Ariana Grande’s sixth studio album came as a surprise to many, but was also well worth the wait. After two albums released within six months of each other, it’s clear that she has moved into a new era in her music career as well as her life.
“Positions” topped the charts within days of the release, with star-studded features from The Weeknd, Ty Dolla $ign, and Doja Cat. On the album, she has songs with heavy influences of R&B and hip-hop, which is a huge switch from her early works that were more pop-based.
Grande is unafraid to take on topics of love and all that it entails, as well as confronting critics and maintaining her peace. The cinematic introduction, “shut up,” plainly serves as a statement for those who are concerned about what she does to do exactly as the title says. The songstress even shared herself that this was the first song written for the album via Twitter.
In later tracks, Grande tackles the sexual and sensual with tracks such as “34+35,” “nasty,” and title track, “positions”. While it is clear that Grande is far from her days as a Nickelodeon star, this album seems as if this is the first time that she is really able to express herself in a sexual way freely. It’s no surprise that she’s had sexual songs in earlier discographies, but were mainly shrouded in innuendos. Grande has had her time to present herself as a pop-friendly role model for kids, and now at nearly thirty, she has every right to talk about her body and what she chooses to do with it.
The singer teamed up with The Weeknd for “off the table,” which included references to their previous collaboration, “Love Me Harder” from Grande’s 2014 album, “My Everything”. On the track, they duet, questioning and hoping that a relationship can be the way that it once was. The Weeknd also references his own work, namely his hit song, “The Hills”.
It would be remiss to mention that Grande also seems to pay tribute to late rapper and ex-boyfriend Mac Miller in “just like magic”. The song overall is about the law of attraction and manifesting in order for things to become reality, but with the lyric “take my pen and write some love letters to Heaven,” as well as a moment of silence, this serves as a double meaning as she pays respects to her late lover and friend while also noting that writing out desires is part of manifestation.
Grande ends the album with the passionate ballad “pov”, expressing that she wants to understand how much her lover loves her the way that they do, wishing to be put in their perspective. It is sonically grand and painfully honest, as many struggle with loving themselves, even if they are in a relationship with someone else.
Overall, this album is arguably one of her best works as far as production, lyrics, and messages are concerned. She appears to have truly grown as an artist and a person and is unafraid to share her art with the world, which is something that many, myself included, can truly appreciate.