Something that really threw me for a loop the other day was how over five years have passed since the initial release of Ariana Grande’s sixth studio album, “Positions.” I vividly remember when this album first came out and how much I enjoyed it both upon first listen and in the months and years following. The sounds really resonated with me, and to be truthful, it was the album that served as my gateway into revisiting the rest of Grande’s discography. What I also remember vividly from that time was the mass amount of criticism Ariana received from fans on social media over the album. Post after post from different platforms categorized the album as “boring,” “slow,” or “unrelatable.” Many were focused on their dislike for the album’s heavy use of R&B sounds. To me, that is exactly what made the album stand out all the more.
While “Sweetener” and “thank u, next” are Arianator cult-classics (and for very good reason), I argue that Ariana’s shift from a more typical pop sound to R&B elements was much needed and really reflected her growth both personally and as an artist, especially after major life events which heavily contributed to the sound and overall vibe of each of those albums, such as the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017, and the loss of her late boyfriend Mac Miller in 2018. I think that her experimentation with R&B paralleled visionaries in R&B and Soul like Mary J. Blige, Erykah Badu, and Whitney Houston, among others. Part of the reason I think people felt the album was “slow” and “boring” was because of the mellower tones of R&B music in contrast to the more poppy upbeat production coming off of “Sweetener” and “thank u, next”, thanks in part to producers like Pharrell. Each of them is just so starkly different.
Adding to that, another reason fans highly praised “thank u, next” and “Sweetener” was because Grande was at a stage in her life where she was able to relate so deeply with her fanbase. Grande unveils her vulnerable side in tracks from both “Sweetener” and “thank u, next.” In “ghostin” Grande says “I know you hear me when I cry. I try to hold it in at night. While you’re sleeping next to me. But it’s your arms that I need this time,” of which many fans speculated to be, as mentioned previously, her touching on the loss of her late boyfriend Mac Miller, or just the general themes of loss. In “get well soon” from “Sweetener,” Grande sings, “My life is so controlled by the what if’s” and “My body’s here on Earth, but I’m floating. Disconnected, so sometimes, I feel frozen and alone.” In this track, she alludes to her struggles with mental health and extends words of encouragement to her fans and listeners.
This tone of lyrics shifts significantly from many of the tracks on “positions,” which translate more assuredness in Grande’s contentment, both romantically and in her personal affairs. “pov” is a great example of this, describing her partner as someone who is loving her in her entirety, singing “I wanna love me the way that you love me” and “I’ma love you even though I’m scared.” This caliber of lyrics carries an even greater weight in light of the profound events Grande endured in the previous few years, as mentioned, including the Manchester Arena bombing and the loss of Mac Miller. I think that in many ways it almost rubbed many fans the wrong way in a sense, as she was able to find love in new places, and more specifically begin to express the happiness she felt in her life whole heartedly in her music, which was not something that was as commonplace in her previous records, nor could it be as relatable to many, who connected more deeply with her introspective and melancholic tracks.
A few years after its release, it appears many people are warming up to “Positions” and redeeming it from its black sheep place in Ariana Grande’s discography, and as someone who has been a fan of the album since day one, I am truly so happy it is finally getting the love it deserves.