Ariana Grande's Discography Revisited and Reviewed

Ariana Grande is armed with a mesmerizing vocal register. Starting as an actor for the 2009 Nickelodeon series "Victorious", surprisingly, she wasn't even a singer on the show. But after wrapping up on the show, she began working on her first studio album, the now "Yours Truly" released in 2013. She set a tone, a message for the pop industry hits after hits. Moving forward, she's released the soft and bubbly sophomore LP "My Everything", then in 2016, landing to the vocal-forward and daring "Dangerous Woman" album. The hits were non-stopping, setting a scene in the music industry. There was controversy, mistakes, choices were made. It's 2017, she released three chart-topping, show-stopping albums, and she's across the globe on her Dangerous Woman world tour. In 2017, A shrapnel bomb explosion caused the death of 22 concert-goers and more than 800 injuries. But that didn't stop Grande from continuing her tour, brave enough to continue doing tours without thoughts of terror, because that's the point of terrorism. 2018 comes by silently, Grande saw the colors and released her comeback single, in response to the bombing, "no tears left to cry". Then, her fourth album "Sweetener" was brought to the eyes of the world. Covered with rap beats and hippy-tinged hits, it felt like a new sound for Grande, she was released from all the things holding back. But she spoke too soon. Grande’s ex-boyfriend and collaborator, rapper Mac Miller, died from an overdose, and she broke off her engagement with SNL star Pete Davidson a few weeks later. But what do you do when things fall apart? If you’re Ariana Grande, you pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and head for the studio. The now-"thank u, next" era has begun. She released "thank u, next" the single, and announced an album of the same name. She put out the album to critical acclaim. So what was next for Ariana Grande-Butera? The Covid-19 pandemic began in March 2020 which broke everyone apart. We were indoors, bored and exhausted. Ariana, as she does honorably, did it again, she broke the silence. A new single, Positions was here. It was election time and the single's visuals featured Grande as the president. She was in the bedroom, cooking, and even awarding a USPS mailer. She was "switching them positions for you". "Positions", the surprising sixth album by Ariana Grande arrived. Supported by collaborations by Doja Cat, The Weeknd, and Ty Dolla $ign, Positions was her most "soulish" album with experimentation. She hit a few whistles, created a few melodies, and even did some rapping on the playful "34+35". The rest is just history for Ariana Grande. She is nothing if not a testament to the power of being true to yourself. But there's a lot to unpack. Down below are my reviews of Ariana Grande's discography from her most recent albums 1-6.

1. Yours Truly (2013)

The teenage actress turned singer tries to combine a mix of genres on her debut Yours Truly. She has help from her collaborations but most of it is drowned with early 2010's EDM production and Motown songwriting.

Score: 6.0/10

Ariana Grande, the teenage actress turned singer from Victorious, miserably manages to manage all kinds of retro and bubblegum pop on her debut Yours Truly. It's repetitive, bland, but its beauties make it not your typical 2013 pop album. She has the potential, but when she put out her debut album "Yours Truly", it seemed labored. The opener and 1950s-styled “Honeymoon Avenue" is a take on Mariah Carey right off the bat, but why should we think about that? The big vocals and early 2010's EDM production are coming for you and begging for attention in some beautiful, but also unsettling ways. Lyrically, Yours Truly is disoriented and disillusioned. The Mac Miller-penned "The Way" is the true gem and peak of Yours Truly. It must be mentioned that the vocal production and dreamy, lucid aesthetic covers it up for the better. From start to end, it's like listening to a beautiful project your little sister made, it's not meant to be perfect, but it's perfect for what it is.

Buy: "Yours Truly" on Rough Trade

2. My Everything (2014)

The second studio album from Ariana Grande makes up for what her first album wasn't. "My Everything" finally establishes her voice and music career as a whole. She's found her arrival as a true pop star, not a Motown girl.

Score: 7.0/10

The debut album from Victorious character-turned-pop force Ariana Grande, 2013's Yours Truly, had overwhelming qualities and unsustainable production. But let's forget about that... moment... of silence... She's back for an unforgettable second time for a round of domination. She's not looking for attention, the attention has been looking for her. Unlike her debut LP, "My Everything" is an album filled with catchy beats and versatile production. While her debut was drowned in EDM, My Everything has the perfect boundary of electronic basis, and tunes in a variety of melodies that are beautiful and catchy, like "Love Me Harder", a The Weeknd collaboration, and "Break Free", a Zedd-penned track who executes EDM fortunately well on this track.

There are so many beauties of My Everything. The melodic and vocal-forward introduction flows into the Iggy Azalea-penned "Problem" and into "One Last Time", a beautiful banger of pop-tinged synths. But that isn't the only synthesizing beauty of My Everything; still, despite its flaws, My Everything feels like Grande’s arrival as a true pop star, not just a wanna-be vintage girl. Where she once felt like an actor, blinkly innocent and looking for some love, here Grande slowly but confidently comes to claim her spot in the pop game for good; and while she may still be working to make an increase of compatibility with her works, this album is surely enough we can handle for the 2014 pop image.

3. Dangerous Woman (2016)

Ariana Grande’s third studio album embraces its own image of a dark, gritty and 'dangerous' alter-ego of the singer. Grande's vocals make an amazing appearance on "Dangerous Woman" which distracts from everything else.

Score: 7.5/10

Remember when Nickelodeon star turned pop figure Ariana Grande sang “You need a bad girl to blow your mind,” flatteringly in 2014 on “Bang Bang"? Well, think again. She's not a "bad girl", but a "dangerous woman" on her third studio album of the same name. So, Ariana Grande is exhausted. She was a Motown girl on "Yours Truly", and a pop diva a year after that on "My Everything". So, what could be next for Grande? She's pulled a couple... of.. big.. tricks out the bag like vintage-retro or pop diva powerhouse. Despite the tricks becoming out of her hand, she combines them all divinely with orchestratic vocals and hip-hop on "Dangerous Woman", a là Beyonce, Sasha Fierce era. By far, this is Ariana's best vocal-forward album. Her past productions make no appearances on this album and instead made some beautiful melodies disguised with electro-pop and trap on her Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, and Future collaborations. There really aren't any, visible, flaws of Dangerous Woman besides some of her features. Future really only provided his best support with the background ad-libs and vocals on "Everyday" and the rest are... exceptional. They offer the basic rap support of bloomy, sensual pop.

But there are so many better things to discuss Dangerous Woman as a whole. The first few tracks are what make the journey amazing. "Be Alright" is house done right. "Into You" is silky, smooth, and an icy breath from the singer. But things take a hot turn instead, and a couple of breaths on the workout-motivated "Side To Side" alongside rap complex Nicki Minaj. But back to silky and smooth, on a sensual note, after comes "Let Me Love You" the Lil Wayne-penned erotica booster. But after that, the best part comes. "Greedy" is a naughty-infused mixture a là Mariah Carey or even Christina Aguilera. Even if she looks a bit threatening and savvy, at least she’s moved on from her past labored identities and made it for the better this time, even if it’s getting down and dirty with some passion.

Buy: "Dangerous Woman" on Rough Trade

4. Sweetener (2018)

Her new outlook comes just over a year since the devastating attack at her 2017 Manchester concert that killed 22 people and injured over 500. She responded with her fourth album "Sweetener", a gorgeous, pastel album. It blooms like daisies, their simple but it takes a while to notice and deeply analyze their purest beauties.

Score: 8.0/10

This review contains mentions of terrorism.

It’s no coincidence that the cover photo for Ariana Grande’s fourth album is her first not in black and white. Her new outlook comes just over a year since the devastating attack at her 2017 Manchester concert that killed 22 people and injured over 500, leaving Grande “permanently affected.” She responded with her fourth studio album "Sweetener" a year later, a gorgeous, pastel record about the lines in between anxiety, love, mental health, womanhood, and strength. It's a lot to cover, but as expected, Grande executes it perfectly. "Sweetener" offers a whole set of pristine pop and neo-soul penned tracks. Though the controversy, the Ilya production on "God is a woman" is one to remember, the same goes for the optimistic "no tears left to cry" and "breathin". It's the best 2018 pop album, mostly for its versatility and boundaries between pop, R&B, and hip-hop, but we shouldn't label this.

Over the course of the few years of her career, Grande has tried so many different techniques and effortlessly channeled her influences of Aguilera and Carey, but if it's one thing different about "Sweetener" than it is for the rest of her albums, is that she (finally) creates her own sound. None of it seems "labored" or "blinkly innocent" as I've said for her past albums. This is a more mature and moving record from Grande, like you've grown up with her. "Sweetener" has it's minor flaws, the set of 15 tracks has a few fillers but not disillusioned, "the light is coming", another Nicki Minaj collab where the light doesn't shine, and the repetitive "R.E.M", also meaning "Rapid Eye Movement", which is basically how you sleep. These tracks are moving, but are definitely missing something. But "Sweetener" is beautiful and it's a new start for Grande.

Buy: "Sweetener" on Rough Trade

5. thank u, next (2019)

Ariana Grande is nothing if not a testament to the power of being true to yourself. She's been through a lot, but if you’re Ariana Grande, you pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and head for the studio to prove yourself. And that's what she did. This is the moment Ariana Grande becomes a true star.

Score: 10/10

Months ago, Ariana Grande released her hopeful fourth album, Sweetener—written after the deadly attack at her concert in Manchester, England— which encouraged the world to see the colors and be open to love. Again, Grande took solace from the intense, and intensely public, melodrama in songwriting, but this time things were different. Who knew that months after releasing your breakthrough album as a truly reborn pop star; you'd be back with an album, even better? While Sweetener was a light and starry-eyed record, "thank u, next" is the complete opposite, but holding the same exceptional qualities. But that's enough chit-chat about Sweetener, thank u, next is the most confessional and melodious album to ever be made by Ariana Grande. From start to finish, it's like a piece of work that's delicate, it's too good to be broken.

We start with the synthesizing opener, "imagine", Ariana is heard looking for a world with her lover, where she 'stays up all night', 'orders some Pad Thai' and falls asleep for a while. It's what "R.E.M" wished it could be. It ends in Ariana's highly-anticipated whistle register, but it's not in the disturbing and haunting way her 2013 debut "Yours Truly" introduced it. "needy", is her most confessional song ever. It's sad and melodic, it's also a message of self-awareness and self-reflection in lyrics like "I admit that I'm a little messed up , but I can hide it when I'm all dressed up /I'm obsessive and I love too hard" and "Sorry that I think I'm not enough, and sorry if I say sorry way too much /You can go ahead and call me selfish, but after all this damage I can't help it". "thank u, next" seems like a sad record from the beginning but set that aside, on "NASA", Ariana now says she 'needs space', which is a humorous but relatable pun from Ariana.

One of the beauties of the album is on "bloodline", the rap-tinged track where Ariana sets the record straight; sex without strings attached. You'll be able to hear the similarities of the boundless intimacy on "make up"—so we learn more and more about the woman she’s becoming: straightforward, independent, persevere, self-aware of her flaws. Embracing all of that is its own form of self-empowerment for Ariana. And the fact that she embraces her flaws effortlessly beautiful is what's amazing about this record, and it gets clear on "fake smile" and the playful "in my head". "7 rings" is a catchy banger but it could mean a lot more, safe to say it's a cold and boring flex from Ariana Grande on this type of record. Switching out "remember" a week before the album was released, and then including an NSYNC*-sampled closer titled "break up with your girlfriend, i'm bored" is a different and sultry closer from the singer. The flaws of "thank u, next" are just the effort, minimal and hidden, fortunately. The title track is a weird but optimistic title track, better than any other of her title tracks.

Out of all the diversity and versatile production, "ghostin" is a là Adele to make you sob. It's beautiful lyrics like "I'm a girl with a whole lot of baggage" or I know you hear me when I cry , I try to hold it in the night /While you're sleepin' next to me , But it's your arms that I need this time " shows that Ariana captures her own emotions like no other. "thank u, next" is a brand new leap for Ariana Grande, and it's her best album.

Buy: "thank u, next" on Rough Trade

6. Positions (2020)

The sixth album by Ariana Grande is an offering of love ballads, soul-bearing confessions and getting down and delightful in some new romances, all carried effortlessly by Grande’s undeniable voice.

Score: 6.5/10

The catharsis of what was 'Sweetener' and 'thank u, next' was groundbreaking. Grande embarked on a world tour and released the best two albums of her career in under a year. So what was next for Grande? Well, times did change. The Covid-19 pandemic made its way around the globe, stopping all contact which encouraged people to stay at home. At this time, when you are bored at home, the least you could do is get your attention grabbed by new releases and listen to some tunes when you're bored. She released a few collaborations in 2020 like the Gaga-comeback 'Rain On Me' which was healing house-pop and even a Justin Bieber-duet about being 'Stuck With U' at home during the pandemic which stepped over a low bar of pandemic blues. But it was in October 2020 where Ariana returned with a new album, titled "Positions". The album in itself is built around themes of sexual intimacy, devotional romance, and emotional endearment. The production of "Positions" expands on the trap-infused soul and pristine pop sound of its predecessors.

Positions starts with a haunting and twinkling opener "shut up", which is Grande's response tells about people too concerned with how she spends her time; but its livid vocals are obnoxious and silently serene. If any other Ariana Grande record was dirty, this one is explicitly dirty, but nicely covered up by its relieving chord progressions jumped right into "34+35" and it starts with some unsettling lines from the singer like "You might think I'm crazy , The way I've been cravin'/If I put it quite plainly , Just gimme them babies!" but she's certain, that's for sure. 34+35 is cool but it's also an obscene little twinkle to match with the theme. "motive" is a motivational and mischievous club banger from the singer and offers some of her best lyrics and duality.

Similar style of her debut is brought to deliver that same, bland twinkle in songs like "just like magic" and "six thirty". The futuristic neo-soul and R&B brought to the table in Positions is a satisfying leap. Now that her peers have caught up to her visual provocations, Ariana Grande seems less like an audacious pioneer than one among many, and Positions feels tentative, an affront to the Grande of yesteryear, a là Victoria Monet, a frequent collaborator, and the woman behind her duologies consisting of Sweetener and Thank U, Next. At the start of the decade, Ariana Grande worked hard to reposition pop as high art or vice-versa—both absorbing and extending a lineage that included her features, The Weeknd stars on "off the table", an avant-garde and tiring cry for love, the silky and sultry tendencies of "motive" accompanied by the versatile and moving Doja Cat and the best and beautiful balladry of "safety net" with Ty Dolla $ign. As abrasive as it is, this is a long-needed let go from Grande's deep emotions and it's a new leap for the genre-defying Ariana Grande.

Buy: "thank u, next" on Rough Trade