Ariana Grande "Yours Truly" Album Review
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Credit: Republic Records
This is an album that has been a long time coming for Ariana Grande fans.
A few years back when Grande released her first ever single, “Put Your Hearts Up”, I was kind of disappointed. While it was catchy, it felt way, way too bubbly and poppy. Even Ariana hated it. In numerous interviews following the release, she said how she felt it was a mistake before it was even out.
Now with this upcoming release, it feels like Ariana Grande finally got things right. The album as a whole has a pop vibe, but it’s not all meaningless ‘fluff’ like much of the other stuff out there. Given the album’s name “Yours Truly”, all of the songs are about love in some way or the other. When asked about the title in various interviews, Grande responded by saying she felt the whole album was like a love letter, so the name was like a signature.
Here is a track-by-track review of the album.
The first track off the album, “Honeymoon Avenue”, is a song where Ariana compares being in traffic to a troubled relationship... sounds sweet right? But seriously, it actually is. The Florida native sings “I feel like my heart is stuck/In bumper to bumper/Traffic, i'm under pressure/Cause I can't have you the way that I want/Let's just go back to the way it was”. All she wants is for things to back to same ole’, but they keep “Going the wrong way home”. Just listening to this track, you can really tell Ariana opened up her heart, and tells us how she is really feeling. Actually, Grande even starts crying when she performed this one live in concert in Philidelphia.
This is by far my favorite song off the album.
The next song off of the album, “Baby I”, is a poppy love song where Ariana confesses her love for “thee”. My favorite part about this song though is that it really showcases her talent. It starts of with Ari singing softly, and by the end she is giving it her all and belting out the chorus.
“Right There” is next up and features Detroit rapper Big Sean. In this one, Ari sings once again about love, saying “You know what I need/I know what you like/Put it all together baby/We could be alright”. Definitely much more sexual than the rest of the album, although it sounds great. Take a listen below.
“Tattooed Heart” is a calm, slow love song with Grande singing about how all needs is this boy to love her and “tattoo” her name across his heart so they will be forever together. Really deep - I know.
The next one, “Lovin’ It”, is not much different in terms of lyrics, but it sounds very different compared to “Tattooed Heart”. This one is very happy, fast, and more upbeat. Both are great - it’s just that they give off different vibes.
“Piano” has to be the most catchy and happy song of the entire album. In this 90’s sounding pop song, Ari happily sings “But I rather make a song they can play on the radio/Makes you wanna grab your lover's hand”. I think it would be hard to actually be upset and listen to this one. Take a look below at a video of Ariana Grande singing "Piano" live at her "Listening Sessions" tour (isn't it adorable?).
The next song, “Daydreaming”, has Ariana singing about how she is “daydreaming” about some dream guy, presumably. If I had to pick, this would be my least favorite song. Don’t get me wrong, I still like this song. It’s just something about how it sounds that does not agree with me. Perhaps it will feel different for you? Take a listen below:
The next track off of “Yours Truly” is none other than “The Way”. This song has been extremely successful, being already 2x certified-platinum. It’s totally sexual, as Grande sings about how she loves “The Way” this guy kisses her, etc. But more than just the lyrics of this song, it has an effect on me no other song has. Every time I listen to the radio, this is always played at least once an hour. And unlike every single other overplayed song, I still am not tired of hearing this one.
“You’ll Never Know” is a song about unpredictability, and how you never know what will happen next, or in terms of this album, who you will love next. A very upbeat dance song.
“Almost is Never Enough” is another one of my favorites from the album, and features Nathan Sykes from The Wanted. Both of them are singing to each other how they fell in love with each other, but gave up as they didn’t know about the mutual feeling - you with me? If you look at it lyrically it’s kind of confusing, so just watch the music video of Ari and Nathan singing to each other.
There is not much to say about the next one, “Popular Song” featuring Mika, except it’s extremely catchy. See the video below.
The last song on the album is “Better Left Unsaid”. For this one, the title is pretty much explains the rest of the song. However, this one has a really upbeat dance vibe to it. Definitely has the potential to be a Top 40 hit.
Also included in the album is a "Spanglish" version of "The Way".
After listening to Ariana Grande’s “Yours Truly” on repeat for the past 4 days, I can easily say that this is one of the best albums I have ever heard. This is one of the only albums I can say I don’t think I’ll get tired of. I cannot recommend enough buying this album. Ariana did an outstanding job on her debut album “Yours Truly” earning it a rating of 10/10.