Thank U, Next - Ariana Grande: Review
Ariana Grande
is an American pop singer and former child star who broke out long before her musical debut. After enjoying positive commercial success over three studio albums she skyrocketed to the top of the pop world on the back of Dangerous Woman single Side To Side. But her first taste of critical success came on the widely successful and highly praised Sweetener. Its trio of singles No Tears Left To Cry, God Is A Woman and The Light Is Coming all became hits and led to her most critically acclaimed album to date. Since then this projects title track and lead single has become Ari's first #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as a second widely praised hit in 7 Rings setting the stage for a quick comeback album with a huge hit or miss potential.
Review By Lav:
Ari is a personality I've always loved, since before the music was even a factor. That's important to understand in order to quantify just how boring the first few years of pop singer Ari was, I wanted these albums and singles to be good but the generic trend chasing was criminal at points and did nothing to construct a musical personality for a truly talented artist. Finally following 2016's Dangerous Woman her best album to date but one I still gave a 5.5, she proved to the music industry that people paying attention to her music, and set up for one of the biggest turn-arounds in modern pop history. Sweetener is a solid if a little bit inconsistent album that I gave an 8 to in my review last year and it ended up being my favorite pure pop album of the year (I say pure pop to seperate acts like The 1975, Sophie and Julia Holter) but Ari's big moment didn't really come with the release of the album. The absolute fucking knockout punch of No Tears Left To Cry, God Is A Woman, The Light Is Coming and breathin made Sweetener a classic before it had even dropped. So coming into Thank U Next, what is likely this biggest release of 2019 so far commercially, Ari already had some catching up to do. Thank u, next the single is a fantastic and clear hit that scored her a #1 single for the first time in her career. But the decent singles that followed Imagine and 7 Rings may have altered some expectations for the project, thankfully the album gets it done in a different way than its predecessor, with consistency rather than ceiling.
First up are the singles and unfortunately, the point where thank u, next falls the furthest short of its predecessor. Its title track was the first taste we got of the upcoming album and boy was it a good one, not just because of the killer music video attached. Ari goes ultra contemporary and discusses some of her very widely publicized relationships in a self empowerment anthem that also manages to hype up nearly everyone else in her path. The song has been an absolutely massive success and its easy to see why with the sugary chorus and personal lyrics it continues to serve as one of the brightest points on the project. The next two singles are far from busts, the 2nd of which after-all was a massive hit in its own right. But imagine and 7 Rings are decent singles that don't live up to the standard set up by the trio of singles from Sweetener. imagine is an interesting take on a ballad that never truly lets itself rest for very long and is just a touch too light in the verses to build up to a great vocal delivery in the chorus. 7 Rings is the banger of the bunch pulling flow and beat inspiration from contemporary trap music and making a dynamic slut bop. The single is a pretty good one that bangs from start to finish and is still in the top half of moments on the album. The trio are pretty good ultimately but its the shadow of her last round of singles that overshadows them. Thankfully the albums deep cuts hit with a consistency that outshines its predecessor and most of contemporary pop music.
Where Sweetener had a very rough time getting its footing in the second half of the album after a few stumbles on the part of lackluster songwriting, thank u, next proves its consistency in the deep cuts. It starts with needy a wintery build up to a very personal ballad. The song explores Ari's desire to be needed by a significant other, themes of love and relationship is something we will run into a lot today. NASA the next track is an imporvement on the formula from here donning the cute metaphor of being space to a significant other's titular administration and needing each other. It's too cute to handle at points and the skeletal instrumental allows Ari to give one of her sweetest vocal performances across the entire album.
The next track bloodline promises something a little different in title, and delivers. The Latin infused beat is even more proof that the team working on the album is totally aware of how to be strikingly contemporary top to bottom. The more thought you give to the "don't want you in my bloodline, just trying to have a good time" refrain the more savage it becomes and is one of a few moments across the project where Ari didn't really have to go that hard for a pop album, but the payoff is worth it. fake smile is one of the few moments that underwhelms in the track list, after a snappy opening sample the tracks best part is a cool bridge but the chorus doesn't pay off and needs a little bit more punch to really drive it home. Later in the tracklist in my head suffers from some of the same problems, especially a tragically generic beat, but saves itself with a much better chorus that lets Ari shine.
After this we are back to it with somewhat of a throwback bop bad idea. At least a throwback in spirit as when the rattling high-hats spring into the chorus it seems a little bit more 2019. The song has one of the best verses on the entire album making it a catchy song that slides through one gorgeous transition to the next for nearly 4 and a half minutes. Its a track I wasn't expecting to fawn so much over based on just length alone but the composition keeps it interesting from start to finish and Ari was up to the task on this mid album highlight. make up comes next and even though Ari makes a huge blunder here as far as the order of her tracklist, the song is pretty solid. Its one of the brightest cuts on the album sonically and lyrically as it focuses on making up after a fight and takes a charming and cheeky approach to being 'that' girl in a relationship. The issue here that becomes a little tough to rationalize is why this song is slid in between the fantastically complimentary bad idea before it and the spectacular next track ghostin.
ghostin was my biggest surprise on the project both because I didn't expect any of the album cuts to reach the quality of the singles and I really didn't expect to love and Ari ballad as much as this one. But when she gets into the dramatic strained vocals reaching towards her upper register sets up for some great moments of comfortably connection throughout the track. When the backing vocals enter during the second go around its a moment that shines. One of the most intimate spots on any Ariana record much less thank u, the track somehow feels like somebody you already know everything about opening up to you even further. It's some of the warmest and most natural vocals we hear on the whole album and their prominence in the mix even above some huge walls of keys in later parts of the song drives home a tight and gorgeous performance and one of my standout moments on the project.
And finally we reach the tune that had me clambering over all my social media in the lead up to the albums release the iconically titled break up with your girlfriend, i'm bored. The title on its own is a sheer bad bitch move but she lives up to the hype. It is sheer sexy prowess from start to finish. The explicit lyrics give a biting edge and wit to her usually more sincere lyrics and the moment absolutely kills as the albums closer. It's already one of the best tracks I've heard all year and here is to hoping it makes a run on the charts. The track is a phenomenal way to go out of a very consistent record and will no doubt be one of my go to bad bitch anthems for a long time coming.
Ultimately thank u, next is a companion album to Sweetener in pretty much every way. Though their attitudes differ when put together they paint a complete picture of Ari as an artist. Even though it would be sharper to do it across one project its hard to complain about the final result. Tracks like thank u, next, break up with your girlfriend, im bored and ghostin prove that Ari has retained some sharp and cutting edge pop songwriting ability in the short 5 months since we had it confirmed last. Sweetener has 4 of her best songs to date as its ceiling but had two or three bad flops in its tracklist, and the shorter thank u, next features highlights that fall short of its predecessor, but never has any true valleys in its tight and consistent set of tunes. Sweetener overcame some of its lesser moments to power towards a strong 8/10 and a rating as one of my favorite pop albums of 2018, thank u, next holds tight to its rating of a 7.5/10 and is definitely a release that will be in the conversation for that same accolade some the end of 2019, except this time she has Lana to go up against <3.
Review By Lav:
Ari is a personality I've always loved, since before the music was even a factor. That's important to understand in order to quantify just how boring the first few years of pop singer Ari was, I wanted these albums and singles to be good but the generic trend chasing was criminal at points and did nothing to construct a musical personality for a truly talented artist. Finally following 2016's Dangerous Woman her best album to date but one I still gave a 5.5, she proved to the music industry that people paying attention to her music, and set up for one of the biggest turn-arounds in modern pop history. Sweetener is a solid if a little bit inconsistent album that I gave an 8 to in my review last year and it ended up being my favorite pure pop album of the year (I say pure pop to seperate acts like The 1975, Sophie and Julia Holter) but Ari's big moment didn't really come with the release of the album. The absolute fucking knockout punch of No Tears Left To Cry, God Is A Woman, The Light Is Coming and breathin made Sweetener a classic before it had even dropped. So coming into Thank U Next, what is likely this biggest release of 2019 so far commercially, Ari already had some catching up to do. Thank u, next the single is a fantastic and clear hit that scored her a #1 single for the first time in her career. But the decent singles that followed Imagine and 7 Rings may have altered some expectations for the project, thankfully the album gets it done in a different way than its predecessor, with consistency rather than ceiling.
First up are the singles and unfortunately, the point where thank u, next falls the furthest short of its predecessor. Its title track was the first taste we got of the upcoming album and boy was it a good one, not just because of the killer music video attached. Ari goes ultra contemporary and discusses some of her very widely publicized relationships in a self empowerment anthem that also manages to hype up nearly everyone else in her path. The song has been an absolutely massive success and its easy to see why with the sugary chorus and personal lyrics it continues to serve as one of the brightest points on the project. The next two singles are far from busts, the 2nd of which after-all was a massive hit in its own right. But imagine and 7 Rings are decent singles that don't live up to the standard set up by the trio of singles from Sweetener. imagine is an interesting take on a ballad that never truly lets itself rest for very long and is just a touch too light in the verses to build up to a great vocal delivery in the chorus. 7 Rings is the banger of the bunch pulling flow and beat inspiration from contemporary trap music and making a dynamic slut bop. The single is a pretty good one that bangs from start to finish and is still in the top half of moments on the album. The trio are pretty good ultimately but its the shadow of her last round of singles that overshadows them. Thankfully the albums deep cuts hit with a consistency that outshines its predecessor and most of contemporary pop music.
Where Sweetener had a very rough time getting its footing in the second half of the album after a few stumbles on the part of lackluster songwriting, thank u, next proves its consistency in the deep cuts. It starts with needy a wintery build up to a very personal ballad. The song explores Ari's desire to be needed by a significant other, themes of love and relationship is something we will run into a lot today. NASA the next track is an imporvement on the formula from here donning the cute metaphor of being space to a significant other's titular administration and needing each other. It's too cute to handle at points and the skeletal instrumental allows Ari to give one of her sweetest vocal performances across the entire album.
The next track bloodline promises something a little different in title, and delivers. The Latin infused beat is even more proof that the team working on the album is totally aware of how to be strikingly contemporary top to bottom. The more thought you give to the "don't want you in my bloodline, just trying to have a good time" refrain the more savage it becomes and is one of a few moments across the project where Ari didn't really have to go that hard for a pop album, but the payoff is worth it. fake smile is one of the few moments that underwhelms in the track list, after a snappy opening sample the tracks best part is a cool bridge but the chorus doesn't pay off and needs a little bit more punch to really drive it home. Later in the tracklist in my head suffers from some of the same problems, especially a tragically generic beat, but saves itself with a much better chorus that lets Ari shine.
After this we are back to it with somewhat of a throwback bop bad idea. At least a throwback in spirit as when the rattling high-hats spring into the chorus it seems a little bit more 2019. The song has one of the best verses on the entire album making it a catchy song that slides through one gorgeous transition to the next for nearly 4 and a half minutes. Its a track I wasn't expecting to fawn so much over based on just length alone but the composition keeps it interesting from start to finish and Ari was up to the task on this mid album highlight. make up comes next and even though Ari makes a huge blunder here as far as the order of her tracklist, the song is pretty solid. Its one of the brightest cuts on the album sonically and lyrically as it focuses on making up after a fight and takes a charming and cheeky approach to being 'that' girl in a relationship. The issue here that becomes a little tough to rationalize is why this song is slid in between the fantastically complimentary bad idea before it and the spectacular next track ghostin.
ghostin was my biggest surprise on the project both because I didn't expect any of the album cuts to reach the quality of the singles and I really didn't expect to love and Ari ballad as much as this one. But when she gets into the dramatic strained vocals reaching towards her upper register sets up for some great moments of comfortably connection throughout the track. When the backing vocals enter during the second go around its a moment that shines. One of the most intimate spots on any Ariana record much less thank u, the track somehow feels like somebody you already know everything about opening up to you even further. It's some of the warmest and most natural vocals we hear on the whole album and their prominence in the mix even above some huge walls of keys in later parts of the song drives home a tight and gorgeous performance and one of my standout moments on the project.
And finally we reach the tune that had me clambering over all my social media in the lead up to the albums release the iconically titled break up with your girlfriend, i'm bored. The title on its own is a sheer bad bitch move but she lives up to the hype. It is sheer sexy prowess from start to finish. The explicit lyrics give a biting edge and wit to her usually more sincere lyrics and the moment absolutely kills as the albums closer. It's already one of the best tracks I've heard all year and here is to hoping it makes a run on the charts. The track is a phenomenal way to go out of a very consistent record and will no doubt be one of my go to bad bitch anthems for a long time coming.
Ultimately thank u, next is a companion album to Sweetener in pretty much every way. Though their attitudes differ when put together they paint a complete picture of Ari as an artist. Even though it would be sharper to do it across one project its hard to complain about the final result. Tracks like thank u, next, break up with your girlfriend, im bored and ghostin prove that Ari has retained some sharp and cutting edge pop songwriting ability in the short 5 months since we had it confirmed last. Sweetener has 4 of her best songs to date as its ceiling but had two or three bad flops in its tracklist, and the shorter thank u, next features highlights that fall short of its predecessor, but never has any true valleys in its tight and consistent set of tunes. Sweetener overcame some of its lesser moments to power towards a strong 8/10 and a rating as one of my favorite pop albums of 2018, thank u, next holds tight to its rating of a 7.5/10 and is definitely a release that will be in the conversation for that same accolade some the end of 2019, except this time she has Lana to go up against <3.
