Ariana Grande - "Thank U, Next" (the album)

"NASA" is perfect, damn

"Bloodline" swings

(Her songs never sound anything like I expect them to, based on the titles alone... guess that's a somewhat trivial observation.)

"Fake Smile" is excellent... I don't recognize any of the other credited songwriters on this track? (two of them are via the sample that kicks it off; Wendy Rene's "After Laughter (Comes Tears)")

"Bad Idea" = very Max/Savan/Ilya. Their traxx tend not to feel as "personal" to AG and her style as the ones she records w/Tommy et al., but they do tend to be effective bangers.

(...cool outro, too)

Luv "Make Up"... another light, swinging, tropical-feeling groove (damn, it's over already?)

This album feels, in the best possible way, like it was written & recorded quickly -- from inspiration to studio to wax, with little time for second-guessing or "overworking."

"Ghostin" is dreamy

Apparently this is dude whose vocal snippet kicks off "In My Head": https://www.bustle.com/p/who-is-doug-middlebrook-ariana-grandes-best-friend-has-been-by-her-side-for-years-photos-15519590

(I, too, have been described in the press as "An Instagram influencer and Grande's best friend.")

(skipping the next few traxx which I've already heard 100 times...) that brings us back to "BUWYG,IB"

great stuff, man

yuh yuh

apart from the dreadful "7 rings" this album is very very solid and might be her best front-to-back even if it doesn't reach the same highs as dangerous woman. the sequencing is a bit odd though, the last few tracks are a very strange closing sequence

I have only listened to half of it so far.
"NASA" and "Fake Smile" stand out (although the use of the same sample as the Wu Tang's "Tears" on fake smile is disturbing).

"ghostin" is a classic. took my breath away

i love the weird rhythms in "make up"

"Fake Smile" kicks off with the same sample as Tearz by Wu-Tang from their first album, which gives it this double-take moment at the beginning, where you think maybe your shuffle kicked in.
Great track otherwise -- the sample works well behind the chorus.

Oops, looks like someone already made that same observation a few hours ago :)

the sequencing is a bit odd though, the last few tracks are a very strange closing sequence

Agreed... wonder if it would feel the same way if two of those songs hadn’t already been released(?)

Either way, they clearly made a deliberate move (whether “successfully” or not) to not do the expected thing there.

(Has there ever been an album that sequences the first three singles as the final three tracks??)

wasn’t feeling this on first pass :/

same

i think it’s funny. i liked the idea of ending a more honest n vulnerable project and with like a punchline. https://t.co/eH2XYA35qR

— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) February 8, 2019

not a good punchline. Gonna spin the whole thing now tho.

Wonder who this shade is directed at?

The entire process of creating this album was incredible & when it came down to business things were handled more than fair. So much in fact that we gave credit to people who didn’t even write the songs ..instead of being a sour grape you should’ve said thank u.... next.

— TAYLA PARX (@TAYLAPARX) February 8, 2019

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dy6Q4jZWwAM0-mb.jpg

Ah, thx

Very good listen, this album.

not sure how i feel about the whole thing but "bad idea" is the shit

"Bad Idea" = very Max/Savan/Ilya

lol i continue to love the exact same ariana grande banger over and over again

in addition to reminding me of all the good songs on dangerous woman it reminds me of early rihanna

"ghostin" is gorgeous

f*ck a fake smile

heard "break up with your boyfriend, i'm bored" via its video. i'd say it's an ample demonstration of the pitfalls of writing an entire song around an eye-catching title. haven't listened to the rest yet.

dyl, I think you will be pleased

Weirdly the hyped already-leaked/released songs are the least interesting; Needy, NASA, Fake Smile And Ghostin are all fantastic.

When was the last time 2 amazing pop albums were released so close together by the same artist?

"When was the last time 2 amazing pop albums were released so close together by the same artist?"

Answer to that is 2017. Charli XCX POP 1 and POP 2

"break up with your girlfriend" is easily one of the weakest tracks on here. idk why "ghostin" wasn't the closer

It would have been a somewhat downbeat / unresolved closer, IMO... anyway, her reasoning is in the tweet above (whether you agree with it or not).

It's a good song and a neat closer imho

FYI, the title track was originally the closer, but she pulled a track called “Remember” (which was said to be about Mac), and added “Break Up...” at the end. This thread has the deets:

i added a fun one (lol) to replace one that i decided i don’t think wanna share w the world. so we back to twelve tracks. i appreciate u understanding in advance. 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) January 13, 2019

If you have the interest & patience, there are some interesting/funny tidbits in this interview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpl8v3jiuNU

(provided you can put up with the interviewer dude... I started seeing red by the 10th time he referred to an album track as a "record.")

A few highlights (so far):

* They recorded several different versions of the title track — including one that didn’t “name any names” at all — but it sounds like there was little doubt about going with the version with names.
* She begged Scooter to leave “Ghostin” off the album, but he insisted they keep it.

i'm never gonna say this again in my life but scooter braun otm

I know it's early days, but honestly I think Ghostin could be my favourite Ariana song. It's absolutely stunning.

Overall, this seems like a much stronger album than Sweetener, but still not quite in the same league as Dangerous Woman. Obviously I'm starting to think about how I could turn these latest two albums into the classic it could have been.

i've been trying to figure out a good sequence (probably consisting of thank u, next minus "7 rings" and "break up with your girlfriend" and adding "breathin", "everytime" and "no tears left to cry") but haven't come up with anything yet. can't believe ariana wanted to leave off "ghostin" it's so gorgeous

Getting rid of 7 Rings and adding those three Sweetener highlights was exactly where I was thinking of starting. I might keep Goodnight n Go and Better Off as well. I think they'd work quite well on there.

Might as well get the prediction in for Ghostin winning the tracks poll this time next year. I'll be shocked if I hear a better song all year.

Ah funny, I just went back to « positions » for the first time since around its release. I never got into it as much as « Thank U, next » and well, it’s nice but still doesn’t really work for me. Was it successful ? I hope she’ll release a new one soon !

Btw, she’s funny in « don’t look up » !

xxp – I was gonna say… hope you’re at least aware of the album that came after this one (lol)

demanding that artists pump out content constantly is one of the things that kinda sucks about music in the internet/streaming era.

she released her last album 14 months ago! and she released albums in 2018, 2019 and 2020!

i guess re-reading you, NV, you're not saying "she's due" just that you're ready. fair enough. but at this point i think she could wait till 2023 and it'd be completely reasonable/understandable.

Positions is my fave basically

Nothing about my post was intended to be reasonable 😀

I'm happy she's enjoying her musical theatre but I'm ready for a new album ffs get on with it

^thought of the above convo when I came across this item

well that's me told :D

Kind of a bummer, but she’s doin her thing I guess

i happened to listen to 'thank u next' today, easily one of the best pop albums of the last 5 years