After the traumatic bombing at one of her concerts in Manchester and a long break from social media, pop singer Ariana Grande released her most experimental and vulnerable album yet: Sweetener.
The album is comprised of 15 songs, ranging from the eccentric Pharrell-produced track “the light is coming,” the pop banger “God is a woman,” and even an interlude named after her now ex-fiancé Pete Davidson.
What made Sweetener so unique was its fresh production. This was a new sound for Grande, which may have been a shock to some of her fans. Back in 2016, she released her third album Dangerous Woman, which showed off her high vocal range and featured perfectly crafted pop songs by the genius producer Max Martin (who has worked with Britney Spears, Katy Perry and more). Sweetener shows off a different side of Grande’s voice and pulls some influences from R&B music. For example, “R.E.M” shows off her lower register and was originally written for Beyoncé. You can still find her demo on the internet to this day. Another highlight in terms of production is “goodnight n go,” a cover of Imogen Heap’s song by the same name with a trap-twist produced by Tommy Brown. Grande has said multiple times that this is the music that she has always to make and we’re not complaining.
Sweetener doesn’t only have amazing production, it also has many personal songs about Grande’s anxiety or the Manchester bombing. For example, “breathin” and “get well soon” are both about her anxiety after the bombing. The latter song has roughly 40 seconds of silence at the end and a length of 5:22, which is the date of the event.
Although, some tracks on Sweetener fell short. “successful” starts off as a funky song about Grande’s successes in life, but the song turns sour when the upbeat groove is replaced by a trap beat with loud cymbals and off-putting breath sounds. Another low point on the album is “blazed.” The Pharrell-produced and assisted track is just too repetitive and is a strange choice as the first full-length song on the album.
All in all, only Ariana Grande could open a comeback album with a 36 second a cappella cover of “An Angel Cried” by The Four Seasons and close it with a 5:22 tribute to the Manchester bombing. Sweetener is a healing album that not only healed Grande but saved pop music.
Stream Sweetener by Ariana Grande on Spotify and Apple Music.
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