Ariana Grande’s experience with trauma, public scrutiny, and improving her mental health is stripped down and exposed in her most recent album, Positions.
Grande’s sixth studio album was released last month, providing listeners with the story of her personal growth over the last year in combination with effervescent, fearless lyrics, unlike most tracks she’s released before. After committing to generic pop music for the vast majority of her career, Grande’s transition to R&B and ‘90s pop is a dream to listen to.
The opening track, “shut up,” features urgent strings and harmonies which melt together like butter, working together to show not only her sense of humour but her vocal range as well. She switches between seven different notes in the words “shut up” alone.
Tracks “34+35” and “nasty” embody the fun, experimental sexual phase of a new relationship and are both incredibly fun to listen to while promoting female empowerment in sexuality. Sultry, jazzy track, “my hair,” welcomes listeners into the intimate world of Grande’s natural hair, often hidden by her infamous ponytail, and includes a divine chorus sung only in her whistle register.
While most of the album is composed of solo songs, it does feature various other artists. Grande’s collaboration with The Weeknd, “off the table,” is a haunting song about the anxiety surrounding new love after loss, where Grande opens up about moving on after losing a partner who she thought was ‘the one’ with the lyrics, “Will I ever love the same way again? Will I ever love somebody like the way I did you?” A similar collaboration with rapper Ty Dolla $ign, “safety net,” further expresses this feeling of uncertainty.
Other collaborations are “motive” with Doja Cat, a funky tune questioning a man’s motives with Grande as their relationship blossoms. Similarly, “just like magic” carries an alike vibe sonically, but with drastically different lyrics focused on self-love and manifesting success.
Title track and lead single “positions,” while seemingly about sex positions at face value, describes Grande’s commitment to her partner and her willingness to be flexible for their relationship to be successful.
In “obvious,” “six thirty,” and “west side”, the sound is very reminiscent of Grande’s previous “thank u, next” era, when she was arguably the most vulnerable about her struggles with her mental health after the death of her former boyfriend, Mac Miller. Another funky track is “love language” where Grande confesses her newfound comfort in a relationship.
Closing track “pov” is a stellar ballad that strips down Grande’s insecurities with a flourish of strings. She expresses how she wishes to view herself through her partner’s eyes and leaves the album off on a high note about accepting love by “learning to be grateful for” herself.
Positions is a unique album full of catchy, sexy, bops that embody personal growth through trauma. With women often facing the most scrutiny from the public about being open about their sexuality, this record is a bold statement that Grande clearly had fun creating.
Featured image by Ariana Grande/Republic Records.
