Released: August 17, 2018
Genre: Pop • R&B • Trap
Label: Republic
Producer: Charles Anderson • Brian Malik Baptiste • Tommy Brown • Michael Foster • Hit-Boy • Ilya • Max Martin • Pharrell Williams
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by 2018, Ariana Grande had became one of pop music’s most intriguing and remarkable vocalists. With three commercially successful albums under her belt, the singer has proven on multiple occasions that she’s the one and never the two.
Ariana Grande’s fourth studio album, Sweetener was released on August 17, 2018 by Republic Records. With elements of pop, R&B, trap, neo soul, house, funk and hip hop, Sweetener tackles themes of romance, intimacy, anxiety, sex, unhealthy relationships and perseverance through hardships.
Sweetener has become not only one of my favorite Ariana albums, but one of the best album in the past decade of typing this post. Sweetener is truly a flawless album that stands a test of time, especially with the message behind it.
The album won Best Pop Vocal Album at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, giving the singer her very first Grammy. Also, Sweetener debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200 with 231, 000 album-equivalent units. The album gave the singer her third number 1 album, and her fastest selling album to date.
Ladies & Gentlemen, I present to you Ariana Grande’s Sweetener:
Raindrops (An Angel Cried)
Written by Bob Gaudio
When raindrops fell down from the sky
The day you left me, an angel cried
Oh, she cried
An angel cried, she criedAriana Grande, Raindrops (an angel cried,) 2018″
Raindrops (an angel cried) is an acapella cover of An Angel Cried performed by The Four Seasons.
Blazed (featuring Pharrell Williams)
Written by Pharrell Williams
Blazed has become one of my favorite songs on the album the more I listen to it. A collaboration with the legendary Pharrell Williams (whom Ariana worked on the majority of the album with,) Blazed is lyrically about loving someone and just being around them. The elements of funk starts the album off to a good vibe!
The Light Is Coming (featuring Nicki Minaj)
Written by Pharrell Williams ∙ Onika Miraj ∙ Ariana Grande
Released as the promotional single for the album, the light is coming is a song with new wave, hip hop, dance and R&B influences. Lyrically, the light is coming discusses overcoming the darkness. Ariana and the Queen of Rap, Nicki Minaj ended darkness with this song!
the light is coming contains a sample of a CNN archive clip of Craig Miller shouting at former senator Arlen Spector at a town hall meeting in 2009.
R.E.M.
Written by Pharrell Williams ∙ Ariana Grande
R.E.M. is one of my favorite R&B songs in the past couple of years, and the dreamy production is so mesmerizing! From a lyrical perspective, the song is about the singer not wanting to awake from a dream because she’s dreaming about someone entering her life and being the person she should be in love with. A masterpiece!
God Is a Woman
Written by Ariana Grande ∙ Ilya Salmanzadeh ∙ Savan Kotecha ∙ Max Martin ∙ Rickard Göransson
God is a Woman was released as the second single from the Sweetener album, and rightfully so! From a lyrical perspective, the hip-hop influenced song has the singer embracing her sexuality. Ariana intertwining themes of sexuality and spirituality is important to note as well, because women are truly powerful! A FEMALE EMPOWERMENT RECORD HONEY! The fact that it wasn’t a choir at the end of this song and it was just Ariana multiplied. A very top tier record from my girl.
God is a Woman peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, and charted high on the UK pop and R&B charts at 4 & 2. God is a Woman was also nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance at the 2019 Grammy Awards.
Sweetener
Written by Pharrell Williams ∙ Ariana Grande
sweetener being the title track is so amazing, because lyrically the song speaks to how hard life can be and someone can come into your life and make it so much more sweeter than it was before. A SONG!
Successful
Written by Pharrell Williams ∙ Ariana Grande
successful is lyrically about the singer sharing her joys of being a success in her career and it serves as an uplifting anthem for women to accomplish their dreams and be good at doing so.
Every time
Written by Ariana Grande ∙ Ilya Salmanzadeh ∙ Savan Kotecha ∙ Max Martin
everytime is a trap-pop influenced ballad about being in a relationship with someone even though you know it is unhealthy to do so. The song has since been certified Platinum by the RIAA.
breathin
Written by Ariana Grande ∙ Ilya Salmanzadeh ∙ Savan Kotecha ∙ Peter Svensson
breathin is lyrically about Ariana’s growth of overcoming and discussing anxiety. I commend her for doing so with this amazing record because a lot of people don’t discuss how much anxiety affects us. The song was released as the third and final single from the album, peaking at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, and has been certified 3x platinum by the RIAA.
No Tears Left to Cry
Written by Ariana Grande ∙ Ilya Salmanzadeh ∙ Savan Kotecha ∙ Max Martin
Released as the lead single on the album, no tears left to cry is lyrically about overcoming tragedy and trying to turn it into a positive and uplifting experience. The themes of optimism and moving on from a traumatic experience like the 2017 Manchester bombing on the Dangerous Woman world tour showcases Ariana’s resilience and how strong she is as a person. The elements of dance-pop, disco & R&B makes the song more and more amazing.
no tears left to cry peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, and has been certified 6x platinum by the RIAA.
Borderline (featuring Missy Elliott)
Written by Ariana Grande ∙ Melissa Elliott
Borderline has become one of my favorites after revisiting this album, and can you blame me? The song serves as a collaboration with Missy Elliott, one of the greatest female rappers of all and OUR TIME. The 90s contemporary R&B vibes makes the song one of the album’s standout tracks. Lyrically, the song discusses toxic relationships.
Better Off
Written by Ariana Grande ∙ Kim Keysiuk ∙ Tommy Brown ∙ Chauncey Hollis ∙ Brian Malik Baptiste
One song from Sweetener that I fell even more in love with during the revisit is better off. From a lyrical perspective, better off is about coming to the realization that the relationship isn’t meant to be whatsoever because the other person in the relationship isn’t good for her. It’s definitely a song that speaks to my soul.
Goodnight n Go
Written by Imogen Heap ∙ Ariana Grande ∙ Victoria Monét ∙ Tommy Brown ∙ Charles Anderson ∙ Michael Foster
goodnight n go is a remake/remix of Goodnight and Go by the artist Imogene Heap, who is one of Ariana’s inspirations. With elements of EDM, tropical and deep house, goodnight n go contains a sample of the original recording’s arrangement, and has a new verse and extra harmonies. A masterpiece. The song has since been certified Gold by the RIAA, and peaked at 87 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Pete Davidson
Written by Ariana Grande ∙ Tommy Brown ∙ Charles Anderson ∙ Victoria Monét
The last song recorded for Sweetener, pete davidson is an interlude lyrically about Ariana’s ex-fiancee, and how happy and content she was with him when it came to their relationship.
Get Well Soon
Written by Ariana Grande ∙ Pharrell Williams
this is for everybody! Babe, you gotta take care of your body.. Ain’t no time to deny it, that is why we’re talking about it!
Ariana Grande, get well soon, 2018
get well soon closes out the album, and is a song with soul and gospel influences. From a lyrical perspective, get well soon speaks about Ariana’s personal experiences with anxiety & PTSD..especially after the events of the Manchester bombing on her Dangerous Woman world tour. At the end of the song, 40 seconds of silence are played at the end of it..which makes the song end at 5:22..which was ironically the date of the bombing (5/22/2017). Ariana is a beautiful soul period.
Sweetener showcased Ariana’s versatility as an artist, with the heavy usage of trap influenced records along with many other sub genres. The album showcases how important hip hop is to pop culture. She collaborated with some of hip hop’s legendary acts like Nicki Minaj, Missy Elliott & Pharrell Williams. A lot of dpeople don’t appreciate Sweetener’s greatness, but we do!
The lyrical content on this album helps you understand how important it is to face your trauma, relationships and anxiety…and how to get through it. Ariana Grande uses this album to incorporate messages like positivity, love and resilience throughout and is a true masterpiece. -MW.
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