank U, Next,” a song that Ariana believes is one of her most honest pieces of work to date.
This album explores the harder part of healing. Tracks like “Fake Smile” explore dealing with mental health while being watched 24/7 by the media. “Bad Idea” shows how easy it is to crave attention and validation while hurting, while “Needy” explains feeling like a burden for needing somebody there all the time. The album is a mental health masterpiece as it touches on a different topic in almost every song. While Sweetener is filled with positivity and light, Thank U, Next shows the darker more honest side of her healing process.
Positions
Finally, Positions came out in October 2020. Although it initially received a lot of hate, it is definitely one of my favourite albums of hers because of the apparent growth since Sweetener and Thank U, Next (which is why it perfectly completes the trilogy). Some listeners claimed the album was lazy and too focused on sexual topics. Although Ariana’s fans see her happiness radiate throughout all of the tracks on this album, as it seems to be mainly dedicated to the relationship she has with her husband Dalton Gomez.
In an interview with Zach Sang, Ariana explained how the album tells the story of a progressing relationship by exploring the fun beginnings along with sex with tracks like “34+35” and “Nasty.” Then she shows the fear of commitment with tracks like “Motive,” “Off The Table,” and “Safety Net.” She also shows herself feeling safe and happy with someone (and herself) using tracks like “My Hair,” “Obvious,” and “POV.”
Positions gave many subtle shout-outs to past lyrics in Thank U, Next. For example, the lyric in Safety Net: “is it real this time or is it in my head” referencing In My Head from Thank U, Next. These references show up in multiple songs and allow listeners to make connections and really understand her growth.
Although many people look past it, Ariana Grande is an extraordinary artist and has created a trilogy of albums that outline her journey of healing beautifully.