Ariana Grande - AG4 (2018 album)

It's coming! -- http://variety.com/2018/music/news/ariana-grande-to-drop-first-single-from-new-album-on-april-27-1202747183/

She's also been posting little teasers on Instagram since the New Year.

I got heavily into her music around a year ago -- I've listened to her three albums exhaustively & repeatedly, sometimes on constant rotation (I also saw the tour). To say I am excited about the new one would be an understatement!

I can't forgive her for licking those donuts.

LOL - I hear you, man...

is the stan twitter abbreviation for the album title necessary

Yes, it's the official Arianator designation (my hands are tied)!

(I am world's loneliest 40-something Arianator bro)

While I've loved a lot of her music, I've never gotten a sense of who she actually is from it. Both the hilarious donut-licking situation and the way she dealt with Manchester show someone with a lot more to offer the world than vocal acrobatics over generic (albeit excellent) pop production and I hope this is the time where she finally shows she's more than just a big voice and high ponytail.

Based on what folks involved are saying, sounds like you may get your wish! (see the quotes in this collection: https://twitter.com/i/moments/958089091442184194)

Btw – apparently the single and/or album are rumored to be titled “No Tears Left to Cry.”

One of her core strengths is her impeccable taste in material – IMO, there isn’t a “bad” song on her three main albums (including the bonus tracks on the Target Deluxe Editions). ...And, of course, many/most of the tracks are just fantastic.

So if she has been working a long time on winnowing down a bunch of new songs to the strongest possible 10-track album (as she says in one of those quotes), that speaks volumes about the expected quality!

FYI - this single is now rumored to drop this Friday (4/20).

- stan the man

4/20, BRAH

https://pitchfork.com/news/ariana-grande-teases-new-music-coming-friday/

she’s the best and I’m honestly really excited about hearing her new stuff

Love this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffxKSjUwKdU

It doesn't sound like "Toxic," but it reminds me of "Toxic" in that it's got a totally bizarre structure for a 21st century pop single.

It’s got a really distinctive sound. I can see this breaking up the flow of my average top40 radio session in the car very nicely (though it’s a little less packed with incident than I prefer for my big Pop Artist Rollout Singles) - certainly it’s a vastly better start to this album campaign than the title track of “Dangerous Woman” was.
Speaking of which, very clever of Camp Ariana to pivot from three straight albums of understated, black-and-white artwork with a polite, black-and-white cover that has a prismatic dash of rainbow across Ariana’s face. Says a lot without having to change a lot.

i like this but it feels weird, i keep expecting it to really kick in at some point ie go harder with the breakbeat but it never does

The chorus is elegant, massive! (Also, is that a drum’n’bass beat(!)? Almost?)

xpost yeah, it’s sort of a deconstructed anthem

xp yeah it almost is but there's a few kicks missing, it's a strange feeling

Like it gestures at being a club floor-filler but the vocal hook keeps tugging it back to earth

A lock for Top 40 that sounds good and different. More of these please.

Yeah this is really good. surprised that they didn't go more anthemic on the chorus, like a usual single would - it's mostly just her lead vocal instead of the usual barrage of fuller synths, harder drums, and backing vocals - but the change is really refreshing

I almost love this but her diction is noticeably poor in the verses. I wouldn't say this sounds wildly different to what was in the UK top ten a few years ago but it suits her.

The part in the video where she takes her face off is really creepy!

this is absolutely :)

i don't fucking care she is on fire

I think the DnB beat is reminiscent of early 00s pop, something that's almost completely gone now. JF, maybe this is part of why it reminds you of Toxic?

Not a huge fan of the video. Kind of lazy references to Blade Runner and Inception. I liked the bit with the umbrellas, though.

yeah the video's a bit off, especially the weirdly lax lip syncing.

FUCK OFF

when she's caught in that starry spider's web it's like some Skyrim thing i'm on it

this song is fantastic

I don’t hear anything particularly like « Toxic » but it does have a Britney something at times.
Also the does sound a bit understated. It could bang a bit more. And have some stronger eurodance synth pads.
That said it’s a pretty good track !

The beat does sound understated

my onnnnnly issue is her vocal production on the chorus, otherwise it's beautiful!

I think it reminds me more of Britney’s « Break the ice » actually ! Still such a brilliant track btw...

umm break the ice is the closest pop equivalent to Mozart i've heard in a long time btw

never forget.

“we’re on another mentality”

Just played it 3 times on the bounce on teh bus. Amazing

It’s a full-length song that almost feels too short (in a good way, leaves you wanting more). Feels like it could keep rolling several more minutes as it builds and then suddenly stops.

Kind of a false ending but that's another one of its multiple virtues

i dig it. reminds me a little of 1 thing by amerie but in a lower register

this one's going to be about the remixes imo

it's going to be a huge club anthem

^^^^

one of her best songs so far. agreed re: its remix potential

this is really cool. her last few lead singles have been very broad/obvious, and this one goes to some unexpected places

I specifically said above that it doesn't sound like "Toxic" at all, but that it calls "Toxic" to mind in that it's a really ambitious and left field approach to what will ostensibly be a hit to some degree. iow we are now officially in the Ariana empirical phase.

Stupid phone. *imperial

Actually I think it sounds like a (very good) demo !
There’s something unfinished about it.

Empirical was fun though : I like the idea !

yeah, JF's phone owns
great song

This is great and deserves to be huge.

glad 2 be back home so i can loop this again

it's kind of more of a slowed-down 2 Step than a D'n'B rhythm

ctrl+F "Rudimental"

I thought two-step, too. And it sounds surprisingly refreshing.

She apparently made a surprise appearance at Coachella last night – performed this song and Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing.”

still wonder if the chorus could be "developed" just a lil more (don't ask me how) but it's grown on me, and it's really all worth it for the synths kicking in the post-chorus/second verse

The more I hear it, the more I love it (probably b/c I’m experiencing it as a whole now and not breaking it down in my head). I’m in that mode where I don’t really want to listen to anything else, but also don’t want to “wear it out” too fast...

In some ways this feels to me a bit like a song that might have turned up on one of the first three Christina Milian albums. Also it's great.

As the only comeback record that's ever been made under these circumstances it would have come across as rote, lazy and just wrong if it had sounded like anything else currently on the radio. And that's even allowing for the gigantic levels of goodwill towards Ariana herself - in the UK at least.

Tonally, the song itself needed to get the balance exactly right, it needed to be absolutely perfectly pitched, and it is.

I haven't followed her career much until now, but the advance tracks from this LP have me intrigued.

Oh hey, this song doesn't sound as oddly structured now that I'm just listening to the audio. I think the video was distorting how A→B it actually is. I still like it tho.

I love the vocal harmonies in the intro (first 20 seconds) of the video, and I'm a little disappointed that the single version doesn't include that part. I guess there's a chance that it will resurface as a segue on the album

Immaculate song

straight fire beautiful song

I paused the video on the shot with the disembodied Ariana faces/masks resting on a few sheets of paper w/handwritten notes... all I could make out for sure was "R.E.M." (several places) and "God Is a Woman." I ran a search on these phrases, and found others are on top of it - http://www.breatheheavy.com/god-is-a-woman-ariana-grande-teases-new-album-tracklist/

The idea of an Ariana track titled "R.E.M." (of all things) seems perfectly conceived to give teenage-me and adult-me something to talk about!

rem could mean REM sleep no?

well, sure... I'm guessing it's not actually a tribute to Athens' crustiest of the crusties ;)

;)

Sometimes I end up on these YT pages where hardcore vocal technique headz are analyzing/critiquing her performances, notes she’s hitting (or not hitting), etc. The comments on this one are somewhat interesting / funny (all based on a :25 clip!): https://youtu.be/7nCbuuj3rXA

those vocal analysis/comparison/etc. videos are among the first types of videos i can remember seeing on youtube. some are a little terrible and cruel. all these years later i think i've seen maybe one or two focused on a male vocalist.

She’s tweeting new lyrics about being asleep / dreaming – presumably from that “R.E.M.” song.

I figure there’s a (tiny) chance it is actually built on a jangly Rickenbacker sample; seems like something Pharrell could conceivably do...

re: "No Tears Left To Cry"

During the chorus, how about that sharp cut on the reverb tail on the "aw yeah" ad-lib? It's been one of those things that calls my attention every time. It seems to drop out in time with the song, and I'm sure it was intentional, but in a lesser song that would be a mark of a sloppy producer.

Yet, this is Max Martin...

Seems a strange choice to my ears. What do y'all think?

Clipping that vocal does seem like a deliberate aesthetic choice to me...

To anyone who cares - AG will be the (sole/hourlong) guest on “The Tonight Show” tmrrw (Tues. 5/1).

She sounded really good in the Fallon performance. (It strikes me as potentially a tough song to jump into, cold; something about the key it’s in...)

The album is called “Sweetener,” btw, and comes out July 20

they played "No More Tears" in the club last night and i completely lost my shit

anyway you know what i meant without the extraneous "more"

Snippet teased of new Nicki collab – it sounds hawt!

Good article w/lots of detail about the album, etc.:
http://www.thefader.com/2018/05/30/ariana-grande-cover-story

Wango Tango performance from Saturday night: https://youtu.be/ES_AnAwEd0s

She does a verse of the new song (“The Light Is Coming”), starting around 25:10. Its vocal hook reminds me of Missy Elliott’s “Work It”... (which may not be coincidental, as I know Missy was involved in at least one track on the album).

the whole set is great

Yeah she’s on top of her game

as for the new single, we'll see... it has some cool parts and some weird parts. i'm sort of intuitively excited by the idea of pharrell doing half an ariana grande album but then i think about how much pharrell music i've actually enjoyed i the last few years. i assume this is one of his.

I'm also kind of "bearish" on Pharrell (...no "park ranger hat" joke intended); but I agree it's an exciting idea, and I assume they'll bring out the best in each other. I trust the judgment of Ari (and her crew) in material... like her story of trying out 8 different rappers on that track, before finally calling Nicki (why didn't she just start with the best in the first place, lol?).

have wondered a lot if the rap features on the other recent max martin-heavy female pop star albums (future on "endgame", migos on "bon appetit") were earnest attempts to try and penetrate rap playlists on spotify and apple music

you look at sales figures these days for albums that do 100k first weeks and for pop stuff it's 80% sales 20% streaming and for rap stuff it's 20% sales 80% streaming

twitter stans were up in arms at one point recently because they thought "the light is coming" was going to ship with a xxxtentacion feature based on some oblique similarities between instagram posts x and ari made around the same time

x's streaming numbers are outrageously good though so maybe it was something they were seriously considering? no matter who they got, it would never actually have worked, so ari balking at a pro forma x or carti feature and sticking with an artist she already knows she has real chemistry with is a great example of why she is our best pop star rn

That's all really interesting (I hadn't heard that xxxtentacion rumor).

Just to take up your Future example -- I thought his verse on "Everyday" (from Dangerous Woman) was fantastic, while his rap on "Endgame" did feel less inspired / more obligatory (though it's a super track as a whole, and his vocal contributions are part of that, beyond the rap itself). All the raps on Dangerous Woman are really strong IMO, and I think it does show that increased quality control (the raps on My Everything were 50/50 for me; and on Yours Truly, well... :P).

i would say that most rap features on pop artists' singles for the greater part of the past decade if not longer have been brazen attemps to score some airplay at 'rhythmic' stations (i.e. the ones that serve as gatekeepers for black crossover) while still enabling white adult stations* to play them in rap-free edits.

now that digital download sales for singles are in their death throes and rap music has proven popular in the ascendant streaming ecosystem, this tactic has become doubly appealing to pop artists and their a&r. the 'problem' for them is that most migos fans have no interest in listening to a max martin-produced katy perry record just because the migos have been squeezed into a 35-second slot on the recording.

four of maroon 5's past five singles have featured an ''''urban'''' artist that performs strongly on the streaming services. only one of them, "what lovers do" (which has sza, who sings rather than raps) actually has the guest interspersed throughout the recording rather than squeezed into a narrow slot that can be easily excised or replaced. (i recall having heard all of the others in rap-free edits on many stations, sometimes with extra maroon 5 vocals replacing what would've been the rap verse on the supposedly 'standard' version.)

(* and, actually, top 40 stations -- the one in my city elected to play the young thug-free version of "havana"!)

i think "end game" is a wonderful taylor swift single that's really handicapped by the bizarre decision to put future and sheeran's verses before hers

it feels like it's structured almost as if it's apologizing for the fact that it's a taylor swift single by putting the other dudes first, undercutting the song's ability to maximize it's appeal to her very large core fanbase

whether the target was radio formats or spotify playlists, almost feels as though the men responsible for "bon appetit" looked at that record's failure and determined that the problem was not the inessential and tacked-on nature of the feature but the fact that it happened too late in the song

when "no tears" dropped i wondered if part of the reason it's so good is that ari had the benefit of being able to watch witness and reputation flounder at radio before making her move

I think I assumed that Taylor's verse comes last on "Endgame" because (a) it's the weakest of the three performances (and she recognizes that); and/or (b) in a long track that essentially has three "features" (one of them by the credited artist), it actually increases the drama -- and potential impact for fans -- to place hers at the end. (These may sound contradictory, but maybe they're not?)

OTOH, it's also clear from this convo that I tend to think of these songs mainly in "aesthetic" terms, and with little regard to these (very interesting) questions around chart strategy, reception, etc.

(On an unrelated note, I find it amusing how the Endgame video seems to use various strategies -- up to and including body doubles -- to "fake" the appearance of Taylor and Future being in the same spaces / shots during his verse.)

i think her verse is the best one actually

!

i do sometimes share the suspicion that labels are strategic about where the guest artist's feature is placed on the recording. like when a female singer who's had a spotty record at urban radio has the featured male rapper(s) placed at the very beginning of her single, i tend to wonder if it's because her label thought people would change the station if the track led off with her voice. (i recall having this thought with jhene aiko and teyana taylor singles -- both of which i thought would have been perfectly good without the guests.)

i love "end game" but even w/ a generous reading future's verse isn't great. sheeran has the best verse to me but the hook refrain is still the best part imo. katy perry i bet was just trying to recapture "dark horse" magic.

not sure if it's working anyone tho. "havana" went no. 1 on rhythmic and streaming... maybe young thug had a hand in that idk.

my conspiracy about "end game" tanking is that radio bashed people over the head with "look what you made me do" which is bad and annoying

when "no tears" dropped i wondered if part of the reason it's so good is that ari had the benefit of being able to watch witness and reputation flounder at radio before making her move

― james brooks, Monday, June 4, 2018 3:38 PM (yesterday) Bookmark

i think part of it is that her music is still in its organic growth period whereas katy and taylor are at the point where they're reacting against themselves. "no tears left to cry" is simply a better song than anything on witness and several of the pre-release reputation tracks but it also just seems like the right moment to be into in her music. she's not carrying much baggage right now.

Very well put — she seems to have almost universal goodwill at the moment, and she’s a highly mainstream artist who also enjoys real cred in various/diverse scenes. Of course she’s not the first with these attributes; and I’m aware there are ppl who are lukewarm on her, even on “No Tears” as a track (I know some personally!) But when you factor in her voice/technique and the songs themselves... no one else comes close for me.

When Ariana performed on the Billboard Awards, the camera cut once or twice to Taylor Swift, watching her from the crowd — and it struck me how they don’t really occupy the same space (even though their songs may literally play back-to-back).

I think it may be partly because Ariana’s not a “personal” artist in the vein of Taylor, Katy, Gaga, etc. She’s more in the tradition of a disco/club diva, delivering the material while keeping her persona (and personality) separate from it. And that’s maybe a somewhat rare mode for a mainstream pop singer these days (or maybe there are plenty of examples I’m not thinking of).

I don't think that's true at all about Ariana, and it's quite a challop to remove Gaga from any disco/club diva tradition.

Like what's more personal than No Tears Left To Cry? Literally no one else in pop would be able to deliver that song in the same way.

Gaga comes from that tradition, for sure — but she’s much more of an “auteur” figure, isn’t she? She’s always been about “pushing boundaries” in performance, expressing herself (sexuality, personal history, etc.) through pop songs in a Madonna-y way (sorry, I know that’s a boring comparison)... not so much about her voice or traditional pop performance. (And her last album even left the dance floor behind.)

You’re right about “No Tears,” of course... and it sounds from that Fader article like it’s true for Sweetener as a whole (so much that Ariana originally left off a batch of songs b/c she thought they got too “real”). This is a new era for her, as they say...

I like "No Tears Left to Cry" but I don't understand why we're all swallowing the "most personal album yet" PR schtick whole here

https://vg-images.condecdn.net/image/24Ld04lRo1v/crop/810/f/july-cover2.jpg

I mean, yes, of course shootings are tragic, but the same could be said for (for instance) new Jason Aldean material

(er, the same i.e. "this is so personal and heartfelt and not at all songwriting as usual," not "a tragedy on the level of jason aldean")

lmao

If an artist I like & respect says something about their artistic process in an interview, I guess I take it at face value and don’t dismiss it as PR schtick.

I guess I'm the opposite -- even the artists I like, I understand are working under a system that demands a certain level of spin

Anyway, now y’all have me arguing both sides of the fence here (lol).

No matter how “personal” the new songs may be, I don’t expect them to be “personal” in the same way that, say, Taylor Swift’s are — to return to J0rdan’s original point.

(Also, on the PR thing, the logical conclusion of a skeptical/cynical POV would be to assume she’s not being truthful when she says she was devastated by the UK attack...)

Btw -- it occurred to me that AG has in fact released a few highly "personal" songs dealing w/fame, the public's perception of her, and her feelings about those things ("You Don't Know Me," "I Don't Care")... the same sort of subjects that Taylor Swift addresses a lot these days. So it's not quite so cut & dried.

oh this album has a title! perhaps an admin would be able to update the title of this thread? :)

June 13: Troye Sivan - Dance To This (feat. Ariana Grande)

June 14: Nicki Minaj - Bed (feat. Ariana Grande)

June 20: The Light Is Coming (feat. Nicki Minaj) + Sweetener pre-order

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXwX79EZUJo

not a fan of this one

Seems very much a piece with "Lemon" from last year's N.E.R.D album, including the fact that it also pulls a sample from here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BppB_X_jlkw

Except in this case, the sample is incredibly annoying and doesn't work at all.

wrong YouTube link(?)

this is not making me excited about pharrell having done half this album.....

No, correct YouTube link. Sample comes in at 1:01.

And Arlen Specter's "Wait a Minute" is sampled throughout Lemon.

It's a very odd sample choice.

weird!

(I haven’t listened to the track yet; distracted by the fact that the album + merch bundles from her online store — which come with presale code for future concert tour — don’t ship to California for some f’in reason!)

OK – on first listen, it is an odd track, and doesn’t seem to feature Ari in a meaningful way? (It is also extremely Pharrell-y, for better or worse...)

Interesting that Nicki’s rap is upfront, in light of the discussion above.

that's an extra track surely, one of your track 15 only-for-iTunes jobs.

I also think the upfront rap creates a structural/aesthetic problem — because there song has no bridge, without the rap breaking it up in the middle, it feels particularly repetitive (chorus, verse, long chorus, verse, chorus, end).

It doesn’t help that the chorus is a repeated chant/vocal hook.

xpost It’s track 3 on the album

Fan reaction in YouTube comments seems pretty harsh overall (esp. re: the town-hall guy sample).

I don't hate the track - I've listened to it a bunch of times now - but feels like kind of a misfire.

xp gah!

nicki verse feels like a mistake

song is such a left turn i actually completely understand now why they'd have considered xxx for it, shipping it with a feature that communicates "left turn" and "underground" before you even hear a note of the song would have set expectations in a more reasonable place and x kind of had a monopoly on the venn diagram crossover space between "feels underground" and "does numbers"

ari seems to handle herself pretty well, the beat just doesn't feel like it's on the same level as "stir fry" or "neon guts" or "lemon" and the nicki feature kneecaps the vibe before the song even has a chance to reveal it

hope the other pharrell stuff is better and this one just got pushed out first because it was the one with space for a rap feature

hope the other pharrell stuff is better

imo basically no hope for this

i would just really like to hear a new ariana grande record in my lifetime that doesn't have any max martin credits on it and one of the pharrell cuts hitting is the shortest path to that timeline

imma keep hoping

what's the issue with max martin? he doesn't have a particularly distinctive style & the tracks on Dangerous Woman that he worked on were largely great

I hope they neglected to the clear the sample of the town hall guy; he sues and is granted an injunction; and the sample is removed from the track before the album is pressed.

Like this but sounds so much like lemon
Not just the sample but the beat and bass

Chun Li reference is tops

I hate to be a negative nelly, but even that aspect of the rap is a little disappointing to me... it's obv. very standard for a rapper to call out their current project on a feature, but I can't recall it being done on an Ariana track before; and it makes the feature feel even more generic (when Nicki's past appearances were so special).

It's a bit head-scratchy to look back at the below except from The Fader article, after hearing the track:

“The Light” was made with a guest feature in mind, and Ariana auditioned eight rappers for the spot — “I don't mean to sound like a terrible person, but I wasn't in love with any of it” — before turning to her friend Nicki Minaj. She texted Nicki the song and asked if she would be interested in the spot. In Ariana’s words, Nicki was like, “Ho-lee-shit-I-love-this,” and called her on up on a rainy morning at 5:00 a.m. to come hear the verse. “I went in my slippers and pajamas to the studio and she killed it,” she says. “That's what Nicki Minaj does, she elevates a record. If you're going to have a rapper on a song, they need to really really really be there for a reason, and she does that every single time.”

this song is dope and yes it sounds like the best songs on the last Nerd album

wtf is wrong with all of you

I hope they neglected to the clear the sample of the town hall guy; he sues and is granted an injunction; and the sample is removed from the track before the album is pressed.

Otm. it's fine when Ari says the title phrase, but during the sung parts, I tried hard to mentally tune it out

Bud Light is coming, to give back everything the craft beer stole

I love this song

Bill otm

Chun Li is not a villain so the lyric is nonsense

From M. Bison's point of view, Chun Li is a villain

The beat at the beginning of the track reminds me of this classic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PD5HfM3DZt8

!!

ɹǝuǝʇǝǝʍs 🌫 https://t.co/kgaHLW2iQa pic.twitter.com/JOyKQL2iup

— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) June 26, 2018

frankie valli cover??

Yes – it’s a fragment of “An Angel Cried,” titled “Raindrops” (it opens the album).

I am so "here for this," as they say

just heard "the light is coming" for the first time and... that sample sure is. uh. a choice. (that town hall is on C-SPAN, and it basically sounds like a Trump rally, complete with ranting about shipping out "the illegals")

FYI, the “God Is a Woman” single drops today. Also she performed last night on the internets:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFjB7hJROyo

lol @ vovo

Oh right, what I was here for. New song is a snooze.

I like it

I take it back, this song is great

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHLHSlExFis

Glad you came around :)

Yes, it's great. I have a few Hot Takes, but I'll just let it simmer for a while...

that guitar line at 69 seconds in (nice) is...from where? It's so familiar and I feel like I'm gonna say "duh" when I find out

I like it, but I'm a little disappointed that the lyrics boil down to "I'm really good in bed, huh?" instead of being an old fashioned takedown of patriarchal religion. it's the difference between wagging your tongue out at a tray full of donuts and actually having the temerity to lick them all. tbf a lot of people still find the song blasphemous, so some good work was done here

wow that video is horrible

yep

song feels like "side to side" with its parts redistributed

that guitar line at 69 seconds in (nice) is...from where? It's so familiar and I feel like I'm gonna say "duh" when I find out

― Simon H., Friday, July 13, 2018 9:46 AM (two minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

kinda like under the bridge a bit maybe

I don't think it's a sample. Could be wrong...

I don't think it's a sample either, it's just ringing a bell in a serious way.

FYI (if not already aware), the Ezekiel 25:17 monologue bit in the video was voiced by Madonna.

(don't know who voiced the gonzo interrupting-groundhog!)

this and no tears remind me of late 90's britney/bsb max martin more than anything he's done since then

re: the video and i guess the song, it would be wonderful to see this much audacity placed in the service of ideas that aren't corny as shit

i actually like the bait & switch of the title/concept but as a piece of music i find it pretty uninspiring

i actually like the bait & switch of the title/concept but as a piece of music i find it pretty uninspiring

― J0rdan S., Friday, July 13, 2018 4:32 PM (two minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

otm, I haven't been able to figure out anything to say but "this is fine"

I’ll say this —

If I were not already an Ariana fan, this would probably not be the track to make me a fan. But as a fan, I’m greatly pleased.

The song feels like an instant classic — as if it’s a core part of her repertoire, and it’s less than a day old.

I really like it - but I don't care for the video. And anyway, who isn't already an Ariana fan?

...a lotta people in my life (lol)

that guitar line at 69 seconds in (nice) is...from where? It's so familiar and I feel like I'm gonna say "duh" when I find out

it sounds like JT's "cry me a river" to me.

Respect to the pop star who apologies for dodgy merch SKUs:

yea this looks wild and i can’t believe they sent it out. i’m on it. so fuckin sorry. the other merch looks perfect in person. i don’t wear t shirts so i didn’t have them send me this one first i’m so so sorry. i’ll approve everything in person from now on. this is trash. my bad.

— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) July 31, 2018

"i don't wear t shirts" is iconic

that entire tweet rules

ariana rules

i like her.

almost certainly the best celebrity apology I've ever read

but also the shirt kinda rules

Album out tmrrw, y'all

I hope this is a grower because after one play, it didn't really leave any impression on me. I loved No Tears Left To Cry instantly and nothing came close.

Actually, Breathin is really great. I guess I wasn't expecting the album to be so slight. Will definitely spend more time with it tomorrow.

"Breathin'", "Everytime" and the Imogen Heap cover seemed like the standouts among the new songs on first go-around. It has the air of a New Jersey to me unfortunately, but I may reverse my view on that in a week.

Pharrell's contribution to the title track was a bad idea.

i actually like this more than i thought i might... it's sort of weird that it starts off w/ a song that sounds like pharrell wrote it around the time of "blurred lines"... and "the light is coming" is still bad. but after that i think it's pretty nice. "REM" and "successful" sounded good as far as the pharrell songs go. her last album had a few incredible songs but lots of stuff i didn't really care for, this def feels like a better package to me but we'll see if the songwriting ends up sticking w/ more listens

Pharrell's contribution to the title track was a bad idea.

― kitchen person, Friday, August 17, 2018 2:06 AM (twenty-six minutes ago) Bookmark

there's lots of weird pharrell stuff lol... his ad libs on "sweetener". his presence is generally bizarre

oh wait that's the one you cited lol

this is very underwhelming especially compared to Dangerous Woman which is one of my favourite pop albums this decade. Everytime/Breathin/No Tears Left To Cry is the only part of this i can see myself coming back to but i do like how Successful kinda feels like Animal Crossing bg music lol

Dangerous Woman's highs were so so high and nothing on this really compares to Into You or the closing four tracks from Bad Decisions through to Thinkin Bout You

this seems pretty low key, not much thrill.

goodnight n go is a really great kehlani song

The fact that nearly everyone concerned couldn't be bothered to bring their A-game to this is pretty depressing. The whole thing feels very 'will this do?'

i love the pharrell stuff here

the light is coming sounds like bubble pop electric, a song he did w/ gwen stefani e andre 3000 15 years ago

Light is coming mashes perfectly with lemon.
Same sample too

Same source. Not the same sample.

lowered expectations did not stop the first half of this record from sounding like garbage to me

"breathin" is fantastic though

everytime and breathin both rule

i guess it shouldn't be surprising that the 4 Ilya tracks are the clear highlights and sound like the Dangerous Woman follow-up i wanted since he co-wrote/co-produced most of the Dangerous Woman highlights

yeah "breathin" is a stand-out. I like that "blazed" is an opening track on a major pop album in 2018 and it's based around an upright bass, that song is growing on me. I like the stylistic reference to early ariana on the closing track. 2nd half much more enjoyable. But at the moment I'm in the "pretty underwhelming" camp :/

The title track has to be the worst song she's done.

Does R.E.M sample R.E.M ?

Didn't care much for the last two albums beyond singles but i might listen to the record if R.E.M samples R.E.M ?

"R.E.M" does not sample R.E.M.

Darn it Grande.

"breathin" is even better than "no tears left to cry" and i might like "better off" and "goodnight n go" even better than "breathin"

the pharrell stuff is all terrible as it turns out and given time to sit with "god is a woman" i actually really hate it

I really enjoyed my first listen, but I was wandering about, grocery shopping etc., so I can't claim I paid much attention, or have any insight.

marko - sorry i meant to say same source, correction

"R.E.M." is an early favorite (of the "new" tracks)... it "bops" so hard, as (I guess) the kids say

how do you do, fellow bops

"Bop-zizza dilznoofuses!"

This album has won me over very quickly (even the Pharrell production). At its best, it’s astonishing good...

I wondered about that extra silence —

https://variety.com/2018/music/news/ariana-grande-sweetener-get-well-soon-manchester-tribute-1202909136/

the light is coming sounds like bubble pop electric, a song he did w/ gwen stefani e andre 3000 15 years ago

― brackEt, Friday, August 17, 2018 6:59 AM (fourteen hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Oh my god I don't think I've thought of that song in like ten years

Bubble Pop Electric still sounds so great. It could well be my favourite Gwen Stefani song. Sweetener actually reminds me of what I didn't like about the second Gwen album. There are some strong moments (mainly Early Winter and the title track) along side songs where the quirkiness sounds forced (Wind It Up, Yummy) or just totally unfinished (Breakin' Up, Don't Get It Twisted).

R.E.M. is top hole.

uh, gross

If I were pressed to say something negative about this album, I would say: (a) it may have been a bit overhyped for what turned out to be a very strong but also somewhat light & “modest” release; and (b) a few tracks, while good, lack a certain “Ariana-ness”... which makes the album feel like maybe a bit less of a “fan classic” than her prior three.

But some of the tracks are among her best ever!

I also think Dangerous Woman was a tour de force, musically — with the deep house elements throughout, the majesty of the final two tracks, etc. — and the other two albums had very distinctive musical settings, as well (on a track-by-track basis, in the case of My Everything). And that may not be quite so much the case with the new one (...though I will see what I think after listening loudly & closely a few more dozen times).

I ❤️ how “R.E.M.” alludes, in a subtle & sophisticated way, to “Mr. Sandman” by the Chordettes

“Breathin’” is #1 on U.S. iTunes... this song will be huge when released as a single.

*braces for threadban due to multiple revives*

pharrell adlibs on the title track are really unnecessary but i like the song itself a lot. it doesn't remind me directly of frank's "pink + white" but it deeply reminds me of when rtc compared that song to scritti politti

“Get Well Soon” is another super classy and sophisticated song that feels like an immediate classic... it’s gonna be a showstopper in live performances.

^endorse the last 4 posts.

I'll throw in "Successful" (not sure what's going on with the lyrics here btw, the perspective keeps changing) and "Goodnight n go" as the other keepers from the album.

Breathin is my favourite thing she's ever done. I wonder how often it is that an iTunes number 1 is an unhyped album track (track 9!) as opposed to you know, the pre-release track or the one with a big guest star name rapper or whatever. Maybe it happens more than I think it does but it feels rare.

(In My Feelings kinda did the same maybe.)

re: "Successful" -- there's something about the "Does it give you chills? Does it make you feel... cold?" bit at the end of the bridge of that feels like maybe a nod to Prince(?)

"Breathin'" is such a big, wonderful, '80s-style club smash. The way the beat kicks in after a few measures of the chorus just kills me

more like "sucksessful"

i can't decide if i like "successful" or not.... that rinky dink ass 02 era neptunes synth... idk

it's grown on me

bubble pop electric is a great song and has the benefit of not making me listen to a tea partier yell at me constantly

I was listening to Britney's Glory on my way to work this morning. I kind of feel like there's some songs on Sweetener that aim to be quirky and breezy in the same that Glory was, but just don't quite get there.

The album has grown on me a bit, but I'm still struggling with most of the Pharrell songs. The Light Is Coming, Sweetener, Successful and Borderline in particular are the worst offenders.

when Pharrell deals you beats, makes the music sound like it is salt / listen to the album again even louder, to bring the bitter taste to a halt

and (b) a few tracks, while good, lack a certain “Ariana-ness”...

― stan in the place where you work (morrisp), Sunday, August 19, 2018 1:16 PM

That’s an interesting point, morrisp... What this largely boils down to, IMHO — besides the fact that she sings in her lower register a lot on this album — is that her vocals tend to be recorded with an uncharacteristic reverb. Neither of these things are bad, of course; they’re just a left turn, a stylistic change. And change is good!

But it’s also why the relatively dry treatment of her lead vocal line in “Get Well Soon,” coming at the end of the album, is so refreshing — it feels like a visit from “classic Ariana.” I bet this was intentional!

i really like almost all of this, actually. definitely a grower, but she uses the pharrell stuff to a really good effect imo—even on the light is coming, which is probably the one i still resist the most. i think it's interesting how she mostly (with the exception of the big singles and breathin) eschewed Big Pop to aim for something a lot more subdued? reminds me of Anti, less sonically than in structure and intentionality. probably not as *good* as Anti, which is a decade-defining album to me, but i really appreciate the way it performs intimacy and casualness.

She has some interesting things to say at the beginning of this interview about her approach to the vocals on this album: https://youtu.be/PviZLT7HPys

I don’t know much about her but I like the album so far. Even the Pharrell tracks !
Actually I find the title track - which most seem to hate - pretty catchy, especially the chorus.
Thinking about Pharrell I’m not sure there was ever another producer still making big hits/working with big « young » acts 20+ years into their career ?

well there's max martin who also worked on this album

I thought of Rick Rubin too, in another field but still successful !

« Better Off » is so sweet and smooth. Might be my favorite track so far

“Goodnight n go” deserves a Grammy® for all involved

This album will presumably square off with Reputation at the Grammys™

Ariana has had 4 Grammy noms, but 0 wins. If nothing else, “NTLTC” deserves Record of the Year

(But what do I know — I’m just a guy who thinks the “Oh, baby!” coming out of the bridge of “Break Free” is the greatest pop moment of the decade.)

Enjoying this album a lot. To my ears "Get Well Soon" sounds quite a bit like King.

well there's max martin who also worked on this album

― ufo, Wednesday, August 22, 2018 3:02 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

not just max martin but his colleagues -- savan kotecha, rami yacoub, etc.

I don’t love the swell of strings that closes “Better Off” (they’re a tad schmaltzy?) — but it’s cool how the strings return at the end of “Pete Davidson,” a few tracks later; tying together the breakup song and the new-love song.

—“Get a Blog” Jones

this album is fantastic but does anyone know why she starts singing the doug funnie theme song towards the end of "goodnight n go"

if only we could excise the town hall sample from "light is coming" and Pharrell saying "sheesh" over and over again on "sweetener" then I'd be closer to getting on board the bandwagon.

The town hall sample no longer bothers me, somehow (I could even swear it’s slightly lower in the mix than in the prerelease version, but that may be nonsense). Anyway, I enjoy “TLIC” a lot more in the context of the album!

I’m still listening to this everyday.

can’t stop, so shut yo mouth

Four iconic albums. 4-0.

an (ex)acquaintance of mine said her voice wasn't great and i just had to walk away in shame

yeah, one of my favourite albums atm.
it sounds more low key and personal than her previous stuff to me.

i saw some tv award show performance of "no tears left to cry" where she was introduced as the voice of her generation and one of the greatest vocalists ever and honestly my thought (esp after listening to her good-not-great vocal during the performance) is that her vocal ability is way overhyped. i mean we live in an age where adele is assumed to be an excellent singer based mostly on her aesthetic so yeah i guess there should be no surprises.

i start the album at ‘rem’ and play it through from there, so good

She does a nice job here

http://www.thefader.com/2018/09/05/ariana-grande-thundercat-them-changes?utm_source=tftw

Love this

Light is coming has that plunderphonics vibe with the burbling whistle synth fx

Title track kills my vibe tho

Looks like the new tour won’t be happening in the near term:

According to her team, @ArianaGrande will be taking some time off given recent events: “She will be staying close to home and using this period to spend time with her loved ones and work on new music without deadline. She thanks her fans for their understanding.” 🖤 pic.twitter.com/TK8wkDHJRy

— Ariana Grande Today (@ArianaToday) September 18, 2018

I love the second half of this album.

Yep.

Bought this on iTunes and it cut no tears from the album and put it as a separate single. Have to playlist it but album is growing on me

Light is coming reminds me of light works by dilla a lot

so much of this album reminds me of timberlake circa sexy back, but like diluted

dunno, it is pretty good but yeah i guess there is nothing new under the sun

It's like you're trying not to glow at all, Ross

lol, honestly that is my favourite on the record

it has an interesting structure and many components that stick in my head vs. the usual verse chorus structure

also the beat rules.

Yeah I actually love it now

New video just dropped -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTPW_cIYp9o

It’s literally just her pig walking around on her bed

Video of the fucking year

haha that's great (and so are the comments below)

Ahah is this real !!??

Reminds me of this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ossii9Ipiv4

Goodnight N Go is amazing

Yeh best one on here

Word from Ari and her peeps is that she’s recording new stuff, and there may even be another album before end of year.

https://news.avclub.com/and-they-said-it-wouldnt-last-pete-davidson-and-ariana-1829752437

hmm, at this rate it won't be long before she won't be able to perform any of her Sweetener material due to painful associations

("Raindrops" should probably be cancelled next on the grounds that Frankie Valli is an asshole)

more like "sucksessful"

― princess of hell (BradNelson), Monday, August 20, 2018 4:38 PM (one month ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah, successful is the worst track on this album

only thing close is that sheesh backing vocal on sweetener, which is like aural brain rot

i tolerated it for 5-10 listens but now it's got to go

the town hall one, on the other hand, i've grown to like

feel the same

I think the title track is strengthened by the bizarre ad-libs. They’re like an artistic “distancing technique” that subliminally focuses yr attention on the rest of the track, or some shit...

(Also, “Successful” is excellent y’all!)

I know Pharrell mostly sounds like Pharrell; but those tracks also do something for me aesthetically that’s similar to Bitter Tea-era Fiery Furnaces (if that makes sense).

blazed reminds me of rock your boddy (which neptunes produced in tandem with timbaland) - though not as good obvs

Rock Your Body was just The Neptunes

AH Shit i meant timberlake not land

Blazed is soooooo much better than Rock Your Body

insane

he’s a stan he has no perspective

LOL -- fp'd Brad for anti-stannism!

Even putting the performers aside(...) -- "RYB" is a loping, lite disco-funk groove; "Blazed" is a hard, tight beat with acoustic bass stabs. Whatever floats yr boat...

when i’m a stan for anyone i have no perspective either

It's weird, I've honestly never been like this with an artist before.

he’s a stan he has no perspective

― princess of hell (BradNelson), Tuesday, October 16, 2018 2:05 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yep!

la grande illusion

Lol - je ne regrette rien.

i mean were all stans for some artist even when knowing that some material is shit (see tori amos for me) but like that missy elliott cameo on borderline is so pointless, what a non-starter

My (predictable) response: I love that rap, I think it’s great! :D

Goodnight N Go is amazing

― alpine static, Sunday, October 14, 2018 6:27 PM (one week ago)

Update: I did not realize this is a cover until 2 minutes ago.

Tour dates announced!

Ariana grande on BBC1 tonight at 8

Where do you see that? The BBC site has an Ariana interview + performance for next Thursday.

Aw...yeah, silly Saturday papers telling me stuff for later in the week...

Sorry about that. The paper did just say '8pm', in their recommended list, and I foolishly assumed it meant tonight.

The BBC's website is geo-blocked, but non-UK viewers can watch the special here (the performances are excellent): https://consequenceofsound.net/2018/11/video-ariana-grande-at-the-bbc-special/

Here's one performance the BBC did make available on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHtgIWSUPew

Bonus props to her for not pretending to know fuck-all about superheroes (in response to an 8-yr-old's question)

Breaking... The new album (supposedly out before end of year) is titled “Thank U, Next.” #AG5

so is the...new single!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OeR5XBEahU

I like this more than anything on Sweetener.

wow where did this come from, i love this, so much better than nearly all of Sweetener

she’s the greatest

Very nice song. Smooth and catchy. The lyrics are pretty good too.

Have any other popular songs expressed this particular sentiment? (Not looking to play “who wore it better,” just curious...)

ever? in history? lol

props to her on breaking loose from that hideous cave-troll comedian

xp Sure

(Or within ILM’s usual parameters when we list songs that work a particular theme, etc.)

this song is brilliant

the production reminds me a lot of her first album... the record scratches are really nice & unexpected

there's also a light bounciness to the production but a weightiness to the subject matter -- and that subject matter still being treated with a sense of humor and attitude -- that reminds me of mariah in a way that is flattering for not being overt (like "baby i")

The song is so disarmingly plainspoken and unpretentious; it feels like an artist simply and directly expressing something real and immediate (which it is).

(Or within ILM’s usual parameters when we list songs that work a particular theme, etc.)

― too busy or too stoned (morrisp), Sunday, November 4, 2018 8:47 PM (two days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this song is readymade for one of those threads, where 6-7 genuine examples are provided and then everything else suggested doesn't really work. this is a great song though and that is a good question, it was honestly my first thought after reading about it last night

Yeah, my girlfriend and I discussed the same question after hearing this song for the first time. It's a lovely song. I mean, the tropes of the angry/spiteful/sad break-up song are so omnipresent in pop music, that this really does feel like something completely new. Having the maturity and humility to look at your past relationships and choosing to focus on how those people helped you grow, and expressing appreciation for them rather than seething in bitterness and sadness...I just feel like I never see that anywhere, let alone in music. I love when art pushes you to reflect on how you might approach life differently, and I didn't think an Ariana song would ever do that for me, but uh..it did.

otm. Jezebel wrote this thing about the song being "powered by pettiness", and it felt like such a misreading of its intent. It's easy to be cynical about celebrity relationships and the Hollywood news cycle, but Ariana's sunny KIP outlook strikes me as anything but petty.

i dunno i mean, she said there's no shade but it's definitely shady c'mon! the repetition of "thank you, next" comes off as belittling to her exes -- especially pete -- even as she praises them. like, if an ex of mine positioned me in a succession of boys who were around to teach a lesson before the next one came along i would kinda be like "fuck off!"

i guess to me the reason this song is so good is that it works on both levels -- there is def something mature and forward looking and sweet about it, but i also just think there's something undeniably shady about the song on a base conceptual level

otm

She doesn’t belittle Mac. Also, I don’t think she’s belittling the others, she’s being honest about them. When she says “thank you,” it’s genuine — there’s nothing catty in it. Though obv. the song plays on yr expectations of what a post-breakup song with that title would be.

(That guy Ricky insta’d a “reaction shot” of himself hearing the song; and she was like, “Haha sorry, I gave you the worst line”)

it kinda exists in a space between petty and legit grateful, which is how i feel about a lot of my exes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN0iD0pI3o0

i love this song so much but admittedly she could remake "into you"/"touch it" for the rest of her career and i'd be satisfied

Also, a fun live performance of "thank u, next" is posted @ https://www.ellentube.com/

pic.twitter.com/1V5zcCe75W

— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) November 8, 2018

that "mmmah mmmah yeah" part she does 2/3rds of the way thru breathin' <- i'm dead

i guess Genius says she's singing "my air" so ... w/e

Number 1 in the uk. Her first since Problem in 2014 astonishingly.

does anyone have the vinyl for this? and if so, is the clean versions?

i bought vinyl from Amazon and they sent me clean mp3s. i can't imagine the vinyl is clean, is it?

shaping up to be a huge hit stateside too. personally i don't understand the appeal

it’s the right song at the right time

xp whatever one thinks of it, it's undeniably unique subject matter / POV for a pop song - a rare thing - I totally get its appeal on that alone + it is very much of the moment

I love this song and that Ellen performance is so endearing.

so nice to see a little perfect bubblegum pop coming back around after a few years of nothing but drivel, not to mention its sincerity <3

hmmm

It’s now her first-ever #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

thank u, next

I just saw the ellen performance : it's great and so fresh and alive (the misstep, dance moves, laughters...).
regarding the track, I like the "hiii" she does a couple of times, right at the end.

just browsed several pieces of writing about this tune and am annoyed that it appears to be more frequently often described as "synth pop" and "pure pop" (?? blech) than anything else. if any r&b 'influence' is acknowledged it tends to be mentioned in passing wrt production -- no mention whatsoever of her delivery or cadence. like, hello?! the triplet verses? the punctutated 1e--2e--3e-- delivery of the chorus's final line? have any of these writers turned on an 'urban' radio station for the past 5 years?

it was also described as "bubblegum pop" upthread and supposedly a reprieve from the 'drivel' that has been successful on the charts lately (presumably rap music) so maybe it is instead i who is not seeing something. any help?

Nah, it’s totally R&B-“influenced”... that’s partly why it’s such a big hit, IMO

if a black artist recorded it it would be simply described as "r&b", no influence invoked or assumed. so i agree! but the number of people who seem to have failed to notice or are otherwise ignoring or downplaying this fact is worryingly high. (it's also possible that the articles i browsed were not representative and that all my hand-wringing is senseless.)

It is rnb but the most pop/mainstream side of it maybe (it reminds me of early 90s rnb/pop hits)

maybe my vernacular of bubblegum wasnt so appropriate. i just meant that its light, breezy, fun, simple and memorable in the same way songs like 'call me maybe' were - not abrasive, maximalist and full of millenial whoops.

the "My Boo" progression

The much-anticipated (and -teased) video has premiered:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl1aHhXnN1k

this is very nice but unfortunately the ellen performance is still the official video

cute video!

Yeah the video is silly and cute but the Ellen performance is the shit !

just got around to the ellen performance, it is indeed very endearing!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tX_vx_s6Gr0

really don't like the trans gag character in the thank u next video

I was looking up Ariana Grande guitar chords (I don’t have a guitar) and discovered the chords to “Pete Davidson” are just BAE over and over and I can’t believe I just wrote the Da Vinci Code pic.twitter.com/L48k3V7o5i

— Grace Barry (@gracelbarry) December 6, 2018

haha

A new single titled "Imagine" drops tonite, fam

It’s some next-level shit, y’all !

"imagine" is pretty nice, especially the ending section - it's better than most of sweetener

guessing a christmas album release? that feels like something she'd do

as in the album gets a surprise christmas release rather than she's recording a christmas album lol

I know I’m prone to hyperbole ITT; but I feel like this year we’ve seen an already extraordinary artist just “come into her own”... she’s totally in the pocket, every release feels like a minor revelation. I can think of only a few rough analogies — witnessing an artist this perfectly in the zone — in my lifetime of music fandom. I’m so happy to be here for it.

both "imagine" and "thank u next" are better than anything on Sweetener except the lead single

"imagine" def not as effortlessly good as "thank u next" but im just rly happy to hear her over some good production that is not pharrell or max martin

I've listened to "Imagine" a couple of times.
I don't find it particularly good so far (and not better than some Sweetener tracks).
But I'll certainly give it more time. Maybe it'll grow.

"imagine" isn't a smash but kind of revelatory for me as someone who's been listening awhile to hear her release a very good song that isn't straining itself to be a smash

i would contrast with "god is a woman" which to me sounds like it's contorting itself into some truly grotesque shapes in order to go bigger and wider with each second that passes, by the end it's mike teevee at the end of charlie & the chocolate factory, towering overhead but so thin and wobbly that a slight gust of wind might knock it to the ground

"imagine" is much looser, more natural, more listenable, more recognizably human

i knew her music would get a lot better once she left max behind, i just never imagined it would happen so quickly

y’all and your backhanded compliments, lol...

I need to find or establish some kind of community of like-minded individuals... maybe I’ll hand out my card to other adult dudes when I see her perform at Staples in May.

I ordered pad thai tonite in honor of this song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjQerQlqYgI

Catch her performance on Fallon last night? It was tight

she turned down a damehood, respec!

<3

thank u, yes!

side a - thank u, next
side b - imagine
vinyl available now
🖤https://t.co/DrD7Oi96Ju pic.twitter.com/PITRnapGdb

— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) January 3, 2019

how often do major-label pop artists release singles as 45s, i wonder

**breaking** she’s headlining night 3 of Coachella (both weekends)

...now also Lollapalooza (rumored).

new single, “7 Rings,” out Friday:

indeeeed. but i guess thank u, next is more vulnerable and gentle lol. seven rings is jus like ..... a flex. friendship anthem. how the homies WANT u to feel. what the ‘thank u next’ energy evolves into while embracing a new chapter (even tho both moods /energies are v present).

— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) January 13, 2019

meanwhile, check out my sweet ebay score that arrived today (direct from overseez):

https://i.imgur.com/XL5iFUy.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/2bb0Z7D.jpg

POPS BEST 1000, y’all #reeemixxxx

New song is “My Favorite Things” with some squeaky rapping 😂

yeah, it seems bad after a pair of listens.

It’s def. a cute “flex,” don’t really know what more to say about it...

this song sucks ass

It’s catchy, but I really thought that the awful Carters album from last year signalled a bit of an end in relevance for songs about tasteless, excessive and wasteful consumption / flexing.

Like, compared to how much I enjoyed the overall message of thank u, next and No Tears Left to Cry, I find the “message” here totally odious in 2019.

Destroy capitalism etc.

http://www.katyjon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Rik-Mayall-Rick-in-The-Young-Ones-428x372.png

well she's certainly doing what she's supposed to be doing

such a nothing-y track, its weird how all over the place her quality has been with these albums

it's going to be a huge hit

i will say one thing i appreciate about her right now is the pace of her releases. like if you're in a position to be releasing hit after hit after hit, as she obviously is, you might as well encourage radio to stop being so fucking slow

I think if she had released it soon after recording it (and the now-famous Tiffany visit), it would have had a fun, throwaway immediacy; a document of a moment in time. But to give it the long build-up treatment... idk, I laughed as soon as I heard her singing the melody. It sort of felt like being punked, or on the receiving end of a good-natured grift.

Ugh “7 rings” is such an annoying single.

And no this is not going to be a huge hit.

Or at least I hope it wont.

Time for new thread? AG5 tweets aplenty.

The first three songs have already been discussed here, and it's all sort of the same "era" (as they say) as Sweetener... but I'm cool w/a new thread if someone wants to start one!

just don't call the thread ag5

lemme stay .... in my bag ... cause i like .... when u mad .... issa mood .... issa vibe .... issa look .... issa match pic.twitter.com/5CVYoEDkcX

— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) January 24, 2019

it sure will be interesting to watch all of her critical goodwill evaporate in no time flat now that it's increasingly evident that she's fated to be the industry's female post malone!

My daughter watches reruns of her old TV show Sam and Cat and she is an awful, awful actress.

Really? My kids watch that (and Victorious) and I think she's great as Cat

What’s wrong with 7 rings? Not an anthem maybe, but kind of fun.

AG4 won a Grammy!

finally, ariana grande has been recognized by the recording industry.

It’s her first Grammy.

which is surprising! I guess the only people who i'm happy to see a grammy are people who it might help book tours/sell merch and Ariana needs a grammy like she needs a new boyfriend.

Which plucky upstart in the Best Pop Vocal Album category were you rooting for?

Weaves

naw, i meant in the other, untelevised categories. this is cecile mclorin salvant's second grammy!

Just realised that part of why I love Ghostin' so much is because some of the vocal melody reminds me a bit of Open Your Eyes by School Of Seven Bells.

listening to this for the first time, pretty good so far but the chorus of "Bloodline" is an instant yikes

Wrong thread, fam: Ariana Grande - "Thank U, Next" (the album)

This 1-hr. BBC concert/interview from 2018 was recently posted in its entirety* for the first time (at least here in U.S.); the performances are excellent:

*apparently, they held back "Better Off" at her request (you can find that separately)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDLRYnw_FWw