Ariana Grande
thank u, next
Release Date: Feb 8, 2019
Genre(s): Pop/Rock
Record label: Republic
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Album Review: thank u, next by Ariana Grande
Excellent, Based on 9 Critics
Based on rating 9/10
Last night, she said that the producer of the Grammys, Ken Ehrlich, was lying about her: "I've kept my mouth shut but now you're lying about me. I can pull together a performance over night and you know that, Ken. It was when my creativity & self expression was stifled by you, that I decided not to attend. I hope the show is exactly what you want it to be and more." This morning, we were greeted with the news that she'd released her hinted-at new record, thank u, next.
Based on rating 9/10
Three months after the August 2018 release of Sweetener -- her fourth album, delivered in the wake of the 2017 tragedy at Manchester Arena -- Ariana Grande released "Thank U, Next," a clever pop song celebrating how each ex turned her into a better person. The refrain of "one taught me love, one taught me patience, and one taught me pain" quickly turned "Thank U, Next" into something more than a hit: it was a meme, eating up all the pop-cultural oxygen at the end of 2018, confirming Ariana Grande's position as the pre-eminent pop star of the moment. Like all defining pop stars, Grande's status derived in equal parts from her music and public persona, the latter shaped through the prism of tragedy -- not just the Manchester bombing, but the premature death of her ex Mac Miller -- and that collective consciousness lends weight to Thank U, Next, her swiftly delivered sequel to Sweetener, just as it did its predecessor.
Based on rating 4
It has been mere months since her last album Sweetener dropped, but Ariana Grande has just released her fifth album thank u, next and is in unapologetic, yet cognisant mode. Though Sweetener danced around issues of self-care and a toxic relationship, the main blueprint was syrupy, while thank u, next delves deeply into themes of trauma, grief and heartache with some savage swipes aimed at her worst critics, including herself. imagine opens proceedings, a sad indictment of the fake and privacy-free world we all live in while bemoaning a love that is unthinkable.
Based on rating 4/5
One of pop's biggest stars deals with trauma and tragedy on her bold new album “I’m a girl with a whole lot of baggage," Ariana Grande sings on 'Ghostin'' in pop's latest "No shit" exclamation. It might be an obvious statement but it's one that bears repeating. This is, after all, a woman who has been through the most torrid of times, from having to deal with her fans being targeted by a suicide bomber, her ex-boyfriend dying of an accidental overdose, and her relationship very publicly breaking down after very publicly being on the rise.
Based on rating 8/10
Less than a year after releasing Sweetener, Ariana Grande has delivered on her promise to release music like a rapper, with singles aplenty and now her latest album, thank u, next. And in this case, the quantity of output hasn't negatively impacted the quality. Sweetener heard Grande rebounding from what most could have only imagined would be the tragedy of her lifetime — the Manchester Arena bombing, which killed 22 people at her concert in May of 2017. She triumphantly declared that she had "No Tears Left to Cry," and even snuck in ….
Based on rating 7.9/10
In 2016, Ariana Grande manifested herself a future scandal. It was the premise of her self-aware monologue as a first-time host on "SNL," but the gag was cutting. "I think I'm in a place where I'm ready to be caught in a real adult scandal, something to take my career to the next level," she said. By that point, three years into her chart-topping musical career, her only offense of note had been licking a bunch of donuts.
Based on rating 3.5/5
Two tales of one Ari. Pop has always been a solipsistic genre. That's not a criticism, just a statement of fact. The biggest pop stars have never been interested in singing from someone else's perspective. Because of that, pop music has the potential to be a unique form of self-expression, providing a window into the lives of people who live more opulently than most of us can imagine.
Opinion: Excellent
thank u, next by Ariana Grande: when a philosophy of self-care is put into action — There isn’t anything novel about a pop star responding to tabloid coverage with a sparkling new album. (And if you think so, Madonna and Britney would like a word.) But there is something heartening about listening to Ariana Grande pick herself up and dust herself off, with a flex and a neck roll. Thanks to a series of personal tragedies—a harrowing proximity to a deadly terrorist attack and, most recently, losing a loved one to opioids and cocaine—Grande has become an avatar for surviving the Trump era for millions of fans.
Opinion: Excellent
Rating: NNNN For a pop singer, releasing an album just six months after your last might make haters accuse you of turning in disposable music, but Ariana Grande's hastiness comes from something entirely different. Six months ago, she was engaged to Pete Davidson, which came on the heels of her breakup with Mac Miller. Last summer also marked the one-year anniversary of a terrorist attack that took place at Grande's Manchester Arena concert the year before, killing 23 people and injuring 139.
'thank u, next'
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