Grade: 85/100
Ariana Grande is at it again.
The songstress released her sophomore album, “My Everything” this week.
It feels like Grande just released her freshman album, but it’s actually been a year since the release of “Yours Truly.”
But with the first album’s songs still played heavily on the radio, the second record feels a little rushed. While fans consistently demand new music, rushing records can sometimes make an artist become overexposed, causing a quick burnout and lower quality in albums.
With that being said, “My Everything” is not a low quality album. Grande stays in the genre she’s comfortable in, a mix of pop and R&B. She also doesn’t forget about her vocal range. Grande displays how perfectly she can hit out-of-this-world high notes on almost every track.
In true sophomore album fashion, “My Everything” feels more mature than “Yours Truly.” The lyrics are less a lovesick teenager and more a young adult figuring out how to love. Grande’s vocals display a woman who may have trusted too much, but isn’t afraid of loving again.
The best examples are “One Last Time”, “Why Try” and “Best Mistake”. In all three tracks, Grande sings of a rocky relationship she can’t seem to let go, though she should. Each track is slow, but works perfectly for the context of the songs and the emotion in Grande’s voice.
The amount of collaborations is also immense on this album.
The record boasts Iggy Azalea, Big Sean, Zedd, Cashmere Cat, Childish Gambino, The Weeknd and A$AP Ferg. On the deluxe version, fans can also pick up the collaboration track with Jessie J and Nicki Minaj, “Bang Bang”.
Some collaboration tracks are high-quality and some fall a bit short.
“Problem” with Azalea and “Break Free” with Zedd are still consistently played on the radio, so once listening to the album, they’re easy to skip.
But “Break Your Heart Right Back” with Childish Gambino is a track to not skip. Childish Gambino adds a quality verse to Grande’s empowerment breakup song. The song also samples Diana Ross’ “I’m Coming Out”. While sampling well-known songs can sometimes hurt a track, Ross’ works. The song feels complex for Grande, a great change from her more simple songs.
The collaboration with The Weeknd on “Love Me Harder” falls short.
While The Weeknd usually doesn’t let down, his verse feels out of place. If the song had stayed a solo track with just Grande, the song would be a good dance hit. But The Weeknd’s slower verse and completely different beat in the middle and at the bridge of the song makes it feel a bit off.
Grande ends the album on the title track, “My Everything”.
This song is the album’s hidden gem. It’s a ballad and encapsulates everything Grande is saying throughout the entire record: While relationships go through ups and downs, sometimes fighting is better than giving up.