Words: Alessia Sasso

Ariana Grande’s new debut album “Positions” was released on the 30th October 2020. At the end of what we will all remember as a sad, and for many, disappointing year, Ariana Grande decided to release this little spark of joy which brought happiness and good vibes to many. Although Ariana herself declared this album to be one of her best works ever, some songs reached higher charts than others. Here is a ranked list of what we believe to be best down to worst.

1. Motive (with Doja Cat) – This song a Motive itself! Thanks to its head-bopping and feet-tapping beat, it reached the top of our list! This mix of R&B, Hip Hop, Doja Cat’s incredible verse and of course Ariana Grande’s unique vocals, this song is the perfect recipe for nice times, good vibes, and loads of joy. We can already picture ourselves on the dancefloor having fun and enjoying this song like no other!  

2. POV – Combine Ariana’s heavenly whistling vocals with a smooth and instrumental base and you get the dreamy POV. This is that romantic song we would all love to be played at our wedding, this is what this song does to us! Ariana Grande recently got married to real estate agent Dalton Gomez, she takes the time to write and produce this beautiful song about how she wishes she could see herself from “his point of view”. This song is an absolute masterpiece! 

3. My Hair – Ariana Grande sings about running hands through her iconic ponytail and we stand for it! There is always been much controversy surrounding Ariana’s hair since the early stages of her career when she played “Cat Valentine” for the famous Nickelodeon show “Victorious”, where allegedly she damaged her real hair as the producers of the show dyed it every week. With this song, Ariana made it clear she loves her hair no matter fake or real! My Hair is undeniably a platinum track on Positions! There’s something different in Ariana’s voice throughout this jazzy and sensual track, making it on the top three of our lists. This song is like a magical journey, and the end will make you dream with Ariana’s amazing whistle notes!

4. 34+35 – This track made it to every top chart worldwide! And if you’ve done the math, you know what the track is about! This sexy and sensual song got us shocked as Ariana kept singing those dirty lines. We interpreted this song as an anthem to all women who own their sexuality and know what they want and like! This song is for all the independent, “dangerous women”, who love and express their sexuality with no shame, Ariana Grande showed us this side of her personality and we love it!

5. Positions – This track got us dancing and singing it way before the album itself was released! It is a mixture of Pop and R&B genres and we love it! This track is about a woman who can do it all, switching positions from the kitchen to the bedroom! This song was a big hit, and every radio was playing it nonstop! For these reasons, it made it to the top five of our lists!

6. Safety Net (feat. Ty Dolla Sign) – We love this R&B track! This record is a romantic and dreamy song executed so well! Ariana and TY’s harmonies sound magical, with each of their vocals adding that extra special touch over the soothing and melodic instrumental. This song is so smooth, we listen to it when we need some peace, it has the power to calms us down.

7. Off The Table (with The Weeknd) – This song will make your heart heavy! It’s the perfect combination of Ariana Grande’s angelic voice with The Weeknd high vocals. However, if we are been 100% honest, this track tends to improve as the minutes go by, but when the two artists’ voices meet, it is just like an explosion of love! 

8. Nasty – Those iconic whistle notes are once again welcomed. This song reminds us of 34+35, although it isn’t quite as well executed as 34+35. It’s another anthem to women owning their sexuality. With its steamy and sensual lyrics Ariana Grande did it again, she shocked and made us feel beautiful and sexy. 

9. Just Like Magic – Ariana Grande with this song is teaching us to manifest our desires and they will come all true “just like magic”. The concept of the record is so cute and inspiring! Although the meaning behind the song and her voice is amazing and incredible, we found ourselves skipping this track every time it comes on. There is something about this track that just doesn’t sit right with us.

10. West Side – This song has that R&B feeling, just like Safety Net. The track is again another shout-out to Ariana’s husband, although the rhythm is incredible, we do love an R&B song, it is just too repetitive and it didn’t stick with us.

11. Love Language – Although we like the change of rhythm when this track comes on, we can’t help but feel this song is a let-down. Ariana tried to let her inner disco diva out and produces this up-tempo hit that at times feels slightly awkward. Although her voice is incredible, the song itself didn’t make us want more of this genre from her. 

12. Obvious – Obvious is certainly a bop. A sweet bop that unfortunately didn’t stand out for us. Ariana’s vocal is incredible in this song though! The track is another shout-out to her now-husband Dalton Gomez, in this song we understand how great Dalton has been to Ariana and how much she is in love.  

13. Six Thirty – Six Thirty is a cute and cheeky track. This song is named after the clock hour 6:30, as both clock hands are facing down. As we said, this track is cute but too repetitive, we didn’t fell in love with it although we tried to!

14. Shut Up – This song is not bad at all! It has some incredible vocals! However, it is more of an intro to the album rather than a track itself. It’s a short song and quite frankly the album could have been just as beautiful without it. We do appreciate Ariana Grande including it, although it is just not one of our favourites.

However what we can all agree on is that once again Ariana has provided us with another great album full of all the tell-tale signs of an Ariana song. Let us know which tracks you think are a bop and which are flop!