The Good: Ariana Grande has been exceptional is bringing together both the mainstream and indie worlds into her dominion. Both have respect for her. She definitely has the voice and an appearance that draws many fans in. Her pop songs are also interesting, as well as her videos that have interesting choreography and guardrobes. This album continues her use of light electronics and cute voice. The word “dangerous” is repeated across this album, but it never gets tiring.
“Moonlight” opens the album with a slower paced, harp and violin led ballad that is a nice, gentle introduction. The single “Dangerous Woman” is immediately catchy, an anthem for the women wanting to embrace their sexuality. It does it better than many Taylor Swift albums. “Be Alright” is just a little too light to be a track for the club, but I suspect that it could be a smooth background for a hookah bar.
“Into You” probably has the most catchy chorus on the album. The swiveling chords and bouncing vocals have strong capabilities for getting stuck in a listener’s head. “Greedy” is a little more big-band inspired. Her quick sung lines of “been in this state of mind” and “you know that I’m greedy for love” combined with the infectiously cute underspoken “Because I am so” is Ariana Grande at her best.
“Everyday” takes the sexual tone to higher limits with the words being more blunt. Ariana calling for the “good shit” and “he gives it to me everyday”. To some this maybe too casually said without any metaphors, but there is something in the structure of the song and the words that call for mutual loving that make the song a strong cause for women empowerment.
The album as a whole is full of pop songs that should be played at establishments across the summer. From the more latin inspired “Sometimes” to the more naughty girl “Touch It” and “Bad Decisions”, this album may not be for the younger female audience still under the thumb of parents, but for the college teenager trying to find herself in a world still hesitant about finding the beauty in sexually open females, this album ticks all the boxes. Most often it isn’t trashy or false female strength like many albums that attempt to push this message. All this leads to the airy electro-ballad “Thinking Bout You”.
The Bad: This album isn’t without its bad tracks. In fact, some of the worse songs are the ones where Ariana is joined by other musicians. “Side to Side”, featuring Nicki Minaj, is still a decent tune, but it can be a little too repetitive with a lack of instrumentation. “Let Me Love You” is the biggest disappointment. I had thought that the trashy tracks featuring the talentless Lil Wayne had ended somewhere back in 2006. It is good to sing about sex, but Lil Wayne can sometimes make a song lose any feeling. The rest of the song where he isn’t singing absolute nothings is quite good. Nevertheless, these songs at first listen weren’t as interesting, but over time a growers.
Would I Listen Again: Definitely
First Herd 