Ariana Grande's second track from her upcoming third album is different from anything she's done before; and it's damn brilliant. Sexy, slick and incredibly cool.
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The titular track of Ariana Grande’s third album, ‘Dangerous Woman’, is probably one of my favourites of hers to date. As a massive fan of her, that’s saying a lot.
The one thing I love about Grande is that you’re never quite sure what she’s going to do next, and with this new single, she has proved that yet again. Sure, it’s still a generic pop track, but stylistically it’s new and refreshing- oh damn, it’s so refreshing; especially given the fact that ‘Focus’ just felt too similar to last year’s ‘Problem’, which I criticised it for when it first came out.
Immediately that funky bassline kicks in, and it just feels cool. Then when Ariana’s vocals come in, with the musical phrasing of the lyrics set as short, snappy lines- it keeps you hooked. The beat is almost mesmerising, having you jamming your head along throughout.
The ascending lines in the pre-chorus create such an awesome build, and it builds up the anticipation to the chorus- which when it hits, does not disappoint. It drops like a bomb, with a solid impact, but it’s also not overwhelming.
The lyrics of the track are sexy and fun, and the tone of the track just reminds me of cruising along in an old school Saloon car, like in a Hollywood movie. In fact, I do think that it does give off the vibes of a soundtrack piece, but not in the sense that it doesn’t work on its own, but more so that it would just fit so well on a slick movie scene or in the credits of a badass, sexy action movie with a femme fatale. It helps that the production of the track is so slick too.
I don’t really have anything bad to say about this song, so I’ll leave it at that. Grande has surely delivered, and I am now more excited for her upcoming album than ever.
‘Dangerous Woman’ is out now via Republic Records.
2 Comments
I agree with you that this is better than ‘Focus’ and the beat is cultivating. I’m worried, however, that she might be trying to adapt herself to new-style Beyonce and Rihanna but I think she will find this competition too tough. If she continues to create music like this, she will have to change her image and I’m not sure if this will benefit her! I’m not sure if she would be better off sticking with the style we are use to from ‘My Everything’.
Just a thought…
I don’t know, I hadn’t even thought of it in that way, to be honest. I think that there’s a very clear line that she’s not Beyonce or Rihanna, and I personally didn’t even make the connection of the track being anything like that. Would she have to change her image though? Even between ‘Yours Truly’ and ‘My Everything’, there’s a clear change of direction in her style musically, but I don’t think her image changed that much between the two albums, so maybe the same can be said for the changes between the previous album and ‘Dangerous Women’. I completely agree though that if she did change her image and start to try competing in those tougher circles, it may not be that beneficial for her.