Ariana Grande has unleashed ‘Positions’ – her sixth studio album.
Led by the title track, the set continues the songbird’s exploration of trap music infused with organic instrumentals that she began and received acclaim for on ‘Thank U, Next.’
That Grape Juice has had the LP on repeat since its release. Join us below to find out which five tracks, or should we say poses, that are essential on ‘Positions.’
Safety Net
Among all of the horniness that exists on ‘Positions,’ the Ty Dolla $ign assisted ‘Safety Net’ is a stark contrast from the rest of the album and is somehow arguably just as sexy.
The dark, knocking beat paired with the haunting echoes and soft strings is tailor made for those evenings along, where one contemplates their feelings.
While the concept of tripping and falling headfirst into a relationship without a safety net tends to not be erotic, somehow Grande manages to subvert expectations again. Well done, Ari. Well done.
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Nasty
Imagine if Janet Jackson and Mariah Carey teamed-up to create a song. Well, this is about as close as we may ever get.
‘Nasty’ is the equivalent of Mariah singing a Janet bedroom jam.
Complete with tons of empty pillow talk and whistle notes, it will surly be gracing playlist during that special time for years to come.
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Motive
Breathless, contemplative, and infectious.
This microhouse track is one of the few moments that Grande takes to the dance floor.
Packed with all the glitz and glamour of Studio 54, this Doja Cat-assisted gem will have you breaking out those bell-bottoms once more.
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Love Language
Ari once again returns to the disco with this dance-filled track.
Far from lost in translation, Grande lays it all on the line with the lyrics “Teach me how to love you I’m not learning what ain’t right.”
Equal parts sexy and danceable, this track is perfect for those late nights spent inside.
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Just Like Magic
If ‘Love Language’ and ‘Motive’ brought back the 70s, then this track surly brought back the 80s with its production centered around a spacey keyboard line.
While most of the album features outright horniness, ‘Just Like Magic’ finds Ari honey for herself and not someone else.
This trippy celebration of self is perfect for those times when you just need to remind yourself what a bad b*tch you are.
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Do you agree with our picks?
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“pov” is probably her best song song in a long time. lyrically, melodically and sonically.
Agreed.
POV is the absolute best… how did they miss that
The album is bad
This album put me to sleep
She knew the album was bad that’s why she rushed to release it.
I was a bit thrown off upon first listen but but after the second listen i was shook. This is probably my favorite album of hers. So many good songs. Just like magic, pov, six thirty, 34+35, shut up. I could have done without the weekend feature and she could have kept ty. But other than that i love it.
Off the table & 69 is my bedroom jam. I will pop my puss open 💋💋💋 daddy yessss siiiiiii ay ay ay papi
She’s receiving negative reviews
Unfocussed and often tedious, ‘Positions’ is the first real miss of Ariana Grande’s career.-
FADER magazine
😬😬
This album is full of fillers
Girl, the critics are giving this album a D++. It’s fighting for My Everything as her worst reviewed album yet. 😭 I still think Sweetener is her worst as far as sound goes, (but it has better singles than Positions). Now we know why she released Positions as the lead single. There was literally no other option. It’s all filler.
I agreee!
I saw somebody say she could’ve put 4-5 of these songs on thank you next and release it as a deluxe, and that makes SO much more sense. It’s not a good album. I don’t know if her team was trying to take advantage of the lack of competition or release before Adele takes next year, but there was no reason to rush to release and album that wasn’t amazing. Even the reviews are just so so. I don’t get it.
3 Ariana albums before Normani’s debut. #tragic
And Charlie angel’s soundtrack too🤣😂🤣😂 flopmami was in it tho, just one song 💁🏿♀️💁🏿♀️💁🏿♀️
I stan hard for Ari but her label seem to have focused on rush releasing an album with pretty decent tracks that feel like Ari’s “Lane” but they weren’t able to replicate the sound of HITS tracks like “7 Rings”, “Thank You Next” and to a lesser extent “Break Up With Your Girlfriend”.
Note the relegation of Victoria Monét on “Positions” in the hierarchy of writing credits…. she’s listed as a minority contributor on the tracks she writes on. Maybe the label didn’t want to make it look like they need Victoria for a hit (but maybe they do?) but overall none of these tracks stand next to “7 Rings” or “TYN” in terms of being EPIC pop songs.
Don’t hate the album but was expecting more. 🤷🏾♂️
She reminded us once again on this album that she writes her own songs. You can tell that her sound changed after Dangerous Woman and it’s due, in part, to Victoria’s writing. I agree that it seems like she and her team are trying to re-position her as the sole (or primary) contributor of her writing — probably to put her league with Taylor. Because she’s had 5 albums and only one Grammy. It seems like she’s trying taking short cuts. If you want to be regarded as an artist, then make better music. Taylor never had to announce that she wrote a song. You could tell by how personal her lyrics were and the storytelling she included, that she was a songwriter (I wouldn’t consider myself a Taylor fan btw). Ariana’s team seems too focused on image and not enough on the actual music. It should speak for itself.
Shes never going to be a Taylor in terms of being renouned for songwriting and that’s completely fine. Shes renouned for her voice among her peers, Taylor isnt renouned for her voice but rather songwriting – its pretty rare to have both in a major popstar so its not even necessary for her label to push that narrative.
We all know she probably writes a little bit and her vocal harmonies and melodies probably mostly contribute to her credits because those are in my opinion just as important to the song. I do however think shes written the most she ever has with this album because of the lack of contribution from writers/producers outside this small circle (tommy brown, tayla parx, victoria monet etc.). So obviously theres been some evolution.
None of the writing gripped me as being smart or witty or unique, but her voice is enough so having standard lyrics isnt really a problem.
Honestly if she sticks to having 1 grammy her whole career thatbwould be fine, who outside of snobs legitimately cares about grammys. They did what they had to do when the legends were around and now they’re done. But Case and point, Lady GaGa has the same amount of grammys (maybe even more) than Mariah Carey. Clearly not an accurate award giver!
I don’t think it’s necessary for her label to push that label either, but her and her team have been giving me that impression — that they’re not satisfied with where she is. And whether it be for songwriting or for singing, there’s clearly a level of success that she hasn’t been able to penetrate with her last efforts. Aside from Taylor, look at Adele. They both were hitting more impressive milestones, in my opinion, earlier in their careers. Ariana has twice as much music as Adele, for example. And Ariana has made 6 albums in 6 years while Taylor has 8 albums in 14 years. She’s working hard instead of working smart.
And I don’t agree that her voice is enough. I think Ariana is certainly better than many of her peers (Taylor, Selena, Rihanna, etc.), but I don’t find her to be an impressive singer. And I’ve read your comments below and completely disagree. The Mariah Carey level of artistry not being attainable for people anymore is not a matter of being impossible, it’s a matter of being incapable. And if anything, it was HARDER for the Mariah’s of the world to succeed on the same charts that had Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, Elton John, Boyz to Men, Luther Van dross, Celine Dion, etc. on them. The pop stars of today have to beat out Post Malone and Halsey for number 1. 🙄 Please. 😭 It’s EASIER now. There’s no question about it. Nevermind all of the platforms and avenues (social media, YouTube, streaming), that artists have access to now. So I just think the whole, “it’s not fair to compare her to legends” is just a bad excuse for her not being up to par. The REAL reason why she can’t compare to Mariah is because she can’t sing like Mariah could. And it didn’t take Mariah 7 years to gain momentum. Compared to her current peers, Ariana’s a great singer, but it’s worth pointing out that in 1997, she would be at the bottom of the batch. The universe didn’t stop giving people the ability to sing. It’s just not popular anymore. And some people aren’t just going to lower their standards for what a great vocalist is just because they’re hard to come by now.
I do kind of agree with you about the Grammy thing though. They get it wrong a lot. But I wouldn’t consider them irrelevant just yet, and doubt Ariana’s team would either.
I’m tired of the Mariah comparisons as there is no similarity vocally or musically.
Where is Grande’s era that will cement her in popular history?
A cute outfit and the ability to sing is okay doesn’t really do it for me.
There are lesser singers (Britney) who have made a mark on the culture, and still an influence years after here biggest impact. You have Christina with Stripped, Madonna with a few moments, Whitney, Mariah, Toni Braxton, Mary j Blige.. the list goes on.
Anyone these days is a star and it seems for no damn reason.
Its not really fair to compare pop stars who started in the 2010’s to legends from the 80s, 90,s and 2000s.
1. Shes only been putting out music for 7 years and 2. Shes still you g and having fun and the millennial generation is less “controlled” when it comes to their careers nowadays. I can name anyone who debuted in the 2010s whos considered a legend among the names you mentioned because its simply (for now) unattainable.
Cant name anyone*
Hopefully you dont say Billie or Halsey or something 😩
Adele
Adele debuted in 2007 and her 1st single came out in 2007, not 2010s.
2000s lots of big people came out like Adele, Amy Winehouse (RIP), GaGa etc.
Hate the comparisons but no Mariah would not sing the song in such a way like Ariana. Hell go listen to Babydoll, Bliss and Crybaby for a vibe that could’ve also been mixed with Janet
You simply cant compare that level of artistry with trap pop of 2020 so lets not even entertain the idea
TOP 5 (In No order)
1. Positions
2. Safety Net
3. POV
4. Just Like Magic
5. Nasty
Thank you next, Asiana! 👎
The album SUCKS
lol I agree
Meh overrated