Ariana Grande Webshrine

Yours Truly (2013)

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Chey's Top 3 Tracks: Honeymoon Avenue, Right There, You'll Never Know

Honorable mentions: The Way, Baby I, Tattooed Heart, Lovin' It

After 3 long years in the trenches we were finally blessed with Ari's debut studio album, Yours Truly. She was only 20 years old!

Sonically, Yours Truly is heavy on doo-wop and r&b influences which ties into the lyrical themes of young love in a nostalgic, retro fantasy. 50's meets 90's meets 2013. And somehow still timeless.

This album is so ridiculously dear to my heart. I know it front to back and have listened countless times. It always takes me back to when I moved states and had to start all over at a new school. Moving is hard but it was such a beautiful chance for reinvention.

This album ranks up high for me in terms of her discography. Top 3 depending on when you ask me.

In 2011 Ariana released Put Your Hearts Up, a song that, unless you are a dedicated Ari stan or used to be back in the day, you're probably not familiar with. You definitely didn't hear it on the radio and it did not chart, though as of today it is certified Gold because we fans put in the WORK. This was her very first single and was meant to be on this album but ultimately didn't make the cut. It was more of a bubblegum record geared toward young fans of VicTORIous fitting her character on the show, Cat Valentine more than it fit Ari the person and fledgling artist and did not reflect the more mature r&b sound she really always wanted to do. There is an ANCIENT demo she did when she was like, idk 14 or 15 called Higher that shows that's always the direction she wanted to go. The lyrics in this song are INSANE for a child to have been singing lmao but I used to have this on REPEAT back in the day. Her influences are after all Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, India.Arie, and Imogen Heap. Ariana later admitted that Put Your Hearts Up was really just not her vibe sonically and that though she has appreciation for the song and that she thinks it would've been better for someone else. It was just a weird time in her career. It took some time but I'm glad she ended up pivoting. It was obviously the right choice, though I'm glad she made it available again after a few years of having it scrubbed from Youtube LOL. A "now I listen and laugh" moment. I like to revisit it sometimes for nostalgia's sake.

In fact, there were a lot of songs that Ariana shared and performed and promised would be on the album that ended up ultimately scrapped, like Pink Champagne, Voodoo Love, Do You Love Me (i remember her sharing clips!!) and Boyfriend Material. The fetus songs. Represents that transition from being recognized for her character on Victorious to Ariana herself being the draw.

Because the album took SO long to make, with Ariana telling us "soon" for what ended up being years, she afterwards vowed to only ever use the word "soon" to mean 10 days or less. 6 months out or so would be "near future." To this day she keeps her promise, and always chooses her words carefully when discussing timelines for upcoming projects.

The album was accompanied by her first tour The Listening Sessions, which was exclusively in small, intimate venues. I would kill to go back in time and experience it.

This era was so fun. The fandom was still niche and Ariana was super interactive with her fans. This was a golden era of stanning Ariana.

Honeymoon Avenue

Opening track and one of Ariana's most beloved iconic songs. It was never a single but has been a fan favorite from the very beginning. I never get tired of this song. The production is so charming and even funny at times. Such a sweet clever beautiful and fun song. Difficult but so so fun to sing. Quintessential. The STRINGS? She's crazyyy.

I feel like my heart is stuck in bumper to bumper traffic, I'm under pressure cause I can't have you the way that I want. Let's just go back to the way it was when we were on Honeymoon Avenue

These days I always get teary during the bridge. It must be touching something deep within me.

They say only fools fall in love. Well, they must've been talking about us. Sometimes I feel like I've been here before. I could be wrong but I know I'm right. We gon' be lost if we continue to fight. Honey I know, (yeah) we can find our way home.

Yeah I literally just started crying while typing that... this song means tooo much to me.

Baby I

Baby I got love for thee, so deep inside of me I don't know where to start. I love you more than anything but the words can't even touch what's in my heart.

Baby I was GAGGEDDDD!!! She released this as a single after The Way and it kind of just slipped under the radar chartswise (peaked at 21 on billboard, not bad!) but this song is so fantastic acrobatic amazing iconic!!!! She was in her Mariah bag, proving herself as the voice of a generation. I dare you not to like this song! The vocals are to DIE for and it's just so fun and 90's. Produced by BABYFACE no less! Crazy impossible to sing, but when she sings it live she bodies it every time! But let's be real, when has she ever not bodied it?

Right There feat. Big Sean

Feels to me like a spiritual sister to The Way. Similar sonically, structurally, lyrically, and both feature rap verses by men whom she would go on to date later on. This single peaked at 84 on billboard, so this time way under the radar but we fans were TUNED IN. This song has aged like a fine wine to me. I love it even more now than I did back then. So catchy and fun to sing and just fabulous. A bop and a half.

I get butterflies, just thinkin' about you, boy, you're on my mind. Sometimes I catch myself daydreamin' lost in your eyes and I lose all track of time

Tattooed Heart

Gorgeous doo-woppy ballad. There's something so sweet and vulnerable about this song. It made me misty-eyed then and it does now. I'm literally getting misty just thinking about it and typing this. And I know it goes without saying, but the vocals are crazy bonkers insane fantastic. I promise I won't say that for every song, she was just really singing her ass off this album.

Wrap me in your jacket, my baby, and lay me in your bed and kiss me underneath the moonlight and darlin' let me trace the lines on your tattooed heart

During this time Ariana got her first ever tattoo (i'm fairly certain) of a small heart on her second toe. The first of manyyyy. I have one myself, actually, on my lower back, but it's actually a spongebob reference.

Lovin' It

Cause you give me chills every time we chill. I spend all of my days doin' doin' nothin' but lovin' you nothin' but lovin' you baby

Fun poppy r&b with such a great catchy danceable chorus. Underrated. Loved it then lovin' it now.

Piano

This is a weird little ditty that's an upbeat cross between r&b and like, piano pop? Not sure how to describe it. I think this one might be an acquired taste but it's so joyful and really unique and stands alone in her discography in that way. I tend to skip this one but I can be in the mood! Ari's mother Joan said she always thought Piano was underrated.

Daydreamin'

You walked in, caught my attention, I've never seen a man with so much dimension

Ah! The would-be eponymous sweet poppy doo-woppy track. This is a classic. I'll always love this song. Captures young love and longing so beautifully.

The Way feat. Mac Miller

RIP Mac Miller. This song is heartbreaking in a way it didn't used to be. It is however and always has been a bop to the highest degree. The lead single from this album and the first song to put Ari on the mainstream pop map, it reached #9 on billboard. Immediate top 10? Period! This song was everything I had hoped for when waiting for Ariana's real music to finally come out. Very 90's Mariah-esque. What's not to love?

If you want it I got it I got it every day, you can get whatever you need from me. Stay by your side, I'll never leave you. I ain't goin' nowhere cause you're a keeper.

You'll Never Know

Oh now THIS is music. Best song on the album if you ask me at the right time. I can never settle on one #1 but this cycles in there PLENTY. Listen to this now.

But if you would've manned up, put your hand up stand up told me how you really felt then maybe it'd be different, if you spoke I woulda listened but now I'm with somebody else

Almost is Never Enough feat. Nathan Sykes

This duet ballad was for one of the Mortal Instruments movie soundtracks lol. It's very pretty. I do revisit it from time to time and enjoy singing it myself. You remember the band The Wanted? That's where Nathan Sykes is from. Ariana and Nathan dated super briefly after making this song. Messy little blip on the radar. Ariana had recently split from Jai Brooks and he publicly accused her of cheating in a twitlonger lmao. Many have speculated that this blip was simply a PR relationship. Who really knows?

Popular Song feat. MIKA

This song is probably grating asf to anyone who wasn't a child or devoted ariana stan in the 2010s. I do still enjoy it a lot but I don't exactly have it on repeat. Just like to revisit it from time to time. This song samples Popular from Wicked which had uninformed reactionary musical theatre nerds mad as hell becasuse they didn't feel like a pop singer like her had earned the right to use such an iconic musical theatre piece. What they didn't know is that Ariana literally got her start on Broadway in 13 the Musical. Also, could they simply not hear her bodying every note? This was a time where Ariana's talent was simply not as well known or understood except by her fans.

Standin' on the field with your pretty pompoms now you're workin' at the movies sellin' popular corn

This song is derogatory to those who work at movie theatres

Better Left Unsaid

Unpopular opinion but Skipiana I'm not really a fan of this one. But it sort of sets the tone for the shift toward an EDM sound for My Everything.

I remember watching this live on tv and crying my eyes out. This dress is so beautiful. I could be mistaken but I think this was her first main stage award show performance. I was so proud.

Emotional performance of Honeymoon Avenue at The Listening Sessions where she is in tears after getting broken up with minutes before going on stage and asks the audience for their help. She finishes so strong. Such a simple iconic early performance.

Divaquaaake! 4.5 on the richter scale

My Everything (2014)

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Chey's Top 3 Tracks: Break Free, Be My Baby, Only 1

Honorable mentions: One Last Time, You Don't Know Me

The year was 2014. I was a junior in high school. I had a brand new driver's license, a Volkswagen Beetle to call my own and this album blasting in it on repeat. I cannot help but feel nostalgic as hell for this time in my life.

While Yours Truly was fairly successful and received nearly universal critical acclaim, this was the era that solidified Ariana into main pop girl status. As you may have noticed from the tracklist, this era was marked with TONS of collaborations. The lyrical matter became more, shall I say grown-up? though it's still quite tame compared to her later works.

The singles from this era were MASSIVE. If you listened to the radio or kept up with pop culture at all during 2014 you'll likely remember. I'll get into that more on the track-by-track.

This was an era where it seems like her team was laser-focused on commercial success (which they achieved) as I get the feeling it's markedly less personal than Yours Truly was. This along with Dangerous Woman is the least personal, most commercial of the discography. A pretty good chunk of these songs I typically skip and some of the singles just don't have the longevity and relistenability beyond that summer in 2014. Ariana's admitted herself that during this 2 album stretch she was doing half the songs for herself and half to guarantee a hit. Well girl it certainly worked!

This album continues the themes of the ups and downs of young love.

This era gave us her first semi-major scandal: DonutGate, where surveillance footage revealed she licked multiple donuts on the counter of a donut shop and was super rude about the existence of the donuts as a concept, with the iconic line "I hate Americans. I hate America." She was on her Worst Behavior but LMAO. This is one of the funniest scandals ever. I just keep wondering if she hates the donuts and people who eat them so bad why was she in the shop in the first place?

Although I think this a very commercial album, some of the songs on here are some of the best in her discography. I still revist this album quite often, minus the skips. The highs are really, really high. The lows aren't even alll that low. They just don't measure up to a lot of her other work IN MY OPINION. I think Ari'd agree with me. There are some GREAT songs on here. Let's get into it.

Intro

A sweet soft layered harmonic little intro to the album, the first of several albums to begin with an intro. In 2018 for Sweetener she did something similar with raindrops (an angel cried). Lovely melody.

Problem feat. Iggy Azalea

GOTDAMN this song is loud. Just fuckin horns and belting in the highest range possible for the entire song. I can see why she would've wanted to pad out the start of the album with something soft to ease you in. What a pivot from the serene swelling energy of Intro.

This song went hard back in 2014 I can't lie. It was from that era where a sung prechoruses would build up to resolve with a brass instrument riff in lieu of a chorus. This song might be fun to revist once in a while but whew the yelling! Like she is up there! She's even said so herself. Several times she has made fun of the way her voice sounded during this era and how unsubtle and bombastic it all was.

The Iggy feature was cute at the time. Really cute video and the first (I think?) to have a mod/space-age theme that she would repeatedly use through her career. Really solidified that bigass ponytail as her signature look. Real ones know she almost exclusively wore ponytails since she was like 17, simply because she preferred it. It started just as a cute neat pony which over the years grew into the iconic pony we now know and love.

This song debuted at #3 on billboard and peaked at #2, being blocked from #1 by Iggy Azalea's Fancy. This was Iggy Azalea's year!

All in all I think this song is best left in 2014 and revisited sparingly.

One Last Time

A cheatiana anthem! Iconic simple music video. Great contrast with the low verses and the belted choruses (vs Problem which was at 11 at every moment). Only peaked at #13, making it the least successful single from this era. And I know you know this song!! Just to give you an idea of how successful it was. I love this song. She re-released it as a charity single after the attack at her concert in Manchester, so it's taken on some more emotional weight as time has passed. Makes me cry sometimes.

The music video takes place during an apocalypse. As time goes on, the theme of apocalypse and who you would love and think about and want to be with if the world was ending is a lyrical motif she touches on quite a bit.

Why Try

Ariana hates this song and so do I. But it's a fan favorite so she performs it anyway. She gives so much. Skipiana but still iconic.

Break Free feat. Zedd

ANTHEMMMM. When this song came out I was OBSESSED but then the radio took it and ran it soooo into the ground I couldn't stand to hear it anymore. After a long time away from this song I've come back around to it being TRUE DANCE POP PERFECTION. There is no reason on earth THIS of all songs should make me cry but it does. The EDM elements are so fun and so of the time. The music video was fab and funny, another nod to 60's sci-fi. This song stays in my regular rotation. One of her best singles. Her live performances of this are FUCKING INSANE. When this comes on in the club I go crazyyyy.

I only wanna die alive, never by the hands of a broken heart

Best Mistake feat. Big Sean

Slow sensual haunted-sounding melodic. Kind of slept on. It's great! I like it in the context of the album and it's a nice change of pace with Ariana in her sultrier breathier register.

This is another song that evokes end-of-the-world imagery.

Cause if the water dries up, and the moon stops shining, stars fall, and the world goes blind, boy you know I'll be saving my love for you

Be My Baby feat. Cashmere Cat

This song is fantastic r&b pop I recommend listening to it immediately. One of the best songs on the album. Whens she gets in that studio with Cashmere Cat you know it's gonna be fire. This is in my regular rotation. When this song ends I usually just start it right over.

Break Your Heart Right Back feat. Childish Gambino

Something about Ariana is she likes to inject a bit of comedy into her songs and I feel like this might be the earliest example. It's about being heartbroken that her bf she was bragging to everybody about is gay and cheating. The sample of I'm coming out along with Childish Gambino's verse from the perspective of the gay cheater, this song is campy but also sonically very satisfying and danceable. Very catchy and silly. I revisit this all the time!

You said he was your best friend, I'm guessin I wasn't your type

Love Me Harder with The Weeknd

The first of many collaborations with The Weeknd! This is a classic, their voices pair so well and you can tell they love singing together. Peaked at #7. This song was huge! Remember? So fun to sing.

Just a Little Bit of Your Heart

I don't know why I just never connected much with this song. She sings it beautifully. Just not my fave. Maybe it's cause Harry Styles wrote it. Not a big fan of his writing if i'm honest. It's really not bad though. Lots of people love it. You might!

Hands on Me feat. A$AP Ferg

This song is really fun and makes me giggle. The lyrics are super sexual in such a way that it enters silly territory and stands out in context of the rest of the album but I can't help but stop listen and dance when it comes on.

You just keep your eyes on my you know whaaat

LMFAO no like actually I don't know what?? What are we talking about here?

My Everything

I usually skip this song when I'm just listening through but the live versions give me chills. Beautiful song! I'm just not usually in the mood for a ballad like this.

Bang Bang with Jessie J and Nicki Minaj

HOW did we let them get away with this cover art????

Now I KNOW yall remember this loud ass song. What a crazy way to follow up My Everything! It was anthemic at the time but wow I cannot imagine anyone including myself or Ariana listening to this voluntarily in the year of our lord 2024. (addendum: I have now seen a video of a non-Ari fan going through and reviewing all her music recently and they cited Bang Bang as one of their favorites, so maybe I don't know what I'm talking about.) It's long been a running joke in the Arianator fandom that we hate Bang Bang. She won't publicly agree in so many words for the sake of professionalism and friendship but I suspect she feels the same way considering how much she's willing to joke about it and acknowledge it.

SHE MIGHTA LETCHOU HOLD HER HAND IN SCHOOL BUT IMMA SHOW YOU HOW TO GRADUAAAAAAAAAATE

Only 1

This is absolutely one of the best songs in her entire discography. I can't believe it's only a deluxe track! One of her most vocally challenging and impressive songs. This is a classic. I listen to it all the time. This is Ariana in her ELEMENT.

I wished for living in a fairy tale no malice and no lies. Baby you, it's hard to believe, that the love you have to give is only mine. That's how I know I can't be your only 1

You Don't Know Me

A sassy r&b song with a great beat and chorus. One of the best on the album. Again, crazy it's only on deluxe.

You want a perfect picture to believe in, then you can't be lookin for me then

This live performance of Only 1 is from about 5 years after the song originally came out but the quality is so good and the vocals so on point I have to share it.

CLASSIC iconic live performance of Break Free. THE SECOND CHORUS AT 1:30??????? CHILLSSSS every time.

Dangerous Woman (2016)

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Chey's Top 3 Tracks: Into You, Be Alright, Sometimes

Let Me Love You, Dangerous Woman, Touch It

*Tom Kenny french narrator voice* Ah, summer 2016. The proverbial dragon everyone my age (elder gen z, late-stage millennials) is forever chasing. I was a freshman in college. Pokemon Go was captivating the nation. Miss Ponytail had a latex bunnysuit a set of pipes and a dream. As you can see from the cover, she's finally awake lol. But still with the black and white!!! Girl I am TRYING to do distinct color schemes for each era help me out a little?

She was a hit machine this era! Some of her best, most iconic dance tracks are on this album which took an even MORE grown-up turn than the previous, but i have to say this is the other contender with My Everything as most deliberately commercial album. It's not to say that it's not full to the brim with certified bops and bangers. Just look at that gigantic tracklist!

The era began with a false-start single, Focus which didn't make much noise on the charts though it is a fan favorite, and was visually and sonically maybe too similar to Problem. It did great in Japan though! It was supposed to lead us into this era and ultimately didn't make it onto the album.

Similar to Yours Truly, the name of this album was changed shortly before its release after having been teased as Moonlight in promo.

What I find interesting about this era is how the music videos were severely lacking, even when it comes to perfect songs that I adore. The concepts were completely just lingerie looking sexy which is fun but I really don't find myself revisiting the music videos from this era.

This era was accompanied by the Dangerous Woman stadium tour which after an extremely successful run was cut tragically short by the horrifying terrorist attack at her show on May 22, 2017 in Manchester, where 22 people were killed, several of them children, and over 1000 injured.

Initially, Ariana has said that immediately following the attack she couldn't imagine herself ever putting on those costumes and getting on stage and singing those songs again. Shortly after, though, she decided that giving up in that way would be allowing evil and darkness to win and so she put together One Love Manchester, a star-studded benefit concert paying tribute to the victims and raising over £17 million for the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund and the British Red Cross. It was really powerful stuff. Ariana visited the victims in the hospital and worked with their families to personally handle medical and funeral costs. It's heartbreaking that such a fun era was punctuated by such horrific violence.

If the last album solidified Ariana as a main pop girl, this album solidified her as a bona fide global superstar destined to leave a legacy.

Moonlight

This is like a parallel of Daydreamin' to me, since they were both would-be namesake tracks and are both doo-wop ballads. Moonlight feels a bit more mature and grown up while harkening back to the young retro love theme of her first album. I love Moonlight. Beautiful and somewhat incongruous start to this dance-heavy record, in a similar vein to opening My Everything with the dreamy choral Intro before transitioning into the power pop.

This sort of starts the prominent moon motif that has followed her through her career. Ariana Grande loves the moon and celesial bodies and space.

I wonder if the album name was changed because she and Ricky broke up and Moonlight was their name for each other? I'm admittedly not too sure about her timeline with Ricky.

I never knew, I never knew you could hold moonlight in your hands 'til the night I held you. You are my moonlight, moonlight

Dangerous Woman

Such a great, sultry pop track. Vocals are insane. So iconic and fun to sing. The music video is lacking though! The one we have is just her in glam looking sexy which I do love but it doesn't do the monumental moment that this song was justice. It seems there was a part 2 of the video planned that was never released. The video says part 1 visualizer so I'm a little sad about what we may have missed there.

Be Alright

Baby don't you know all of them tears gon' come and go, baby you just gotta make up your mind, we decide it, we're gonna be alright

AHHH this is one of her very best songs and one of my favorite songs of all time. This is ALWAYS in my regular rotation. I know the iconic (i know I keep using that word) choreography she does when she performs this life. Deep house and r&b influences, sooo dancey and optimistic. I adore this song. Don't you?

The hard times are golden cause they all lead to better days, we're gonna be alright

Into You

So baby come light me up so baby I'll let you on it a little bit dangerous but baby that's how I want it. A little less conversation and a little more touch my body cause I'm so into you into you into youuuuu

CAN YOU SAY POP PERFECTION? No seriously. She put crack in this song. Pure, career-defining perfection in every way. Anthemic and oh-so-danceable. This song is best listened to as loud as humanly possible. An absolute landmark!! And UNFORTUNATELY with a (in my opinion) boring and lackluster video!!! Damnit!!!

Side to Side

The first of many collabs with Nicki! This was a fun radio hit at the time. Catchy sexy fluff. Really fun song I don't find myself returning to as much anymore but was definitely a major moment. Possibly the best of her music videos from this era. This I'd say is one of the comedy-injected ones.

I been here all night, I been here all day, and boy got me walkin side to side

Yesss girl been there!

Let Me Love You feat. Lil Wayne

Yesss this song is great Ariana really shines when she leans more heavily into r&b. Prechorus is perpetually stuck in my head. Love Lil Wayne's verse. Underrated asf.

She grindin on this grande oh lord!

Greedy

GREEDAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYY! HOO!

Lol, this song is so loud. I loved it back in 2016, it's very DIVA very BELTY. I don't revisit this as much now but def still a bop.

Leave Me Lonely feat. Macy Gray

So underrated. Why are we sleeping on a Macy Gray feature? Do we get how awesome that is? Soulful swelling sensuous.

When you walk out that door DON'T YOU COME BACK NO MOOOORE

Everyday feat. Future

This song cracks me UP the lyrics are so funny but I can't help but dance to this song. I don't have the heart to skip it!

Heeee givin me that goood shit that make me not quit, that gooood shit, oh he give it to me everyday

Sometimes

THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITES. Chill reggae vibes with such a pretty melody. Another severely underrated one. I'm obsessed with singing this and playing it on guitar. One of her best. Such a good melody.

I ain't even think of leavin' sometimes, I ain't even think of letting go, I ain't ever thought of goin' nowhere, I don't even see it down the road, Cause we're collecting moments, Tattoos on my mind

I Don't Care

Ehhhhh I'm sorry skipiana not bad just not my fave kinda boringgg.

Bad Decisions

This one also gives me a chuckle but at the end of the day it's a bop and a half.

We got that hood love We got that good love We got that hot love We got that I don't give a what love

GIRL LMAO.

Touch It

The production on this is so crazy I can listen to this song over and over it truly puts me INTO A ZOOONE. My relationship with this song has changed over time. I used to think it was boring and so did Ariana and I still understand why this may be boring for her to sing but the whole song really comes together spectacularly. Sooo good to listen to super fucking loud in the car.

Knew Better/Forever Boy

This is a solid little r&b bonus track.

Thinking Bout You

Skipiana zzzzzz i'm sorryyyy. I feel like I feel the same way about this song as Better Left Unsaid from Yours Truly. They can't ALLL be winners.

Step On Up

This is kinda a hidden gem it has like a similar vibe to Focus imo but so much better. The prechorus is where it shines.

What you need, babe, is a work of art. What you need, babe, come get it, I got it

Jason's Song (Gave It Away)

Another jazzy bonus track. The shade at Scooter Braun (her manager) all to go back to him... messy boots!!! This is a fan favorite. Arianators love to be like "what do you know about Jason's Song?" yep. Singing about taking control over her creative endeavors and not letting the industry make all the decisions. You'll see she stayed true to this and subsequent albums are much more creatively driven by Ariana herself.

The entirety of the One Love Manchester benefit concert. Watch this if you want to WEEP. Ariana comes in at around the 1 hour mark. So many emotional moments. The children's choir singing My Everything and she comes in to sing with them.. jesus. Performing with Mac. her duets with victoria monet and miley cyrus. When she sings One Last Time. When she closes with Over the Rainbow. Dry eyes NOWHERE TO BE FOUND AT ALL.

sweetener (2018)

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Chey's Top 3 Tracks: everytime, no tears left to cry, get well soon

Honorable mentions: blazed, sweetener, borderline

Sweetener came out my senior year of college when I was hopelessly in love. This immediately became my favorite of her albums and one of my favorites all time. As time has passed and she's made so much more music the #1 spot is a lot harder to pin down for me, but I adore this album to the moon and back. No skipianas here whatsoever. Also finally some color on the cover! I can work with this!

This album was produced by Pharrell and has a more experimental sound than her previous work. She spends a lot less time belting and more time in her lower, sweeter, sultrier register. Ariana had more of a hand in the songwriting process on much of this album, at least more than the previous two. It was during this era she had "baby's first protools" session which was the seedling to her having a much larger hand in the production process as well moving forward.

Many of these songs are contentious among fans. Sweetener as #1 is not a popular opinion among Arianators, but it was my truth for years and I stand by it! I sometimes question the taste of my fellow brothers in Grande.

This era was fun and messy! Ariana had just recently split with Mac Miller and began dating Pete Davidson in that doomed whirlwind romance that had pop culture in a chokehold.

There is such a naive optimism about love in this album and knowing how everything ends up working out gives it some dramatic irony in hindsight.

In addition to the usual themes of the ups and downs of love, there is also a theme of honoring Manchester woven throughout the record and themes on mental health after experiencing trauma.

This era gave us Blondiana and such iconic outfits and visuals and REALLY stepped up the music videos! We were fed SO well this era. Also, we got a new naming convention with almost exclusively lowercase letters used for song names, album names, and social media posts. Ariana gave up capitalization during this time and to this day has not looked back. It's here that she introduced her now signature "yuh."

Sadly, this era would be cut dramatically short because of the tragic death of Mac Miller and subsequent breaking off of Ariana and Pete's engagement. Sweetener was released in 2018. She would release her next album, thank u, next just 6 months later in February 2019. I consider these albums sisters and two sides of the same coin, one side dark, one side light. This is the light one. And not a skipiana in sight.

raindrops (an angel cried)

Gorgeous sweet haunting a capella intro in honor of manchester victims. The way her voice cracks during the high note feels so raw and emotional. Getting misty thinking about it.

blazed feat Pharrell Williams

Everyone HATES THIS SONG BUT I LOVE IT!! I am an oppressed minority in the Arianator fandom. I understand why this may be an acquired taste but it's so fun and dancey and joyful and a little odd. Justice for blazed! It's hard to pick favorites from this album because I love every song so much but I would put this one up there.

the light is coming feat. Nicki Minaj

This one has the fans polarized. Some love it, some hate it. It took me a couple listens but I'm in the loving it camp. The sample is so BONKERS and the beat is so fun and has a great Nicki verse. Music video was cute. She took a risk and not everybody got it BUT I DID.

R.E.M.

This is such a beautiful chill song with r&b and doo wop influences. My girl can never put down that doo wop! It was originally written for Beyonce who did record a demo you can find online. Classic and timeless. She would name her beauty brand after this song.

God is a woman

This was such a gag at the time. The music video, the live performances, she was ruling the world with this song. This might be the only sort of skipiana now just cause it feels the most distinctly 2018 to me.

sweetener

CLASSIC ICONIC TITULAR TRACK. Unorthodox fun little chorus. This song is so great. The lyrics are a little odd which kind of becomes a charming signature of Ariana's from here on. If you get it you get it!

successful

Upbeat fun catchy fabulous. Nothing to not like about this song. Pop excellence.

everytime

One of the two cynical breakuppy toxic relationship songs on the album in the sea of hopeless optimism. This is a great chill r&b classic. Just solid.

You get high and call on the regular, I get weak and fall like a teenager, why oh why does god keep bringing me back to you

breathin

Super successful single about trying to stay grounded when experiencing intense anxiety and PTSD. Solid pop, beautiful vocals, crazy fun to sing.

no tears left to cry

This was the single with which she led us into this era. I remember where I was when I first heard it and I was like, Ariana is about to come for our NECKKSSS. One of her very best music videos. Such an interesting turn for her sound. One of her best choruses. Pop perfection to the highest degree. Unfortunately and unbeknownst to Ariana, she did, in fact, have lots more tears to cry.

borderline feat. Missy Elliott

THE FANS HATE THIS SONG AND I DONT UNDERSTAND. While some of the other contentious songs among fans I can understand why they might be an acquired taste and not for everyone I TRULY DONT SEE WHAT THERE IS NOT TO LIKE ABOUT THIS SONG??? Sorry I'm yelling. This just drives me crazy! This song is great! Do they not like the lyric about ice cream? I really truly just think it's gotta be a lack of taste. Justice for borderline!!!!! It's literally one of my favorites!

better off

You keep me in your ~~armpit~~ orbit

LMAOOOO jkjk. Another sad one about being better off without someone even though you love them. This is a great song. She told Zach Sang that she almost didn't include this one on the album becuase it was too honest. Understandable.

goodnight n go

You may recognize that this is also the name of an Imogen Heap song, who if you didn't know is Ariana's idol since she was 11. I was actually introduced to Imogen Heap myself through Ariana after she mentioned her in an interview when she was a teenager. This song samples the chorus. I think it's great! Though some of the production does feel a bit too distinctly 2018 for my taste but I do love this song.

pete davidson

Whew lord. She was not playing around! This is a sweet interlude I used to be obsessed with. I still think it's great. She's CRAZYYY for naming the song after him!!!! But iconic. This was such an era.

get well soon

I feel like none of the previous 3 albums finished particularly strong. She ends that streak with this song. This is a stunning personal song encouraging herself and her fans and the victims of the manchester attack to take care of themselves and to know that they are loved. Hopeful and emotional. A fan favorite for good reason. This is one of her best songs. At the end, there are 40 seconds of silence, making the song's runtime 5 mins 22 seconds, matching the date of the Manchester attack on 5/22.

Reminds me of another perfect album closer and one of my favorite songs of all time from one of my favorite albums of all time, Fly Like a Bird by Mariah Carey from The Emancipation of Mimi. I know it's not Ariana or in the scope of this shrine but I must implore you to listen to it if you're not familiar.

Ariana said she wanted this song to be like a musical hug and that's exactly what it feels like.

Here's one thing you can trust, it takes you and me to make us. One of those days you had enough, I'll be there.

Too iconic!

In-depth interview with Zach Zang (one of her longtime friends) and an intimate gathering of fans. This interview epitomizes the sweetener era's energy. When I get to thank u, next I'll show an interview again with Zach Sang just a few months later. The difference between the two is striking.

thank u, next (2019)

Jump to

tracks videos

Chey's Top 3 Tracks: imagine, needy, in my head

Honorable mentions: fake smile, ghostin, thank u next

Turns out, Ariana had plenty more tears to cry. After the life-altering tragic loss of Mac Miller and dissolution of her engagement to Pete, Ariana's perspective on life shifted dramatically. Her past albums were all unified in a sense of hopeless romaticism which was true to Ariana's personality. She loves hard, is impatient (she mentions this frequently in lyrics) and is generally more inclined to have hope in new love without having to test drive it first. This rough period caused Ariana to lose her faith in love and romantic relationships.

She won woman of the year this era! And I think a Grammy, though she didn't show. She famously hates going to things. In her own words this was the best year of her life professionally and worst personally. That's what makes it so compelling!

While she was understandably emotionally a mess during this era, she surrounded herself closesly with her friends in order to heal. One of these friends was Victoria Monet, who was a part of Ariana's songwriting team for years. They developed a close friendship and together they cowrote produced and recorded thank u,next together.

This release is unique in that it was just kind of made and dropped with little lead-up or too much commercial promo. The vibe of rappers dropping tracks and mixtapes on soundcloud at leisure.

Even though Ariana got lots more personal with sweetener, thank u,next is miles more intimate and personal, and set the tone for Ariana doing the majority of the writing on her albums moving forward. She really finds her voice in her confessional, approachable, idiosyncratic and sometimes funny lyrics.

My relationship with this album has evolved over the years. After not too long this album was largely considered her magnum opus, but I was still high on sweetener and at the time really preferred its optimism compared to this one. Over time, though I've come to connect a lot more with thank u, next and really love and appreciate this album. I revisit it all the time and love to both run it through or jump around to my favorite tracks.

Sonically this album leans a bit trap, and this era particularly garnered her some controversy with accusations of cultural appropriation. She spends lots of time in her lower register rather than belting.

This era ended up fusing with the sweetener era, with the sweetner world tout featuring songs from both albums.

For me, sweetener and thank u, next come TOGETHER to form her true magnum opus.

This was an incredibly successful and career-defining era.

htgkmo iykyk

imagine

Wow this song is gorgeous and emotional and super unique and so signature. She's only performed it live 3 times and each time she got emotional. She didn't perform it on tour. She said the song is about "a simple, beautiful love that is now (and forever) unattainable."

needy

This is one of my favorites. I sing it all the time. It's sonically pretty stripped and lyrically candidly confessional.

If you take too long to hit me back, I can't promise you how I'll react, but all I can say is at least I'll wait for you

NASA

This is a fun silly clever song about needing space. Hehe get it? I return to this song all the time.

Usually I would orbit around you but gravity seems to be the only thing that's pulling me. You'll be my rise and shine soon as them stars align.

bloodline

Boppy track about wanting someone only temporarily, not in her bloodline. Super catchy. Love it. Features a little voice clip of her famous Nonna.

fake smile

Chill relatable track about being unable to fake happiness after all she's been through. Can you blame her? I love this song.

if i'm mad I aint gon lie about it, arms crossed with the attitude, lips pouted, if i'm hurt i ain't gon lie about it, neck roll with the attitude

bad idea

This is a bop and a half for sure. More on the theme of love being temporary and just a shallow distraction from the pain.

make up

A song about a toxic dynamic where she starts fights because make-up sex turns her on. Love the honesty. Love this song. Super catchy. The least-streamed song from this album. make up stans rise!

ghostin

Oh this is a saddy. It's so personal it almost feels invasive to listen to it. She has never and will never perform this song live. Haunting and beautiful.

It's about the dynamic in her relationship with Pete after Mac died, being distraught over Mac, knowing it hurts Pete and not being able to help it, giving him credit for how well he handled her and acknowledging the unfairness of the situation.

Baby you do it so well. You've been so understanding you've been so good and I'm putting you through more than one ever should. And I'm hating myself cause you don't want to admit that it hurts you.

in my head

This song has grown on me a lot throughout the years. The prechorus is impossible to sing idk how she does it. I love the bridge. This is such a great song about projecting an idea of who someone is onto them while ignoring the reality.

Wanted you to grow but boy you wasn't budding, everything you are made you everything you aren't. I saw your potential without seeing credentials. Maybe that's the issue. Maybe that's the issue. Can't hold that shit against you. Yes, I did it to myself, yeah. Thought you were somebody else, you.

7 rings

This song was huge!!! She bought 7 rings, one for her and one for each of her six closest friends and made a super fun song sampling "favorite things" from the sound of music and turning it into a trap-pop classic (to the possibly valid chagrin of many). It's about sisterhood and poking fun at the incongruency of how badly she's doing mentally and how absolutely bananas rich she is where she can have virtually anything she wants. Lots of layers.

thank u, next

When this song came out I knew it was an instant hit. Such a giant pop-culture moment. Name-dropping her exes and thanking them for their contributions to her life in a surprise twist given the seemingly shady and dismissive title. It's really great stuff. It's impressive to me how she did it without an ounce of mean-spiritedness.

This was her first #1 single!!!!!

The music video is one of her best and I also really love what I think is the first live performance of thank u, next which was on ellen and was themed after the movie First Wives Club which is all about decentering men to embrace sisterhood.

This song is so triumphant and legendary.

Ariana is a queen of manifestation.

One day I'll walk down the aisle holding hands with my mama, I'll be thanking my dad cause she grew from the drama, only wanna do it once real bad gon make that shit last, god forbid something happens, least this song is a smash

break up with your girlfriend, i'm bored

Here comes comediana! People get sooo mad about this song but it's just a fun little playing-the-villain pop song. And the video is cool and adds layers because the girlfriend in question is her doppleganger and so the point and the gag is that she wants him to break up with the girlfriend SO SHE CAN HAVE THE GIRLFRIEND aka HERSELF. How could I skipiana?

This performance is so joyous, even though she does cry a bit during it. So many cute funny moments.

The contrasting Zach Sang interview for reference.

positions (2020)

Jump to

tracks videos

Chey's Top 3 Tracks: pov, west side, worst behavior

Honorable mentions: shut up, obvious, six-thirty, safety net

Believe it or not, i actually had a period of my life where I wasn't obsessed with Ariana, and it was around when this came out. I kept up casually and enjoyed it but didn't play the album repeatedly and sort of forgot about it for a while. I guess I just turned normal temporarily. Now that I've circled back to obsession after the release of her latest album, eternal sunshine I have rediscovered this album and found a new love and appreciation for it. I think part of it is that I am now the age she was when she made this album.

Sonically Ariana has returned to her r&b roots with a more seasoned and mature perspective and sound. If there's one thing this woman does it is take care of her instrument and get better and better at singing with time.

During this era, Ariana became engaged to Dalton Gomez, her first public relationship since the traumatic events of the previous couple years. Thematically it feels similar to Sweetener, but with the added factor of fear and apprehension and surrendering despite it all. We see a bit of that hopeful romanticism return, with the wish of not repeating past mistakes, with a similar wash of dramatic irony to Sweetener now that Ariana and Dalton are divorced. Also, she was in HEAT during this era. Lol.

While we knew about Dalton she kept her personal life a lot more under wraps and only shared that she got married in an intimate ceremony after the fact.

This was the covid era so we didn't get a tour for this album but she did a stunning live recording which showcased her best vocals yet.

Lots more comediana in this album.

This is such a solid record. There really isn't a single bad song.

shut up

Sweet-sounding song contrasting the sassy lyrics hitting back at critics and haters. It's so pretty and layered and funny. Love it as an opener.

34+35

Exhibit A for being in heat. This was a great fun single with a good video too. The remix with Doja Cat and Megan Thee Stallion is cute too. Solidiana.

motive feat. Doja Cat

Ooh this is a good one. Little discoey. About wanting to know someone's motive before opening her heart to them.

just like magic

This one's about her powers of manifestation and it's so good. She really did make everything in her life happen like magic. When she was a kid she wanted to be on All That, she ended up starring in 2 Dan Schneider shows (eeek). She wanted to be a singer and became one of the world's biggest pop stars. She met Kristen Chenoweth after seeing Wicked at 10 years old and always knew she wanted to play Glinda, and now she is. The way she's achieved and surpassed every goal is nothing short of remarkable.

off the table feat. The Weeknd

Beautiful duet about two people not yet healed from past relationships but being willing to take a chance with each other even though they had already written off love as an option. Great song.

Do I sit this one out and wait for the next life? Am I too cold? Am I not nice? Might not be quite yet healed or ready. Should I be going too steady? But I just wanna know is love completely off the table?

six thirty

This is a fun little ditty about just being down like six thirty, yknow? Fun odd lyricism, I love this song.

safety net feat. Ty Dolla $ign

Oh thissss song is gorgeous. It's about falling into love, fearful and without a safety net. One of my favorites on the album.

my hair

The vocals in this are CRAZY. This song is great, too! About welcoming a special sort of intimacy.

nasty

Again we were in HEAT. Great sultry r&b track.

west side

WELP another boppiana. There really aren't any misses, huh? About just leaning into love and following emotions to allow more love into your life. Chef's kiss.

love language

By this point in the album she's seeming more confident in the possibility of love. This is a fun one with a great chorus.

positions

This single was huge and was fun and solid and sexy. Good music video too.

I'm just hoping I don't re...pete history

obvious

Ohhh I love this song. It's about being straightforward about wanting to do life together and making it last. So good.

I love the thought of you in the mornin, keep me warm and nothing else nothing more important makes me wanna believe in love

pov

Every time she does the key change for the final chorus I am brought to tears. The vocals are so raw and stunning. This is one of her best songs on the album and ever. One of her most beautiful melodies.

I wanna love me the way that you love me, for all of my pretty and all of my ugly too I'd love to see me from your point of view

someone like u (interlude)

An interlude in the vein of Sweetener's pete davidson, this time about Dalton and without a name drop. Very nice

test drive

A nice bonus track about not needing to test drive the relationship to know that it's right. More dramatic irony.

worst behavior

This is suchhhh a bop you just have to hear it to get it. The bonus tracks on this album are so essential!

main thing

Nice early 2000s r&b vibe. Lovely way to close this excellent record.

This live version of the album is sooo stunning. She's singing better than ever.

eternal sunshine (2024)

Jump to

tracks videos

Chey's Top 3 Tracks: eternal sunshine, we can't be friends (wait for your love), imperfect for you

Honorable mentions: don't wanna break up again, the boy is mine, supernatural

This album was so good it triggered me like a sleeper cell into being Not Normal about Ariana Grande again at my grown age. As you can see I've adored every album she's made but she somehow outdid herself. She's never sounded better. She's grown so much into herself as an artist and is proving her staying power. I love her so much.

Knowing that Ariana has been in full Glinda mode for the last couple years I wondered if that was going to influence the sound of the album, since it seemed she really immersed herself in the role. I'm pleased to report she kept these worlds separate and this album is all Ari.

This is a highly controversial time for Ariana (get behind me girl!!!!) since her divorce from Dalton Gomez was made super public in addition to her new relationship with Wicked co-star Ethan Slater who recently welcomed a child with his wife from whom he divorved seemingly around the same time as Ari and Dalton. Things frankly look really messy and there is a popular perception of Ariana as a homewrecker. I don't claim to know the truth and I know Ariana is only human. I do know that people in her life have defended her publicly and have insinuated that people have the story wrong but it isn't theirs to tell. My personal fondness for Ariana inclines me to give her the benefit of the doubt, though truthfully it's really none of my business at all. What is my business is how fucking good this album is.

eternal sunshine is Ariana's most conceptual record, combining uber-confessional lyrics specific to her recent divorce and new relationship along with other stories illustrating the concept from the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (one of Ariana's favorite movies. since childhood she has been Jim Carrey's #1 fan) where people can have memories of entire relationships erased rather than deal with the pain of the relationship's failure. Ariana described it as "saying everything and nothing at the same time." She explained that in addition to pulling from her own circumstances she is pulling from stories she heard from others and tying them into universal love and loss themes through the lens of the eternal sunshine universe.

Feels spiritually connected to thank u, next for me since it is also the breakup follow-up album after the falling-in-love arc of Positions.

eternal sunshine is incredibly tight and concise with only like a 30 something minute runtime. There is no fluff or filler on this album. The storytelling is so vibrant and layered, better than it's ever been. The music videos for this era so far have already been excellent and iconic by my standards. Feels so much like she is coming home to herself.

The album is best first listened through in its entirety as the concept really comes together.

intro (end of the world)

She loves to have a little reggae moment! Very pretty and confessional and begins with some questions that sets the tone for the rest of the album.

If the sun refused to shine tell me would I still be your lover, would you want me there? If the moon went dark tonight, and if it all ended tomorrow, would I be the one on your mind your mind your mind. And if it all ended tomorrow, would you be the one on mine?

Harkens back to Best Mistake on My Everything, where she sings

Cause if the water dries up, and the moon stops shining, stars fall, and the world goes blind, boy, you know I'll be saving my love for you

bye

Great disco track about the moment she decided it's time to say goodbye. This is great tight pop.

This aint the first time I've been hostage to these tears. I can't believe I'm finally living through my fears.

Ariana has alluded multiple times to her fear of divorce, stemming from seeing her parents divorce when she was young. See the song thank u, next (god forbid somethin happens) or obvious from Positions (i'm praying we don't fuck this up). She's now living it, knowing in her heart it was the right thing to do and realizing she's strong enough to handle it. Super empowering. It's a beautiful moment because she was scared to end up like her mother, Joan who she adores and is super close with, only to go through the same thing and realize how strong and resilient they both are, bringing them even closer together and giving Ariana even more admiration for her.

So I grab my stuff, Courtney just pulled up in the driveway, it's tiiiime

What do yall know about Courney Chipolone?? Ariana's cousin and one of her lifelong best friends. She was in the thank u, next video as one of the plastics.

Additionally, even thought the song is about deciding it's over, it's not at all mean-spirited. As she put it in her Apple Music interview, it's bye, not fuck you.

don't wanna break up again

Whew, this is a rough one I think a lot of us can relate to. Knowing things aren't right and probably won't be again, not wanting to break up but knowing you have to.

We sort of get into the theme of holding multiple contradictory truths at once and the kinds of phases you go through when ending it with someone. In bye, she sings:

At least I know how hard we tried both you and me, didn't we? Didn't we?

But in this song, she sings:

I made it so easy, spent so much on therapy, blamed my own codependency, but you didn't even try. When you finally did it was at the wrong time. No, I won't abandon me again for you and I.

This lyric always makes me cry:

Hope you won't, won't regret me, hope you'll still think fondly of our little life

Saturn Returns Interlude

Another heavy theme of this album and Ariana's life these last couple years is her hitting her Saturn Return, which happens usually around age 29. It marks a period of transformation and reckoning with your true desires, as Diana Garland explains in this spoken excerpt from her video titled “Saturn Return – Why 29 Years Old Is An Important Age”.

I'm approaching my own saturn return and i'm terrified!

eternal sunshine

This may be Ariana's best song yet. It's for sure my new favorite. Sonically so haunting. Lyrically explores those parallel timelines and the way she and her partner have each moved on and the desire to erase the memories to maintain sanity rather than carrying them with her.

So I try to wipe my mind, just so I feel less insane, rather feel painless

She plays so well with levels in this album, the parts in her lower register really giving extra impact to the chorus which she takes up real high.

Being the titular track, this song really encapsulates the concept of the record in its purest form.

supernatural

Now we start to get a bit more positive and hopeful, since we're talking about a new love that feel supernatural. Such a pretty, catchy song about being ready to define the relationship without wasting any more time.

The vocals on the live version she just did are mind boggling.

true story

A response to the stories about her that paint her as the villain. Ariana's relationship to the media and the public has evolved over the years. At first she was well-liked but sometime between My Everything and Dangerous Woman she started to get the reputation of a diva. When she was at her career peak during thank u, next she was being eaten alive on twitter amidst all the other unimaginable hardship she was experiencing in her personal life. I love to see her stand up for herself.

the boy is mine

Kind of a continuation of the villain thing. She is SO funny and bold for choosing this time to interpolate this song famously about two women fighting over a man, given all the stories about her. Such a power move, I have to respect it. And the music video is so fun!

This song is such an instant classic. She says she made it trying to capture what her fans love about a leaked song of hers that's super popular on Tik Tok, called Fantasize. Fantasize is actually written for a tv show and is a parody of 90's girl groups, which is exactly what it sounds like to me. The lyrics are tongue-in-cheek and a bit on the cornier side than the work she makes for herself. For some reason people LOVEEE Fantasize and are so mad that it's not a real song that she released and are under the impression it's one of her best songs. Now, i would not go that far. As I said before, i sometimes question the taste of my fellow brothers and sisters in Grande, and Ariana feels the same way, just like, why do yall love Fantasize so much? But she made this song to have a similar vibe as Fantasize because she is a woman who knows how to please her fans. This song is miles better than Fantasize.

The remix with Brandy and Monica is sooo good and so major and according to Brandy and Monica, literally healed their relationship after their famous decades-long beef. With everyone all excited about Charli and Lorde's reconciliation on Girl, So Confusing from Brat, I'm surprised that more people weren't drawing comparisons to this and saying "let's work it out on the remix." Like they reallly worked it out on the remix!! What a moment!

yes, and?

Her first single after a long hiatus from music! I immediately loved it. Dancey and house-y and empowered. She is sooo funny. I love how it's a not to her musical theatre era (and roots) without being Glinda-fied.

we can't be friends (wait for your love)

Ohhh this song and video are sooo good. Sounds a lot like Robyn's Dancing on my Own, another song I love though I can't tell if it's a sample or just similar. The song feels both personally confessional while still somehow universal and multifaceted. Stunning chorus. Stuck in my head all the time.

i wish i hated you

Our shadow stands in a parallel plane, just two different endings: you learn to repair and I learn to keep me in one place

Ohhh this is heartbreaking. And unfortunately relatable. It's about, at the end of a relationship, realizing you can't even take comfort in hating your ex and saying "good riddance" because they actually didn't do anything to deserve that and it's somehow more painful that way, because the love and fondness for that person will always be there, just with the knowledge that you aren't right for each other. This is one she says she won't listen back to or ever perform live and I don't blame her. Very raw and vulnerable.

and no matter how I try to and no matter how I want to and no matter how guilty I still feeling saying it, I wish I hated you, I wish that weren't true, wish there was worse to you, I wish you were worse to me

imperfect for you

This is Ariana's favorite song on the album. It's pretty up there for me! It's sonically pretty different than a lot of her other stuff but seems to reflect her personal taste. It's kind of haunting and psychedelic and about acknowledging and appreciating the time they had together, the valuable lessons they learned along the way, the main one being that they were imperfect for each other and it took all they went through to find that out. It's so good. What's interesting is this one feels more accepting, like she's inclined to hang on to the memories rather than erase them, and appreciates the time they had and all she learned from it.

I'm glad we crashed and burned, I know we'll be there for each other

I got misty typing that out! Jesus!

ordinary things (feat. Nonna)

We end the album on a hopeful note, talking about how in her new relationship nothing could ever be ordinary because just being together is so special. Beautiful close to the album. Ends with a recording of Ariana's Nonna (who she is ALWAYS recording which I think is so sweet) talking about the hardships she and her late grandfather (who Ariana was also very close with) overcame and advising Ariana to follow her heart, know what is worth fighting for and know when it's time to get out. So good.

eternal sunshine deluxe: brighter days ahead (2025)

I'm not greedy. I satisfied myself that Ariana made a concise, perfect record that couldn't be improved upon and needed no addendum. I thought, what more could I ask? The fans, however, clamored ravenously for more. After trickling out an a capella edition and a slightly deluxe with remix collaborations (for which we are thankful) she finally graced us with a true deluxe edition of eternal sunshine, complete with a short film of a music video tying the entire era into a high-production value, polished package. She gives so much I love her so. We got 5 and a half brand new tracks that function like an epilogue, readdressing some of the points in the original tracks with an evolved point of view, a reminder of the passage of even more time.

intro (end of the world) (extended)

I FUCKING LOVE THIS SONG. I already enjoyed the original brief intro but the extended version takes it to a whole new level and is my preferred version of the song. One of my faves to sing and play on guitar. I experienced a giant breakup since I first started this shrine, so it's hitting even closer to home than ever.

Please pay me no mind

while I jump into your skin and change your eyes

so you see things through mine

Can't you sense me?

I've been right here all this time

Would you still be here pretending you still like me?

Pretending you don't regret not thinking before asking?

Now you're long gone in Cali

And me, I'm still unpacking why I even allowed you on the flight

I broke your heart because you broke mine

So me, I am the bad guy

Cause I'd already grieved you when you started to realize

I do need you, I did

I wish I could un-need you

So I did

twilight zone

Sweet and bouncy with a little bit of an attitude. About finally getting enough space from the relationship to wonder what in the hell you thought you were doing, and how you couldn't feel further removed from that version of yourself. In the original set of tracks, Ariana goes through a few different phases of how she feels toward her failed love, from disappointment and bitterness, to relief and acceptance, to acknowledging their effort and wishing them well. It seems that as more time has passed, she's allowing the part of her that feels she was wronged to be heard, when before it seemed she didn't feel justified (see i wish i hated you). There is also the acknowledgement that this journey through the twilight zone led to where she is now, and she wouldn't take it back. I love this song.

And it's not like I'm still not over you

It's so strange, this I never do

Not that I miss you, I don't

Sometimes I just can't believe

You happened

warm

Light and bubbly, sweet safe and comfy. The title fits the sound. Makes me think of my best friend Gracie who I adore. It's optistic about new love. That part of ari remains alive.

dandelion

This song absolutely oozes like molasses. An all-timer for Horniana and R&Biana. God this song is good. Sensual dancey hot and sticky.

I got (Got) what you need (You need)

I'm thinking you should plant this seed

I get this sounds unserious

But baby boy this is serious

past life

This instrumental is insane and she went ahead and made one of her best songs of all time. The only problem with this song is that it is absolutely impossible to sing. But it won't stop me from trying. Pre chorus goes too hard idk what to tell you.

Expands on some of the grievances alluded to in don't wanna break up again (you didn't even try, when you finally did it was at the wrong time, won't abandon me again for you and IIIiiIii), and continues the thread from twilight zone, where she doesn't seem to recognize or identify with the person she was when she was in the relationship, and acknowledges the self-abandonment required to maintain it.

Always wondered what would happen if I let you lose me

Always wondered what would happen if I let myself need more

RHYTHMS OF THE NIGHT CON SUME MY BOOOODYYYY

JUST LET THE MUSIC CONFISCAAAATE MY SOOOOouuuul

Hampstead

Ariana declared this her favorite song she's made to date. I'll say it's a damn good one. She wraps up the album by addressing the elephant in the room directly and with intense sincerity. Hampstead is where Ariana lived while filming Wicked, and where she experienced both the dissolution of her marriage and the beginning of her new relationship with Ethan Slater, spurring all sorts of rumors and narratives, none terribly flattering.

I left my heart at a pub in Hampstead

And I misplaced my mind in a good way

Threw away my reputation, but saved us more heartache

Yes, I know it seems fucked up and you're right

But quite frankly, you’re still wrong about everything

So far off, your seat's nowhere near the table

But I find something sweet in your peculiar behavior

'Cause I think to be so dumb must be nice

I do, I do, I do, I do

What makes you think you’re even invited?

The doors are closed with lights off inside and all the while

Therе's no one home, you're still outsidе

I wonder why

shrineianka

walk through time with me

Yours Truly (2013)

My Everything (2014)

Dangerous Woman (2016)

sweetener (2018)

thank u, next (2019)

positions (2020)

eternal sunshine (2024)

eternal sunshine deluxe: brighter days ahead (2025)

My official album ranking