September 2018 - Music

Album of the Month - Sweetner by Ariana Grande

Ariana Grande is determined to be a light on her fourth album. And no one has needed that light more than Grande herself. The last year has marked a tumultuous, even transformative, period for the 25-year-old pop superstar. In May, 2017, her concert in Manchester, England was the site of a terrorist bombing in which 23 people were killed. As she recovered from the post-attack trauma, Grande experienced the dissolution of a toxic relationship with rapper Mac Miller.

Sweetener is not the sad, serious ballad-heavy album many probably expected Grande to make, but it sure is the one she needed to. It’s a refreshing, cohesive package, following three albums of sometimes messy but always fun attempts at placing her own personality in the pop landscape. She’s let her ponytail down, metaphorically and literally (check the album’s cover) and let joy lead the way. Whether she’s flaunting her accomplishments (the gleeful “Successful”) or relishing her “soulmate” on the sweet and tender “Pete Davidson,” a song that gets the point across with its title alone, she’s found her serenity.

Finding light is often much harder than drowning in darkness, but on Sweetener Grande makes moving forward from pain feel easy and, most importantly, possible. That light Grande promised has helped lead her down the path toward her best album yet, and one of 2018’s strongest pop releases to date.