Positions
Ariana Grande
2020
After receiving mainstream dominance for two LPs that leaned on reenergizing pop music, the songstress decided to drop a project strictly for her R&B fans that showcased her next stage of maturity.
Trap-Pop&B/Quiet Storm/Operatic Pop
BY HARPSICHORD
JANUARY 23, 2024
Watching the 2020 Grammys felt like an agonizing experience for those who call themselves the Ariantors– Ariana Grande’s most loyal fanbase. While she slayed her live performance of “7 rings”– the controversial trap-pop&B hit that powered her 2019 commercial opus, Thank U, Next– the camera constantly flashed to her sitting in the audience, lost after lost. In fact, that night, Ariana Grande walked away empty-handed, experiencing defeat in all five categories that she was nominated for– including Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album, and Record of the Year. It felt like a disservice to the monumental 2019 year she had, where at one point, on the Billboard Hot 100, she had three songs (“Rings,” “Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored,” and the titular track) in the Top 3 at the same time. Although her previous LP, 2018’s Sweetener, won a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 2019 telecast, those losses in 2020 felt like an overall disservice to her massive run.
The Grammys do this thing where they toy with the artists who have the best commercial runs. Sometimes they walk away with the gold if it aligns with the tastes of the voting committee, who most assume (by the history of winners) align with listeners of adult pop formats. Most times, however, they are left penalized. Especially when we consider the artists who push their boundaries and start appealing to more urban music consumers.
In this particular instance, Ariana Grande could have done the thing that most pop artists do when their Grammy wins don’t match up to their commercial accolades: Go deeper into the realms of adult contemporary (see: Miley Cyrus on Endless Summer Vacation). However, she opted not to do that– providing the finishing piece to her 2018-2019-2020 LP trifecta, Positions.
In the music video for the title track– which appears at the end of the album, rather than the beginning– Grande portrays herself as the first woman President of the United States (something the nation has yet to experience in the real world). Primarily produced by London On Da Track– who himself was reboosting R&B’s commercial prominence due to his work with Summer Walker– “Positions” stays in line with trap and expands upon the sexual innuendo that graced Sweetener and Thank U, Next . The follow up single, “34+35,” features a video where Grande works in a lab– continuing her theme of women working as professional bosses.
Both songs are whimsical in nature, propelled by the bounce of trap&B that made them delightful gems for contemporary radio of the time, as well as streaming. What became noticeable about these first two tracks is the incorporation of classical instrumentation. “Positions” featured the plucking of pizzicato guitar strings, aided by the sound of cicadas chirping in the night. On the hook, she coyly sings “Switchin' the positions for you/Cookin' in the kitchen, and I'm in the bedroom.” “34+35” includes a more distressed violin, where at the end she gives away the code of the title “Means I wanna 69 wit' ya'.” That song would receive a remix to further the raunch– featuring Megan Thee Stallion and Doja Cat, two female rappers who at the time were in friendly competition with one another for the spot of top female rapper. “Positions” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, while “34+35” peaked at No. 2.
As an album, positions is the work of Ariana Grande that best revolves on her adoration for Broadway musicals. As a former child star herself, she appeared on the Nickelodeon sitcoms, ‘Victorious’ and ‘Sam & Cat,’ as Cat Valentine, a performing arts high school student that just wanted to sing whenever and wherever. The opening track, “Shut Up,” plays as an operatic aria with simplistic instrumentation powered by the violin and pizzicato guitar. Here listeners experience that once Cat Valentine as a mature woman, who calls out her naysayers with a self-harmonized, “you know you sound so dumb, so dumb, so dumb.” And when she gets to the song’s title, instead of screaming, it’s delivered in an elongated angelic falsetto.
From there, Grande paints a picture– instantly giving the album continuity in story mode. She has fallen for her boyfriend, Dalton Gomez, which seemed to have come out of the blue when the news was first announced earlier in 2020. “Six Thirty” asks him “are you down, what’s up?” as a means of providing vows. The ending ballad, “POV,” mirrors R&B wedding fodder– focused on grand vocal crescendos over a cello in the verses, also while stagnating and descending “I'd love to see me from your point of view” in the hook. Eventually this song manifests into a fairytale wedding for Grande in real life. This comes after the public experienced her tragically lose her first love, Mac Miller, and a tabloid-worthy, broken engagement from Pete Davidson on Sweetener and Thank U, Next .
Although Positions runs as one 14-song long endeavor on the standard edition– and then 19 thanks to the deluxe– it sort of plays like acts in a musical. The first section starts with “Shut Up” before transitioning into the original version of “34+35.” This portion of the album is upbeat fun, containing a groovy post disco number titled, “Motive,” that sets the tempo for Doja Cat to deliver a knockout rap verse. “Just Like Magic” sparkles the idea of manifestation thanks to the penmanship of Muni Long. “I get anything I want cause I attract it,” sings Grande with sass backed by the hydraulics of a motor and a stuttering hi-hat. “Just Like Magic” may sound like a throwaway from Thank U, Next, but oddly works as a standout that could have easily dominated rhythmic pop radio if released as a single.
During the time of its release, Positions received some criticism online for sounding like an uneven and unmastered mix. But that seemed intentional. Off the bat, aspects of the album recalls Rihanna’s 2011 opus Talk That Talk, which honed in on the idea of R&B mix-tapes sounding disjointed, but still being conceptually fit. The driving force of Positions is its stop and go nature. While Thank U, Next sped through like a getaway car, Positions sometimes pulled over on the side of the road. This is experienced by the slower R&B ballad collabs, “Off The Table” with The Weeknd and “Safety Net” with Ty Dolla $ign. The Weeknd’s contribution is modeled after the smokey chemistry present in Keith Sweat’s 90s discography, while the instrumental of Ty Dolla $ign’s imitates the quiet storm passion of 1985’s “Moment in Love” by Art of Noise.
Deeper and deeper, Ariana Grande plunges into the abyss of contemporary R&B of yester-year but with a modern twist. “Six Thirty” starts out a superior bridge, where she asks a rapid sing-rap question of “WatchagonnadowhenI'mboredAndIwannaplayvideogames… at… 2AM?” “West Side” features the chirping cicadas, with an instrumental that highlights the electro-hop&B period of Aaliyah and Brandy (particularly the ‘Moesha’ theme song of the latter). “My Hair” evokes neo-soul, while “Love Language” gives French soiree. “Obvious” and bonus tracks, “Test Drive” and “Main Thing” muse after Mariah Carey– with “Test Drive” particularly sounding merry with its stop and go semantics.
Read about Muni Long’s latest hit, “Made For Me” connecting to 2000s R&B Icon, Heather Headley
The most important track of this entire body of work is “Nasty.” It’s a combination of quiet storm and trap that's set to a late night drive. Best evoking the strong points of 2000s pop&B, the song about getting freaky is written by Ariana Grande and Victoria Monét. It plunges in water and floats in dreamy clouds. “Don'twannawaitonit, To…night, Iwannaget nasty,” is yet another accelerated rap-sing moment, ultimately grounding the project to its center.
Both personal and passionate, what Positions showcases is the mastery of a student. One who knows her brand all too well, and is even willing to disrupt her own formula just enough. As she prepares to release more work, at the moment of this review’s publishing, it seems mighty hard to see how Ariana Grande will top herself moving forward.
And oh yeah… About the Grammys for this album. No Album of the Year nomination. And no wins for the two categories it got nominated for. Another travesty for the Arianators who appreciate good music…
“Just Like Magic” for being an anthem about manifestation and for drawing parallels to what made Thank U, Next a certified classic in her discography. It’s the No. 1 pop hit that got away.
“Six Thirty” for having an engaging pre-chorus and hook, as well as the sing-rap portion of the bridge that added more dimension to the song.
“Safety Net” for being the best collaboration on the album, and showcasing quality chemistry, as Ty Dolla $ign played his part well.
“Nasty” for simply being the best song off the album, evoking the nostalgic feeling of new age quiet storm that crossed over well on rhythmic formats, and for all around being Ariana Grande’s best deep cut to date.
“West Side” for being the work of students who understood what was so appealing about 90s electro-hop&B.
Key Tracks
Just when it couldn’t get any better Ariana Grande delivered a project that still had pop elements but more so leaned towards R&B. She managed to do this by not erasing her signature sound, but enhancing it with further growth. ‘Thank U, Next’ may have cemented what the genre of Ariana Grande could be, but this record mastered what made it uniquely successful. ‘Positions’ became the album that truly distinguished who understood and appreciated progressive R&B and forward thinking pop music, while leaving others in the dust to go listen to something else.