Ariana Grande - positions ALBUM REVIEW
One of the biggest pop stars on the planet, Ariana Grande has been able to stay consistently relevant while putting out worthwhile music. Her last two albums, sweetener and thank u, next, were her most successful projects yet. While I do prefer Dangerous Woman over those two albums, I can appreciate that there has been a lot of growth and she began to carve her name into the pop hall of fame with her own sound. Now in 2020, after saying that she won’t put out new music during a pandemic, we have a new album. positions is the name, and in the week we knew about its existence, it’s become one of the more anticipated albums of the year, and I got the scoop here for you. The lead single, which is the title track, didn’t leave that much of an impression, yet I still liked it. It’s your typical Ariana song, but it’s definitely not her best. Now, let’s just right into the album.
positions is a pop album with R&B and trap influences. Now, I mentioned growth and creativity because for an artist’s career to move forward, there needs to be at least some of that to either make yourself stand out or even have a breath of fresh air into some music. I never thought I’d say that about Ariana Grande, but positions is, sadly, devoid of this creativity that ran through sweetener and thank u, next. Most of the tracks here feel like wallpaper music, music that would be best played in the background of a party so no one would be mad that there would be no music playing. Along with that, Ariana just feels bored during all of these songs. I’m not saying that she has to belt out these amazing notes on every song just because she can, but it feels like different artists like Jessie Reyez or even Summer Walker could be a better fit for nearly other songs. Hear me out, though. There are some highlights on here. “my hair” is a groovy jam and quite possibly my favorite song on the album, “off the table” with The Weeknd (!!) is a sensual ballad that plays to both of their strengths, and “safety net” with Ty Dolla $ign proves that we needed an Ariana/Ty collab a whole lot sooner. Then again, some of Ariana’s worst songs of her career appear on here. “west side” was so boring that it blew by without even leaving an impression, “just like magic” tries way too hard to be a hit that it’s aggravating, and Doja Cat stops her hot streak cold on her “motive” verse, which kills any momentum that the track began to build up.
I can say without a doubt that positions is the most high-profile disappointment of the year. It seems like Ariana Grande has lost her identity, and that could simply be because she’s testing the waters of what she wants to stick with. It’s not a total waste of time, though, because the highlights here are worth checking out, but since this is an album review and I like to be honest with these, positions really sucked. This feels empty, devoid of anything that’s career-defining, and, to put it lightly, generic. If Ariana is going to stick with R&B for the foreseeable future, there’s going to need to be an overhaul in this sound.
4/10
Stream positions here (links to be added October 30)
Spotify
Apple Music
YouTube Music
positions is a pop album with R&B and trap influences. Now, I mentioned growth and creativity because for an artist’s career to move forward, there needs to be at least some of that to either make yourself stand out or even have a breath of fresh air into some music. I never thought I’d say that about Ariana Grande, but positions is, sadly, devoid of this creativity that ran through sweetener and thank u, next. Most of the tracks here feel like wallpaper music, music that would be best played in the background of a party so no one would be mad that there would be no music playing. Along with that, Ariana just feels bored during all of these songs. I’m not saying that she has to belt out these amazing notes on every song just because she can, but it feels like different artists like Jessie Reyez or even Summer Walker could be a better fit for nearly other songs. Hear me out, though. There are some highlights on here. “my hair” is a groovy jam and quite possibly my favorite song on the album, “off the table” with The Weeknd (!!) is a sensual ballad that plays to both of their strengths, and “safety net” with Ty Dolla $ign proves that we needed an Ariana/Ty collab a whole lot sooner. Then again, some of Ariana’s worst songs of her career appear on here. “west side” was so boring that it blew by without even leaving an impression, “just like magic” tries way too hard to be a hit that it’s aggravating, and Doja Cat stops her hot streak cold on her “motive” verse, which kills any momentum that the track began to build up.
I can say without a doubt that positions is the most high-profile disappointment of the year. It seems like Ariana Grande has lost her identity, and that could simply be because she’s testing the waters of what she wants to stick with. It’s not a total waste of time, though, because the highlights here are worth checking out, but since this is an album review and I like to be honest with these, positions really sucked. This feels empty, devoid of anything that’s career-defining, and, to put it lightly, generic. If Ariana is going to stick with R&B for the foreseeable future, there’s going to need to be an overhaul in this sound.
4/10
Stream positions here (links to be added October 30)
Spotify
Apple Music
YouTube Music
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