Ariana Grande’s New Album Positions: Songs Ranked Worst to Best
Who would’ve thought Ariana Grande would be the one to bring us some joy during the dreadful year that is 2020? Ariana’s sixth album Positions was released on Friday, October 30. The title song “positions” was released a week prior to the album. With a magnificent music video—whose timing was impeccable with the upcoming election—the first song had fans dying for more. There are fourteen total tracks, and below they are ranked from my least favorite to the song I’ll have on replay for months.
Source: The Guardian
14. My Hair
This song starts promisingly with a somewhat jazzy beat. Once I got to the chorus, I was completely over it. She starts singing, “To run your hands through my hair / Baby, 'cause that's why it's there.” It feels like she thought she found a unique twist in writing a sex song, but it only backfired. I honestly just did not like this song. If you’ve ever seen “Glee,” it gave me the same feeling of when Rachel Berry thought “My Headband” was going to be a great original song. To me, the lyrics came off as tacky. The way the sound, lyrics, and vocals mixed together just wasn’t pleasing at all.
13. Motive
I hate putting this at the bottom because I was really looking forward to this collab with Doja Cat. This definitely felt like a song that’d be blasting at a club. The background shifts from a somewhat EDM beat to a more slowed down and relaxed one. But in the end, the beat in general wasn’t good enough for redemption. I could barely listen to the whole thing, and by the end, I was sick of hearing the word motive. I think I’ll be skipping this song when I relisten to the album.
12. Love Language
This is another one that I really wasn’t into. Something about the introduction beat made me think it was a holiday tune, so I ended up being disappointed. This one features a smooth R&B beat, except the ending didn’t really fit into that. The ending was a little sneak attack. Just when you think the song is over, she comes back and starts her outro with, “Head over my shoes like woah / Know you like an inside joke.” The ending felt totally out of place and could’ve been cut out.
11. Positions
Like I mentioned before, the music video is phenomenal. The costumes, the set, the extras—everything was stunning. But the song itself felt very repetitive for me. While I do like this song and find it catchy, it’s not my favorite. It does have the typical Ariana pop sound to it though, and you can’t help but sing along when she hops into that pre-chorus, “Said, boy, I'm tryna meet your mama on a Sunday / Then make a lotta love on a Monday.” With this song, you get a great mix of a catchy melody, steady rhythm, and Ariana’s beautiful vocals.
10. Shut Up
I love the way the orchestral strings sound in the back of this one. Like “positions,” it’s somewhat repetitive, but I do love the lines that say, “All them demons helped me see shit differently / So don't be sad for me.” I initially thought the song wasn’t about sex, but in the end, they all kind of are. I loved a comment someone wrote on Genius saying, “She’s giving me old school vibes, somewhere in the 60s, drinking my lemonade and giving 0 fucks about whatever.” The mix of violin, echoing, and humming create magic in this opening song. This song feels completely unique—in the best way—to Ariana’s album. None of her other songs could be easily mixed up with this one.
9. Off The Table
I was also really excited about this one since The Weeknd is featured on the song. It’s not what I expected, but I was pleasantly surprised. The way this one sounds is almost like a lullaby for Arianators, complete with a consistent lo-fi beat. Both of their voices are incredibly soft and soothing. I think their voices mesh really well together. It almost feels like the two of them are having a conversation since they go back and forth, and it’s really well done. However, I did feel like the song was somewhat too long. By the end, it just felt like it was starting to get repetitive.
8. Just Like Magic
I’m not even exactly sure what I liked about this one, but it just gave me good energy while listening to it. Contrary to some of her other songs, it doesn’t feel like you’re just listening to another lustful beat. This one really invited me in with the law of attraction. It’s very upbeat with tasteful video game-esque samples and a sped-up version of the “off the table” lo-fi beat—it almost makes you feel like you can do anything. I like how relevant this felt since manifesting has grown popular. I could see people singing, “Keep my conscience clear, that's why I'm so magnetic / Manifest it, I finessed it,” after all their manifested dreams and wishes come true.
7. Obvious
I love that the second you click this song, it starts right away; it doesn’t need a long intro to get started. I feel like the pacing with this song is very smooth and is constantly moving, but it isn’t too fast or slow. This one also gives me a holiday impression with the background beat and sprinkling of piano, but to no surprise, it’s a mix of love and lust again.
Source: Pride
6. Nasty
Another super catchy one. I totally see myself blasting this in my car and singing along. Just like “off the table” though, I felt like the song was a little too long. I’m not sure if this is a good or bad thing, but the intro makes me think of a video game booting up—it’s also the same exact intro lead-in featured on her 2013 hit “The Way” featuring Mac Miller. I just found the way it sounded interesting. The lyrics have her come off as hungry for her lover, as if one more moment without him will cause her to starve to death. This is especially felt when she sings, “Been so well-behaved, but boy, I'm weak / Yeah, my body's gotta say something to you / That's one way to tell I speak the truth.”
5. West Side
I don’t know why I had a feeling I wouldn’t like this song, but I loved it. This one also feels super smooth with how the lyrics connect, paired with a dramatically slow pop-meets-R&B beat. On Genius, there was a comment that said, “Ariana is demanding in an enticing way on this hit track,” which I think sums up the song beautifully. The way her voice echoes makes you never want this song to end. Her words are very crisp and clean, as if she’s trying to make sure her lover understands every word coming out of her mouth.
4. Six Thirty
I don’t know why I find it so special when a song is about a certain time, but I knew I’d love this song after seeing the title. The song is repetitive as well, but in a way where I’ll learn the lyrics quickly and sing it in my head on a loop. I feel like the pacing is a little slow in the beginning, but it picks up near the chorus. While the beat is like a slowed-down, broken-up version of “west side,” it works well with the snapping samples and lyrics. I love when she sings, “I'm the release, you the dopamine.”
3. Safety Net
Out of the three collab songs, I wasn’t expecting to like this one the best. But the lyrics, especially the pre-chorus, are just beautiful. The way Grande and Ty Dolla $ign melt together is something I never anticipated. The beat was, as expected, similar to the rest of the songs on the album—however, this one was more percussion-based and had interesting tribal-esque vocalizations throughout. I feel like the timing of when he comes in is perfect; the listeners don’t have to wait too long for him. One thing I hate most about collaborations is when one artist overpowers another, but they sounded completely equal in the song. I hope they do another collab in the future based on how much I loved this one.
2. 34+35
I can’t imagine dropping this song and having my parents listen to it. She’s bold when she sings, “Can you stay up all night?/ Fuck me 'til the daylight.” Just a spoiler if you don’t already know, the two numbers add up to 69. I don’t know why that was so hard for me to figure out, but I find it so clever. Nice one, Ari. I’m convinced the beat will release serotonin for anyone who listens to it. It’s playful and fun, especially when she goes back and forth saying, “I’ve been drinking coffee and I’ve been eating healthy.” It’s almost like she’s telling her best friend about what she did last night, and they’re going back and forth as her friend is so surprised.
I think the lyrics are extremely catchy, and this song is bound to put you in a good mood. I also like how this one doesn’t feel chorus heavy. The third verse is pretty long, and it makes you excited to hear the chorus again.
1. POV
The best way I can describe this song is that it’s similar to the ending of a movie where two lovers finally reunite and share a kiss in the rain. The song even has either staticky VHS sounds sampled in the background, but it almost sounds like rain. It’s passionate, beautiful, and made me tear up. Her “oohs” and echoes in the back just embrace that romantic feeling. It reminded me a lot of “Moonlight,” which is one of my all-time favorite songs by her. I think its gentleness is the perfect ballad to end the album.
Overall, this album is good—it’s not particularly new, but it is unique to Ariana and her sound. The R&B sounds were definitely more consistent in this album than her previous ones, which is not consistent with her usual pop sound; however, this album is definitely more intimate in terms of lyrics, sound and the overall theme. You can stream her album now on iTunes, Spotify and Vudu.