Ariana Grande has managed to climb her way up the pop-culture ladder all the way to the top within a matter of months! How? She may have sold her soul to the devil – and by devil, I mean Republic Records.
Dropping her latest album, “thank u, next,” Grande is at the top of the charts. Of the Billboard Top 10 songs, 9 of them are from this new album of hers. I personally love her and love this new album, but her success is questionable. It seems as though she is taking advantage of the rumors and stories of her personal life to gain popularity. With her surprising engagement to boyfriend Pete Davidson, the release of her album “Sweetener,” to her ex Mac Miller passing away, to her then rapid breakup with fiancé Davidon, to the release of the song “thank u, next,” and finally to the release of the full album “thank u, next.” It seems as though her biggest successes in her music career are surrounded by the biggest events in her personal life.
Artists are known to take advantage of their popularity. I have a theory that Grande realized that she was the main star in the news lately so why not release an album? With more than at least one between the release dates of all her other albums, the release of the album “thank u, next” so soon after the release of “Sweetener” cannot be a coincidence.
Grande, realizing her success, is taking advantage of being on top. Why not release a new album when she’s all anyone can talk about? Of course the album is at the top of the charts and highly successful – everyone is obsessed with her at the moment! And she took advantage of that moment. Now it will be interesting to see how long this success can be elongated.
t is no secret that her manager Scooter Braun and record label Republic Records is the push behind this rush to release so much material right now. Listening to “thank u, next,” it is obvious that the album was rushed. Don’t get me wrong, the beats and music is great, but it doesn’t seem very personal or well thought out. The song ordering in the album is weird to me. For example, the second song in the album is called “needy” and discusses Grande’s tendency to be needy and require constant attention and love. Then instantly, the next song called “NASA” is all about how she needs some space. It just doesn’t make any sense!
I have also noticed how arrogant and full of herself Grande has become. Known for being such a sweetheart and darling to all her fans, Grande takes a different turn with this album that includes many songs about how great she is and how much money she has. That is a bit out of character for her and it was very surprising to me as I have been a fan of hers for years now. It’s a bit disappointing to see her take this turn that most celebrities tend to take – and it makes me really sad.
This is why I am asking the question of did Ariana sell her soul? This is a term used in popular culture a lot and it references celebrities changing as their popularity increases. The Weeknd is good example of this – if you listen to his first mixtape (which he recorded himself with his own equipment – no record label involved), it sounds very different from the music that he makes now. It seems as though artists see money and popularity, thus turning them into zombies that work for record labels. They become hypnotized by the fame and the record labels take advantage of this forcing these celebrities to release more music of lower quality. And the music sells amazingly so it works. But still, these celebs have sold their souls and it sucks!
“thank u, next” full album here:
Kaykay’s playlist of the week:
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