Ariana Grande has quickly become one of the biggest pop stars in the world. Since she launched her music career in 2013 with “The Way” featuring Mac Miller, Grande has been an unstoppable force, breaking records and charting multiple hits. With the fresh release of her sixth album Positions, fans were quick to hail it as her best album yet. But was it really? Here’s a ranking of Grande’s work thus far:
- sweetener
-
Best song: no tears left to cry
Grande’s fourth album sweetener was the perfect comeback after a year of devastation following the Manchester attack. On this record, she tackles topics of love, loss and mental health. Sweetener is arguably her best album because of the growth she shows in its music and content. On this record, Grande experiments with sounds assisted by Pharell and together they produce an album that perfectly culminates all her influences. The R&B influences can be heard on “everytime” and “blazed,” hints of Broadway show tunes peek through “successful” and “get well soon,” and the pop that she is known and loved for is interlaced throughout, but most notably on singles “no tears left to cry” and “breathin.” Bubbly and carefree, Grande takes on new sounds while still sounding at home in this album, making it her best one yet.
- thank u, next
-
Best song: thank u, next
Thank u, next is probably going down as one of Grande’s signature albums. She was already a big star prior to its release but this album really helped push her into the streaming force that she is now (Grande is currently the most streamed woman on Spotify, 4th overall). In this album, Grande shows a new sense of vulnerability brought forth by the unexpected trauma she went through post-sweetener, after she thought she had healed. On tracks like “ghostin” and “in my head,” Grande details all the obstacles in her then relationship with comedian Pete Davidson, but on the title track she buries her past with a gracious clarity and looks to a brighter future. Although sonically it lacks the fresh experimentation that sweetener had and plays it safe, it’s honest and classic Grande.
- Dangerous Woman
-
Best song: Jason’s Song (underrated gem!)
On Dangerous Woman, Grande steps into the persona that fans have come to know and love. Pictured in a latex bunny ear mask on the cover, the visual concepts for the album were fitting and iconic, showing Grande as an empowered woman ready to risk it all for love. This album shows a new sense of maturity for Grande and is the beginning of her getting really raunchy in her lyrics (hello “Everyday” and “Side to Side”). At times, the sequencing can feel all over the place and the songs in the second half lose the high energy presented in the first, but the record was nonetheless an important stepping stone in getting Grande to the sound that has come to be her signature today.
- Positions
-
Best song: pov
Although this has only been out for a few weeks, Positions holds a solid spot in the middle of her discography. Here she hones in on her R&B influences but keeps sprinkles of the sounds of her older music; “Love Language” could be the older sister of “successful” and Doja Cat-assisted “Motive” has Grande revisiting the house music she played with on “Be Alright.” This album hears Grande taking her voice to new heights, impressively singing a whole verse in her whistle register on standout track “My Hair.” She’s also involved in more aspects of the creative process, adding the title of vocal producer to her resume. The album gets too mellow and underwhelming at times, but Grande’s new involvement in the creative process is exciting and a testament to her growth as an artist.
- My Everything
-
Best song: Best Mistake
This album is banger after banger. Giving Grande four top 10 hits and solidifying her place as a popstar to watch, My Everything was a solid pop record. The singles from this album, like “Bang Bang” and “Break Free,” are some of her most recognizable hits to date. Its fault lies in its cohesiveness or lack thereof. There is no concept to the album and the songs, albeit fun and catchy, don’t seem to serve a purpose. It’s also littered with so many features that Grande seems to get a little lost in the mix. That’s not to say that it is a bad album by any means but it is just not as much of a body of work as her later albums.
- Yours Truly
-
Best song: Honeymoon Avenue
This album holds exquisite gems like “Honeymoon Avenue,” “The Way” and “Tattooed Heart.” However, its production sounds like what you would expect from a debut album – weak and at times hollow. There’s a sense of youthfulness on this album as well that makes songs like “Piano” and “Popular Song” almost sound like they’re begging for a Kidz Bop cover. Songs like “Better Left Unsaid” sound out of place, particularly in the random EDM chorus forced into an album blending R&B and doo-wop. Grande was least involved on this album and it shows. Even though the album is called Yours Truly, it doesn’t tell listeners much about who Grande is as a person.
In some ways Grande is still at an early stage in her career, having only been in the industry for seven years, but the amount of quality albums she’s delivered is proof that she’s in it for the long haul. It will be exciting to see what she comes up with next.