Well the whole album has leaked and I’m seeing nothing but negativity about it...

Well the whole album has leaked and I’m seeing nothing but negativity about it...

I know I should really wait 4 days, but I'm going in.

Omg I cursed it :nocheer:

 

Going to hold out until Friday.

I'm not worried about the negative reception, Sweetener gets roasted by half the fanbase but it still did v well chart wise and it's my fave by her.

Edited October 26, 20204 yr by Hallo'Riheen

Intrigued at the negative reception.

 

I loved Sweetener so I might be a fan if it’s like that era! I’m guessing the negative reception is from people who were fans of My Everything / Dangerous Woman era Ari.

No interest in the leaks at all. Just going to avoid them like the plague. Not too worried about any negative reactions yet.

 

I wish it was Friday already

Seeing 'nasty', 'pov', 'my hair' and the collabs picked out as highlights a lot

Okay first listen RATE

 

Shut Up - pleasant, but doesn't really go anywhere until the very end of the song. I like her vocal runs. It reminds me of 'Successful' a lil bit. Some songs are...made to be intros/50 seconds x (5/10)

 

34+35 - sis really came to serve these pumpkin spice latte sweetener-esque vibes didn't she. I also had a pumpkin latte on my way home from school which was nice, factz. f*** me till the daylight I like the light trap instrumental, but again I'm near the end of my second play of the song and I'm not feeling much. Okay I'm lightly bopping now but I wish it would hit harder. (7/10)

 

Motive - Finally a great track, the airy house is very Ariana but genuinely something different. I only wish she we got some Ari ad-libs in the pre-chorus. The instrumental blends with Doja's part well. I love this, bring ittt (9/10)

 

Just like magic - 17 seconds in and oooooo00oh the production has hiT me :wub: I haven't seen much love for this though, feel like it's gonna be the 'borderline' or 'in my head' of the album, the track that the fanbase isn't fussed about but I love :lol: The production is slightly like In My Head as well (8/10)

 

These songs are all so short, they feel over before they've got going :(

 

Off The Table - the production sounds fancy if that makes sense :') song not doing much ngl. Kind of boring, but I can see it growing cos that production is well done for sure (5.5/10)

 

Six Thirty - Sounds like one of the dreamy middle 8s from Sweetener but a whole song of it oop. Again it's very pleasant but nothing really hooking, it's a song I've heard before from her. (5/10)

 

Safety Net - It fits in with the general vibe of the album but the production is more compelling, it gets GOOD when Ty comes in and progresses from there. Great track, it has so much more to it than Six Thirty/Shut Up even though it fits on a cohesive record with them. (8.5/10)

 

My Hair - the classic Mariah vibe is real! :cheeseblock: Omg there's a saxophone. This is Yours Truly 2020 version and I'm liking it! I'm so glad people are loving this one, vocally it's more dynamic and exciting than anything she's released in a long time. WHISTLE NOTE ALERT. It really is a 2020 upgrade of Yours Truly, it's so slinky & joyful I can't :wub: (10/10)

 

Nasty - A song by Ari with the title 'Nasty' has to be a pure pop bop sorry, ik she should release what makes her happy but give us something pop, the basic white gays are greedy. (7.5/10)

 

West Side - This isn't gonna be a popular track lol but I'm enjoying it, the moodiness in the production is great. It does pass me by a bit though (6.5/10)

 

Love Language - I can hear being in a musical. It's a nice change of tone, the production is bright and breezy af. It would've worked better after Six Thirty rather than West Side though. Tbh, as nice as this is it does fly past without much impact, like West Side. (7/10)

 

Positions - Not my fave by any means but it still sounds so fresh and catchy, and listening to the album I can see why it was the lead single. (9/10)

 

Ranking

1. My Hair

2. Motive (feat. Doja Cat)

3. Positions

4. Safety Net (feat. Ty Dolla $ign)

5. Just Like Me

6. Nasty

7. 34+35

8. Love Language

9. West Side

10. Off The Table

11. Six Thirty

12. Shut Up

 

The top 5 are my highlights, but being blunt on any of her other post Yours-Truly albums they'd be in the middle-low rank bar the top 3. Absolutely everything could grow though. I can really see myself having this on repeat on winter. It has a similar vibe to Sweetener, just without your No Tears or Gods to break things up a bit. On one hand I appreciate that as she's given us a consistent album but would I have loved some pop? Absolutely, said Gia Gunn. Ariana has always had pure pop tracks that still fit in with the R&B vibe of her albums (Into You, Greedy, No Tears, Breathin', Bloodline, Bad Idea never felt out of place imo) but this doesn't so it's a little samey.

 

My biggest problem with the album is the amount of songs that passed by and I was like 'is that it?' I know it's the in-thing to have short songs, to get that streaming coin but the majority of the album being under 3 minutes gives the tracks no time to breathe, and the likes of 'Six Thirty' and 'Shut Up' arrive at one place and stay there for the (short) duration of the track. Like...the project feels rushed. All her other albums had a point to them if that makes sense, I'm not sure what that is here. And that's fair enough I guess, there doesn't NEED to be a big message but it adds to the feeling this is lil rushed.

 

When it comes to the singing, I have no real complaints. My Hair has to go down as one of the vocals of her career :wub: I love Ari's voice so much that she has no songs that are outright unpleasant, I do think her diction..isn't her best on this album though at times.

 

I must sound like such a hater lol but I do like the album, and the top 8 tracks I'd say are good. The pumpkin-spice latte feel is real and I'm gonna have this on repeat in the winter. It was November/December 2018 and a time where I kind of isolated myself and become very lonely for a short time (that's passed now thankfully) and Sweetener and all its dreaminess helped me, it's so winter. This will grow for absolute sure.

 

Oh dear the proper Pop crazy cravers are going to hate this album, it's her most R&B so far.

 

'positions' was the correct choice for first single, for me it's still the best song but others could grow.

 

I think I'd like for 'nasty' to be next single, another one that's very to my taste.

 

'motive' is the my 2nd choice for next single.

 

'34+35' is probably the catchiest song, so I could see it taking off, but radios won't love it for reasons that will be obvious. :lol:

 

Wow at POV ending the album. Vocals!

I couldn’t resist listening to this and all I can say is that it is extremely cohesive and is perhaps her most authentic album yet. But there aren’t many peaks and valleys, it’s very much music that you could have on in the background and enjoy lightly.

 

In summation: a well-produced, chilled and smooth latte of an R&B record. Pop who?

3 in the UK Top 10 next week??

Oops my leak must not have Obvious or POV on it :’)

I'm listening to the album and the majority of the songs I don't feel go anywhere :(

Revised ranking after hearing the last two tracks:

1. My Hair (10/10)

2. Motive (feat. Doja Cat) (9/10)

3. Positions (9/10)

4. Safety Net (feat. Ty Dolla $ign) (8.5/10)

5. POV (8/10)

6. Obvious (8/10)

7. Just Like Me (8/10)

8. Nasty (7.5/10)

9. 34+35 (7/10)

10. Love Language (7/10)

11. West Side (6.5/10)

12. Off The Table (5.5/10)

13. Six Thirty (5/10)

14. Shut Up (5/10)

 

POV is the 'Pete Davidson' follow up I've been needing :wub: And it's a full song! Obvious is fab as well. Really boosts the overall quality of the album. Yeah, it's her weakest based on my two listens but it's not bad at all.

Edited October 26, 20204 yr by Hallo'Riheen

i usually don't care about leaks but i am listening now because i was bored. i will definitely be playing it a lot on Spotify when it comes out.

 

N A S T Y ! ! ! that production. this is what i imagine a contemporary Mariah song to sound like! it would suit her SO well.

 

'pov' is really the MVP here. the strings, the vocals. incredible closer and I have GOOSEBUMPS.

 

This whole thing will sound SO much better in good quality and not crappy mp3 rips so one half-arsed listen is more than enough.

 

funny to see negativity. I think it's her most cohesive and interesting album to-date!

I really want to hear this!!!!

 

I’ll definitely buy it regardless because I am such an Ariana stan but the reviews for this are really sending me back to sweetener time and that ended up being my fave by her.

i genuinely thought there'd been a problem with my download when i saw these track lengths but nope - they're actually this short.

This album just... Is not really it :(

 

I wouldn't say it's bad by any means, but I find it really a lot of it very samey. It's not even that it's not what I want from her, I like R&B Ari but a lot of the tracks don't go anywhere, aren't memorable and I'm not really pushed to want to hear them again.

 

Motive, POV, Nasty and My Hair are my faves but I can't see anything becoming an Ari fave of mine at all.

Three (slightly) different versions of the physical albums are available to pre-order on her website.

 

@1320938865138479104

Could we not just have... one great cover?