Positions
| Ariana Grande
Positions
American singer Ariana Grande released her sixth studio album—Positions—on October 30, 2020 through Republic Records. The album’s main focus is on her vocals, with the subject matter conveying emotional healing. Positions were recorded during the coronavirus pandemic, with multiple producers providing their input, including her frequent collaborator Tommy Brown and longtime co-writers Tayla Parx and Victoria Monét.
Positions have themes of romantic devotion, sexual intimacy, and endearment. Its main sounds include trap-infused R&B along with the same pop of its 2018 and 2019 predecessors. The main guest appearances are by Doja Cat, Ty Dolla Sign, Megan Thee Stallion, and the Weeknd. Read more about critic reviews of Ariana Grande’s Positions album!
Critic Reviews
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Her Campus
Overall, you can say that, even though Positions is fun and has a lot of allusions to sex, Ariana’s best work comes from when she opens her heart and gets vulnerable about love and life. She did it with thank u, next - her best album so far - and got something that made a big impact on the industry. However, she was having a really hard time back then and now she is feeling good, having fun and falling in love again, which is exactly what this album feels like.
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The Guardian
saucy but safe.
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Pitchfork
It’s the urge to take tangible pain and make something from it, to feel safe—again, at last—in your own head.
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PopMatters
Ariana Grande's Positions is a perfect pop album in a very conservative sense of the term.
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Stereogum
hopefully Positions is a detour and not the new normal, or else her career might start to follow that same trajectory from enthralling to comfortable stasis.
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Vulture
It’s a good album; it could have been brilliant.
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Ratings Game Music
Ariana Grande showcases her versatility as an artist on Positions. Throughout the album, she switches between R&B, pop, trap, and soul music effortlessly. She also reminds the world that one of her best traits is her ability to take her voice to another stratosphere whenever she feels like it. Even though Ariana sounds like she wants good D more than her well-deserved flowers on this album, let’s still give it to her.
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The Wall Street Journal
Slickly produced and ably performed, the singer’s sexually charged album nonetheless sounds like music in search of a spark.
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musicOMH
Perhaps a longer break and a battery charge would do her good, as once the novelty of hearing about the very healthy state of Ariana’s sex life wears off, there’s not much that’s particularly memorable on Positions.
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The New York Times
“Positions” isn’t quite the reinvention that “Thank U Next” was, but it continues Grande’s effort to make the mainstream pop album a looser, weirder and more conversational space.
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Consequence of Sound
Ariana Grande’s Positions Is a 2020 Pop Fairytale.
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AV Club
Positions isn’t a perfect album (and far from an instant classic in the vein of Sweetener or Thank U, Next), but the LP is a more-than-worthy stepping stone to whatever comes next for the artist.
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The Irish Times
Even though bangers are scarce on the ground, Positions solidifies Grande as one of pop’s leading voices.
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GQ
On her sixth album, Grande successfully fuses the two sides of her work to create a cozy, sexy set of songs.
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Clash Magazine
While the album is pretty much removed from her usual major pop moments, it’s more refreshing that way, and there’s more of a connective-unit feel to Positions than much of her previous work. After all, Grande has always been an album artist, and this one is yet another to whistle home about.
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Canoe
Ariana Grande's 'Positions' masters the sexy 'quiet storm'-style.
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UCSD Guardian
An album imbued with Ariana’s insecurities about love, merged together with explicit themes of sexual empowerment, “Positions” is a project to summate her public traumas, and it doesn’t take itself too seriously — but maybe it should have.
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Hotpress
Positions proves Grande is still as much a pop diva as the women she has long-revered, but she's in the midst of a steamy, extramarital affair with R&B that she seems unable to quit. And honestly, I hope it continues for her lifetime.
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The Concordian
I loved this album. It made me feel good and quite frankly, more confident. I would recommend this record to anyone. Please, even if you have never found an interest in Ariana Grande, you will glow after your first listen.
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All Music
it's meant to be sex music, nothing more, nothing less -- but the swift succession of albums suggests that Grande may be better off slowing her creative process down just enough to help sculpt the album into a soundtrack that has an ebb and flow instead of a single sustained thrum.
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Daily Bruin
Ariana Grande showcases more mature sound and lyrics in ‘positions’.
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The Post
Positions is full of lighthearted, flirtatious tracks.
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NME
The star's lyrical content is jaw-droppingly good fun, and this sixth record does feature some massive pop tunes – alongside more indistinct material.
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Slate
More charitably, perhaps she thought everyone could use some horny beautiful love songs to help get through that potential cataclysm. And you know what? The hell with it. I’ll take it.
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Beats Per Minute
the album is a particularly millennial coping mechanism to reframe the demons that come with relationship anxiety and body issues. Like Cat, who hides the harsh reality under a candy-colored clown façade, Grande’s immaculate outer shell both physically and artistically reframes her personal struggles through artifice, communicating relatability to her audience.
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MTSU Sidelines
While I personally am still an advocate for “thank u, next” as Grande’s best album, “Positions” is a well-developed follow-up.
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Stereoboard
The overarching mission statement on ‘Positions’ is one of a woman in control of her art and willing to exert powerful energy unapologetically. Working to a consistently high level at a rapid pace, Grande is a truly accomplished artist who is among the brightest lights in the pop sphere.
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SofloSound
Positions is a fun listen, and that’s the best attribute to give to the album. As a fan of rap and r&b music, this album probably won’t crack my personal top 10…but whenever I play music on shuffle, a song from this album will likely not get skipped. Making music that is fun and easy on the ears means an artist did a good job constructing their tracks. Sometimes “bubble gum” music can be fun and veering to different music genres can be fun.
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inews
Ariana Grande’s album is breathlessly dirty and playful R’n’B that affirms once again her status as a leader of the pop pack.
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UWire
As Grande’s sound continues to evolve further into the R&B spectrum, she continues to master topics like femininity, sex and romance. On “positions” the mix of dramatic emotions, relatable lyrics and dance-pop beats come together to create a project that maintains Grande’s trajectory to stardom.
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BBC News
Grande's voice is a thing of great beauty, swooping and fluttering above a plush musical backdrop that's dominated by violins and cellos this time.
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Daily Collegian
Grande’s latest album “Positions” delivers more of the same quality music, but it’s not better than its predecessors. It’s certainly a great listen, but just don’t expect to be blown away.
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The Telegraph
plenty of lust, but where are the hits?
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Metro Weekly
Ariana Grande plays it safe with a solid, enjoyable album.
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The New Paltz Oracle
There are glimpses of what Ariana is capable of scattered throughout Positions — the aforementioned “off the table,” the stunning outro of “my hair” — but these simply leave more to be desired rather than satisfy the need.
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Uproxx
Positions is completely of its time. Whatever shape you’ve contoured yourself into to survive the long drag of 2020, this record serves as a reminder that a different point of view could be just around the corner.
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Time
Grande’s most potent weapon as a pop star is her ability to make the personal universal; on record, her honesty about her struggles is rocket-fueled by her innate knowledge of what makes a hook undeniable, and those two qualities are all over positions
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Variety
it’s a good sign that Grande isn’t trying to make the same or even a similar album each time out, as she knocks all these long-players out in such unusually productive succession. And the benefits of having an album as focused as this one may quickly be discovered by anyone who’s making use of quarantine for more romantic purposes… or even those who have only their own hair to twirl.
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Atwood Magazine
This album may be an indicator of a new side of Grande that is exciting, while this is a perfectly serviceable album by her. While I welcome Ariana’s next step and look forward to what she delivers next.
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The Independent
Woozy and flirtatious but lacking in surprise.
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Sputnik Music
Ariana Grande continues to put her magnificent voice on display, but everything around it is beginning to crumble.
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North by Northwestern
Positions doesn’t try to be more than a love letter… okay, a really horny love letter, but it also doesn’t overachieve or overstay its welcome. For 90s R&B fans, Arianators, or anyone who watched the “positions” music video and was mildly interested, I definitely recommend that you give a listen or two to Positions.
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University News
With “Positions,” it’s clear Grande has matured as a woman. As she continues to evolve as an artist, she addresses heavy topics in a graceful way, fueled by her ever-present, sheer vocal talent. As her brother said, this album is her best to date.
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Slant Magazine
Too many of the songs on Positions, however, rely on the same midtempo trap-pop that populated Grande’s previous two efforts, particularly Thank U, Next. What once seemed refreshing in its minimalism is quickly starting to feel insubstantial. It might be time for contemporary pop’s reigning vocal acrobat to more fully commit to some new positions.
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Forge Today
Whilst lyrically Grande shines on Positions, the album’s boring musical composition hinders the potential of what could have been the most significant album of 2020.
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The Line of Best Fit
Positions is Ariana Grande’s most carefree, playful, and mature work to date.
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Evening Standard
A loved-up ode in the simplest terms.
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Breathe Heavy
In general, releasing positions is a very brave decision to follow up thank, u next, considering how big her fifth album has become. It's probably not a highlight in her career, but still a tolerating gift to those who enjoy her discography.
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The Rice Thresher
Ariana Grande’s surprise album “positions” seduces and shimmers.
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The Charlatan
Positions is a unique album full of catchy, sexy, bops that embody personal growth through trauma. With women often facing the most scrutiny from the public about being open about their sexuality, this record is a bold statement that Grande clearly had fun creating.
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A Bit of Pop Music
Positions sounds like more of the same from Ariana Grande on first listen, but does unfold itself as a layered body of work with beauty in details in all the right places. It might be seen as a safe move overall, but she does not have to re-invent the wheel every single time. She left us with a sensual record that surely will become a favorite in bed rooms all around the world.
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MOVE Magazine
As a whole, “positions” is an inside look at Grande’s experimentation with her music. She combines pop with R&B in a way that she has not been able to before. She shows off her blend of traditional pop motifs with fun, fast synths and catchy lyrics and weaves them together with trap beats and hip-hop samples. The complexities of R&B perfectly intersect with her signature sound as a queen of modern pop music, and “positions” cements itself as a proud statement in her discography.
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The Bird Feed
“Positions” reveals a more playful and light period in Ariana Grande’s life.
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EW
There is little risk and reward on the pop star's latest album.
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Indiana Daily Student
Ariana Grande’s ‘Positions’ fits a little too cozily into her discography.
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The Triangle
Overall, I’d consider the album “Positions” to be a continuation of “thank u, next’s” disappointment off of “Sweetener.” While both “thank u, next” and “positions” have a share of good tracks, neither have the wide range of moods, instrumental spectrum or vocal performances that “Sweetener” showcased.
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The Runner
A heavenly journey of healing and loving again.
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KLSU
“Positions” is an album full of good songs, but they could be better.
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Impact Magazine
Whilst the album is highly dependent on production and trap beats, the angelic use of saxophone and strings has to be commended. The entire album cinematically opens with orchestral strings on shut up, and six thirty boasts a gentle string backing which slowly crescendos on the bridge as Grande croons ‘’Am I enough to keep your love?’’. Furthermore, the sultry saxophone of my hair paired with Grande’s whistle tones is a stand-out moment for the star sonically.
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Insider
So, is this Grande's best album? No. But is it a welcome reassurance that Grande is finally feeling safe, happy, and utterly horny? Yes. And that's a triumph in itself.
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Blaze Radio ASU
Gone are the days of high-ponies, knee high boots, and oversized sweatshirts. Grande is truly coming into her own in a year that encourages you to do anything but. I feel like I’m at the bottom of the summit, and Grande is just getting to the peak.
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