Charlie Garner

Opinion Editor

avg6206@psu.edu

People highly regard 2018-2019 as Ariana Grande’s best years for her music career. I often see “Sweetener” and “Thank U, Next” as favorites from the fans with some of her most successful songs coming from these two albums. Even though they only came out a few years ago, this era always gives me so much nostalgia when I remember it. 

This era of music was just kind of a “you had to be there” moment, but I will try to capture my nostalgia for it. The releases of “Sweetener” in August of 2018 and “Thank U Next” in February of 2019 marked a more mature era for Ariana Grande, personally and musically based. Before this era, her music was more teen pop and not very personal in my opinion. She got pretty close to achieving more maturity in her previous album, “Dangerous Woman,” but it just was not the same vibe. Most of the songs off of these albums gave the fans a lot to relate to and the music really resonated with them. 

At the time, Ariana was going through a lot in her life and she channeled all of her emotions and struggles into her music. When she was rolling out “Sweetener” she had just gotten engaged to Pete Davidson shortly after her split from Mac Miller. And “Thank U, Next” came only six months later after she broke off the engagement and was grieving Mac Miller’s death, which occurred right after the release of “Sweetener.” Her music at this time really captured her healing process and how she managed to rise up after tragedy. 

The switch between these albums in such a short amount of time had fans thrown through a loop. “Sweetener” and “Thank U Next” are very sonically and tonally distinct and very different from each other. The excitement for these album drops and for this era in general was just unmatched. The fact that in the lead single for “Thank U, Next,” the title track name dropped her previous relationships was absolutely crazy at the time. And the release of that music video with so many chick flick references (“Legally Blonde,” “Mean Girls,” “Bring It On,” “13 Going On 30”) and celebrity cameos- quite a few coming from “Victorious”– was so huge at the time and was nostalgic in a whole different way. The genres of “Thank U Next” range widely, from lively pop to R&B to trap. It’s clear that Grande has evolved from her earlier, more conventional pop songs, developing her own style in the process. Certain songs, like “make up,” “7 rings,” and the widely recognized “break up with your girlfriend, i’m bored,” are more cheerful and enjoyable, but other songs deal with more serious subjects. 

I still find myself going back to these albums pretty often and they are certainly my favorites from Ariana Grande’s discography. I do not think anyone would say that this era was not career-defining for her.