Positions by Ariana Grande was released on October 30, 2020. Blending pop, R&B, and some hip-hop elements, the album marked a transition in the singer’s career: the explosive and outspoken “bad girl” aesthetic gave way to a softer and more intimate style.
The record debuted in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic and is now reaching its sixth anniversary. With this important date for Ariana’s discography, it’s time to look back at the music, aesthetics, and moments that defined this era in her career.
After the chaos
Ariana in 2019 is recalled by an aesthetic that was completely opposite to that of Positions. The thank u next release, the death of her ex-boyfriend Mac Miller, and her rapid and controversial relationship with Pete Davidson, right after the Manchester attack discussed in the Sweetener album, marked a phase filled up with a lot of criticism of Ariana Grande.
The grief, the pain, and the disturbance are visible characteristics of this period in the singer’s life, shown in lyrics such as “ghostin” and “needy”. But the thank u next album disguises it with danceable and empowering pop songs like “7 rings” and its title track.
Despite all the difficulties that Ariana faced, the rest of the year brought a brighter outlook for the singer. The Sweetener World Tour blended songs from both Sweetener and thank u next albums on stage and elevated Ariana to a whole new level in the music industry. The following year, when the pandemic began, all this progress and success continued: collaborations like “Don’t call me angel”, “Stuck with U”, and “Rain on Me”, which won numerous awards, and the beginning of the discreet relationship with Dalton Gomez, which changed the lifestyle Ariana was known for.
If Ariana Grande was remembered as the sad girl in a ponytail, the Positions era came to mark the transition in her personal image. The album shows the artist that Ariana really wanted to be after a chaotic phase, reflecting a sense of healing, lightness, and stability in her life. In an interview with The Zach Sang Show, Grande, speaking about the project, said that it “[felt] nice to be creating from a more healed place.” It was a complete shift in Ariana’s career, changing not only her artistic identity, but also her feelings around her work.
The many sides of Positions
This shift in Ariana Grande’s personal life and artistic vision is also reflected in the album’s tracks. The artist blends sensuality, love, vulnerability, and these kinds of themes that bring the intimacy that Ariana wants to explore in her songs. A great example of this is the track “my hair”, in which the singer explores sexuality as a form of closeness and trust in her personal life, symbolized by her signature hairstyle. The lyrics of “safety net” have a similar idea, but focus on the vulnerability involved in falling in love and losing your mind while getting in a relationship.
Self-confidence is another topic that emerges in Positions. Songs such as “shut up” and “pov” approach this theme in two different ways. “shut up” is about dismissing outside criticism and choosing her own happiness, while “pov” is about learning to see herself through someone else’s eyes.
The playful and confident side of the album is also shown by provocation and sexuality through some tracks, like “34+35” and “positions”, which combine sexual innuendos with a carefree attitude, giving explicit lyrics a lighthearted and fun tone.
Besides the multiple ideas that Positions deals with, Ariana managed to make all these songs sound similar to each other by maintaining a cohesive sound throughout the album. Her breathy vocals and layered harmonies create a sense of closeness, even as the subject matter shifts. The artist constructs an intimate aesthetic by combining soft pop and R&B influences in a restrained, sensual, and immersive atmosphere.
A new woman for a new era
An album era is not defined by its music alone. The visuals, public appearances, and personal milestones surrounding a release can become just as memorable to fans. These new associations are related to the visual identity of the album, which is marked by old-fashioned and vintage-inspired elements. Pearls, delicate dresses, a muted color palette, and romantic silhouettes contributed to a more classic and feminine visual identity, which distinguished this period from Ariana’s previous eras. The public’s perception of the singer has also changed with this transition, and people started to see Ariana Grande through this updated image.
This romantic aesthetic also gained a new meaning as Grande’s relationship with Dalton Gomez became a topic surrounding this phase. The couple announced their engagement in December 2020, two months after the album’s release and after speculation about their relationship throughout 2020.
Because of these events happening around the same time, fans increasingly connected her delicate visual identity to the idea of marriage, which linked her to what the public called her “bridal era.” It was one of the most important changes that Positions brought to Ariana’s professional and personal brand, making the era a significant turning point for the artist and influencing both her work at the time and her future experiences.
Six years later: what did Positions leave behind?
Now, after six years of the album’s release, Positions stands as an important chapter in Ariana Grande’s artistic evolution. The initial reception of the project was marked by a lack of public enthusiasm compared to her previous releases, with criticism focused on the predictable production and a limited number of commercial hits. But currently, the record is considered a distinctive entry in the singer’s discography: it does not necessarily show a complete break from the past, but a chapter that introduced other facets of her artistic identity.
Ariana’s later projects, eternal sunshine and petal, continued exploring her transition as she maintained a focus on revealing other dimensions of her personality and music. These following eras demonstrate the vulnerability and intimacy that Positions introduced, without erasing her previous works, while also revealing new perspectives on the singer in the future.
Ultimately, Positions was more than a departure from the chaos that preceded it. It offered a glimpse into a different side of Ariana Grande, one that embraced intimacy without abandoning the confidence and sensuality that had long been part of her music. Six years later, the album remains a reflection of an important shift in her career, capturing an artist exploring new ways to express herself.
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The article above was edited by Julia Miranda.
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