Debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, Ariana Grande’s second album My Everything hits all the predictable pop notes with her impressive vocal range and manages to show noticeable musical growth.
Following the time-honored pop album formula, Grande offers fans irresistible dance floor beats, pining, lovesick ballads and collaborations with big-name rappers. The album has the staying power to remain on repeat in listeners’ heads for weeks.
Despite the foreseeable studio choices, Grande’s album has merit for taking this traditional recipe and cooking up supremely perfect pop. Her undeniable vocal talent also gives much needed strength to a genre that so easily relies on the crutch of catchiness.
Originally from Boca Raton, Florida, 21-year-old Grande rose to fame after she starred on the 2009 Nickelodeon show Victorious as the red-headed Cassandra “Cat” Valentine.
Victorious eventually led to the spinoff series Sam and Cat, which saw success but was cancelled as a result of Grande’s rising music career.
Her debut album, Yours Truly, was released on Aug. 30, 2013. This first album was well-received and peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 chart.
Grande credits her R&B and pop sound to her love of classic 90’s music and names vocal powerhouses like Whitney Houston, Christina Agulera and Mariah Carey as some of her musical influences.
Many critics have closely compared the singer to Carey calling Grande the “New Mariah” and “the post-millennial Mariah Carey,” but Grande remains a super star force in her own right as the new diva loses her squeaky-clean image by throwing some grit into her new album’s tracks.
My Everything opens with “Intro”, a quick one minute, 19 seconds song presenting Grande’s signature gentle and harmonized vocals that ultimately create a celestial, floating sound. The track feels like an ethereal invitation to the album.
“I want you with me on this road to the sky.” Grande sings in the first seconds, “We’ll be shining every night. I promise you.”
The second track, “Problem,” featuring Austrailian rapper Iggy Azalea, was the first single released from the album and demonstrates the power of Grande’s musical partnerships. According to Billboard.com, My Everything features three singles (“Problem,” “Break Free” and “Bang, Bang”) that all reached the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart at the same time on Aug. 30.
A solid summer song and inescapable on many radio stations, “Problem” takes a catchy saxophone riff and builds to an unexpected whispered chorus.
The fifth track, “Break Free,” features high profile Electronic Dance Music (EDM) DJ Zedd. This is by far the most high-paced and dance-orientated song on the album as Grande takes a break from her rhythmic harmonized vocals. Instead the German producer manufactures a mash-up of building synths and vocal bursts that resemble gasps until the exploding chorus.
The song has a confident, empowered feel and shows Grande’s success stepping into the growing genre of EDM.
Notable rapper and producer Big Sean played a role writing “Best Mistake.” Taking cues from its title, the song does not have the chemistry and finesse that would be expected from this familiar parternship. Sean’s raps feel like unsuccessful attempts to reinvent clichés, and Grande’s voice loses power. The song still displays another notable shift in Grande’s style. Her voice takes on a raspy quality that contrasts her usual fluid riffs.
In a more soulful, rhythmic sound, Grande teams up with Norwegian DJ and producer Cashmere Cat in “Be My Baby.” Right away, Carey’s voice distinctly ccomes to mind in this song as Grande invokes more groove and a less structured R&B sound. Still, the song maintains uniquely Grande qualities with the hip-hop element.
“I felt like I was rapping when I was singing the verse,” Grande said in an MTV.com video interview.
The song “Break Your Heart” includes Grande’s collaboration with rapper Childish Gambino and is as a defining track on My Everything.
Demonstrating ever-repeated pop pattern like a Russian doll set, this song samples Notorious B.I.G’s and P. Diddy’s “Mo Money Mo Problems,” which samples Diana Ross’s “I’m Coming Out.”
Gambino’s flow mirrors B.I.G’s well, but relies too heavily on the rap superstar’s foundation. Although it is another flawed rap collab
oration, this remix is a welcomed surprise and so is Grande’s homage to 90’s pop.
The ballads on My Everything like “One Last Time”, “Why Try” and “Only 1” contain the same internal struggles with love but fall somewhat flat on emotion.
The title track “My Everything” as well as “Just a Little Bit of Your Heart” express a more mature tone and shift away from just catchy pop lyrics. She owns up to heartbreak and shows a more vulnerable side to her normally formidable voice.
“It’s time I put my pride away,” Grande sings in “My Everything.”
The album concludes with “You Don’t Know Me,” a more rebellious message that has yet to be seen from Grande. Its title and straightfoward lyrics send the clear signal that Grande will continue to grow up and expand her musical style.
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