Ariana Grande unleashes one of the most anticipated albums of the summer, Sweetener.
On her fourth studio album, the pop princess taps Pharrell and Max Martin for the bulk of production, with appearances from Nicki Minaj (“the light is coming”) and Missy Elliott (“borderline”).
“It’s called Sweetener because it’s kind of about bringing light to a situation or someone’s life, or somebody else who brings light to your life, or sweetening the situation,” she told Jimmy Fallon.
The album arrives over a year after the devastating attack at her Manchester concert in 2017 that killed 22 people. “I’ve always just been like a shiny, singing, 5-6-7-8, sexy-dance…sexy thing. But now it’s like, ‘OK … issa bop — but issa message,” she told The FADER. “Issa bop but also has chunks of my soul in it. Here you go. Also, I cried 10 hundred times in the session writing it for you. Here is my bleeding heart, and here is a trap beat behind it.’ There’s definitely some crying-on-the-dancefloor stuff on this one.”
Grande channeled her emotions into a 15-track album that includes the sunny Pharrell-produced “blazed,” the dreamy “R.E.M,” and the empowering anthem “God is a Woman.” There’s also a track called “pete davidson,” named after her fiancé. “I know you know that you’re my soulmate,” she sings on the tender interlude.
Stream Sweetener below.