Straying far away from her doo-wop roots on her first album “Yours Truly,” Ariana
Grande is showing the world a short year later that she is still more than just a former
Nickelodeon actress. She delivered so much, shown just in the fact that “Yours Truly”
debuted at #1 on iTunes 16 minutes after it was released and officially was the #1 album
a week after it was released on U.S. Billboard 200. Ariana performed at MTV’s Video
Music Awards preshow in 2013, but she later exceeded expectations with a blowout
debut when MTV had her open the VMA’s this year performing her smash single
“Problem” with Iggy Azalea, and pop anthem “Bang Bang” alongside Jessie J and Nicki
Minaj. In efforts to outdo herself, Grande made the conscious decision to release her
album at midnight while coming off of her performance high hoping to avoid falling
victim to the sophomore slump.
She didn’t.
“Yours Truly” had a ‘50s, ‘60s feel, and Ariana stayed true to her audience and made
pop music for all ages. But with “My Everything” she shows her growth as a woman
and showcases her newfound swagger in her grown up lyrics. Unlike Miley Cyrus, who
went from Hannah Montana to twerking around America, Ariana transitioned tastefully,
keeping her image intact.
“My Everything” starts off with an intro where she exercises her signature voice
that everyone has grown to admire. Then, the album immediately drops into her lead
single “Problem” featuring Aussie rapper Iggy Azalea who actually declined to be apart
of “Yours Truly.” “Problem” debuted #3 on Billboard 100 and reached #2 selling over
400,000 singles. Ariana shocked the world when she dropped “Problem”, but it was just a
tease of the diversity her album was going to bring.
On her second album she chose to explore different music genres. Ariana dipped
her hand in the popular, growing genre of EDM (electric dance music) with the help of
well-known EDM producers, David Guetta,who produced “One Last Time” and Zedd
who produced Ariana’s second single “Break Free,” which debuted #15 on the Billboard
Hot 100 and peaked at #4. It’s no surprise that Ariana has an interest in hip-hop, and she
allows it to be known even more on her second album. She brought back her rumored
boyfriend Big Sean to do another song with her, “Best Mistake.” She also teamed up with
Childish Gambino in “Break Your Heart Right Back” which samples Diana Ross’s
“I’m Coming Out.”
Ariana told Rolling Stone, “It’s an album that I want to do a little bit different.
I don’t want it to sound like an extension of ‘Yours Truly.’ I want it to sound like an
evolution. I want to explore more sounds and experiment a little bit. I have a bunch of
ideas I’m very excited about and a lot of stuff cooking.” An evolution is indeed what she
accomplished. Ariana definitely gave her everything—letting fans in on her journey from
red-headed “Cat” to a sexy sultry songstress with a Chanel bag full of chart topping hits.
