"break up..." is one her most underrated singles imo. Like Jade says, the production is so slick and cool. Nice to see that coming close to beating "thank u next"!

 

Thinking Bout You is just stunning. I wish it was released as a single instead of Everyday :(

"break up..." is one her most underrated singles imo. Like Jade says, the production is so slick and cool. Nice to see that coming close to beating "thank u next"!

 

Thinking Bout You is just stunning. I wish it was released as a single instead of Everyday :(

The only circumstance 'Everyday' should have ever been pushed as a single is a comfortable 8th single after Greedy, Thinking Bout You, Be Alright and Touch It. ;)

Thinking Bout You is such a beautiful track. I wouldn’t rank it anywhere near this high but I certainly understand why it’s so beloved.

11:

 

 

positions (248 points)

 

Another of my top 5 misses the top 10 and only by a measly amount of votes. :( That said our Top 10 is as strong as ever. ^_^

 

The night that 'positions' and Little Mix's 'Sweet Melody' dropped was a bloody brilliant one and one I'll likely never forget, maybe I associate it with the song, that and the fact '7 Days' by Craig David is one of my favourite songs of all time and it's very much in the same lane except featuring my favourite female vocalist... puts it RIGHT up there for me, it's already become my 4th most streamed song by her.

 

The R&B tinged, breezy lead single from her latest album of the same name was released on October 23rd 2020 having been announced mere days before it's release. It went on to become her 3rd #1 of the year in the US and 5th overall there, her other two being just the year before. In the UK it became her 7th #1 single, it remained in that position for 6 weeks, proving it was a smash with the GP. On Buzzjack however opinions were (and still are) rather mixed on the track, perhaps due to the fact we were being rather oversaturated with Ariana material at the time and many fans have become tired of her R&B/Trap releases.

 

Brer and myself were it's biggest supporters ranking it in our top 5 (37 points each), other big voters included ...ready for it, Nick, Cremey, Lewis and Riser. Jade put it in the middle of the pack while Kath, Highausakite and Lunar put it lower down their lists.

I am certainly a 'positions' fan but gotta love two album tracks in the top 10 :cheeseblock:

Aw at 'positions' falling just short of the top 10, I've never really understood the relatively muted reception that got, such a smooth track and easily up there with her best for me :heart: (love to see the two album tracks both in the top 10 I guess but there were definitely other songs still to come that I'd rather have made way for them!)

Thinking Bout You my favourite Ariana song full stop. What a total masterpiece of a song :wub:

That feels about right for Positions. I love the song but it’s not top tier Ariana.

10:

 

 

7 rings (253 points)

 

Kicking off our Ariana top 10 as our final remaining representation from the ‘thank u, next’ album is '7 rings'. Not a bad result for the song at all as it only managed to finish at #7 in our combined ‘thank u, sweet’ rate in 2019 (4th out of tun tracks). It was much closer to missing out on a top 10 position than climbing any higher and it ends up 5 points ahead of #11 but 30 points behind the next song.

 

7 rings was a huge worldwide smash, spending 4 weeks atop the UK charts over two spells and 8 weeks at Billboard #1 (including topping a record-breaking all Ariana top 3). The song also peaked at #21 in Japan. Maybe it was hindered by the tattoo Ariana got in celebration of the song that was supposed to read as ‘7 rings’ in Japanese but apparently actually reads as the name of a BBQ.

 

As Ari says on Monopoly, she “gave up that 90% for the win”. The win being the chance to interpolate ‘My Favourite Things’ from the perennial Sunday-afternoon-favourite musical ‘The Sound of Music’ of which she signed over 90% of the royalties of the track to confirm its release. With the classic sample and Ari’s decision to utilise her rapping on with the iconic third verse, this song is a pretty wild effort from Ari and certainly catches you by surprise the first time you hear it. Written shortly after her public break-up with fiancée Pete Davidson, the 7 rings of the title refer to the 7 engagement rings that Ariana bought for her and ‘six of [… her] bitches’ while participating in some therapeutic retail therapy in New York. 5 of the owners of said rings are credited in the song-writing credits of this track: Victoria Monét, Tayla Parx, Njomza Vitia, Kaydence Krysiuk and Ari herself receive credits while Courtney Chipolone and Alexa Luria miss out.

 

Cremey and I both ranked 7 rings out fifth highest Ariana track while London ranked it as their sixth, Nick F1 as their seventh and kath as their ninth. Other points came from Jade (+26), Julian (+19), HausofGucci (+15), Riser (+13), Brer (+4) and Lunar (+3).

As Ari says on Monopoly, she “gave up that 90% for the win”. The win being the chance to interpolate ‘My Favourite Things’ from the perennial Sunday-afternoon-favourite musical ‘The Sound of Music’ of which she signed over 90% of the royalties of the track to confirm its release.

Oh wow I didn't know this :o

 

I don't think of '7 rings' as highly as I did when it first came out but it's still my favourite 'thank u, next' single so I'm happy it finished top 10!

Interesting that all 3 of the 'thank u, next' singles ended up finishing so close together (and 'bad idea' being shockingly close to beating all of them)!

 

'7 rings' got old pretty quickly for me but it has grown back on me a little bit again since then (enough to sneak into my votes for this). I'm glad my small points for it weren't quite enough to make the difference between it and 'positions' or I would have regretted voting for it at all :lol:

Ariana got in celebration of the song that was supposed to read as ‘7 rings’ in Japanese but apparently actually reads as the name of a BBQ.

Strange you mentioned that, I was telling someone about that earlier this week. Oh dear! :lol:

 

(and 'bad idea' being shockingly close to beating all of them)!

I wouldn't have been mad if it had beat them. B-)

 

=8:

 

 

 

Be Alright (283 points)

Touch It (283 points)

 

We haven't experienced a tie since position #37 but in one fell swoop the two remaining album tracks are out with the same number of points! I can reveal that there are no ties left for the rest of the countdown so there can only be one winner. Both of these album tracks come from Ariana's third studio album Dangerous Woman which continues to be extremely well-received on the forum nearly 6 years down the line. 'Be Alright' is up first on the record, out of the two, as song #3. It follows smooth opener 'Moonlight', the working title of the album, then the rockier 'Dangerous Woman' - of course the album name that stuck. The atmosphere switches from more intense to bright and breezy with 'Be Alright', which is as much of a comfort blanket as the song title suggests. It was always a personal favourite of mine from the album but the performance at One Love Manchester took it to a whole new level. The heartbreaking circumstances really put the song's meaning into context, as Ariana - a reassuring face - was telling us all to stand united and not let evil win. It was an emotional watch for sure but the uplifting message really shone through. Her live performances of 'Be Alright' usually contain some of her most recognisable choreography during the instrumental break in the chorus. The song was riding high on the tropical trend that was hot at the time and although it has been and gone, the song has still aged like fine wine into a new decade. The marimba elements still evoke a warm, fuzzy feeling - sounding especially good today as I type this in gorgeous weather. Ari's voice glides across this one as she softly reminds us that our tears will come and go - we're going to be alright in the end. It's a pick-me-up song in her discography for sure. It has really gathered momentum as of late on here because it comparatively 'only' finished 6th in the Dangerous Woman album rate last year. Now it boasts joint second from that record. It of course attracted many fans to finish this high, including: myself, ...ready for it, Brer, Cremey, Haus, Julian, Kath, Lewis, London, Lunar, Nick F1 and Riser. It is Cremey who just about claims the title of biggest fan, with +33 points awarded. So, it didn't quite crack anyone's top 5, but was still in the low 30s and 20s for many.

 

We are left waiting a lot longer for 'Touch It' on the album as it's track #13. But it packs an almighty punch when that moment does arrive. It's that final full throttle moment on the record before everything mellows out a bit for 'Knew Better / Forever Boy' and 'Thinking Bout You' - still top quality tracks, but more emotional moments to round off the album. 'Touch It' on the other hand is a lot more in-your-face with its towering synths, the last 'banger' on the album. This song discusses a fresh relationship with an insecure partner who is a little cautious, perhaps based on past experience. Ariana tries to be the voice of reason here. She is having a great time in the relationship so far and wants it to progress. So she wants that vital trust to be there on both sides. No one will come along and mess up what they have, or as Ari says: "ain't nobody gonna touch it". It's not just the synth-pop production that impresses as Ari also takes her voice to scaling heights. Take the middle 8 to final chorus transition for example. Her vocals become a little muffled and fade out into something that you just know is going to be epic... indeed she's back with a thrilling high note! It has been fascinating to witness the gradual increasing popularity for this song on the forum. For the past couple of years it has really posed itself as a challenger - finishing 2nd only to 'Into You' in the Dangerous Woman rate last year. Of course it achieves the same here, albeit a shared spotlight with 'Be Alright'. Not bad going for a bonus track eh?! How wild that something of this quality was merely an add-on to the standard vision. It's a shame that Ariana doesn't quite share the same enthusiasm as the fans nowadays, after branding the song 'boring' on twitter. I hope she changes her mind as I definitely need to hear a live performance of this one day. 'Touch It' also picked up a lot of support to equalise 'Be Alright', with points coming from: myself, ...ready for it, Brer, Cremey, Haus, Julian, Kath, London, Lunar, and Nick F1. It received top marks of +40 from Lunar so another favourite now bows out! A decent chunk of us are still waiting for our +40 to depart, there's: myself, Brer, Cremey, Kath, Lewis and Nick F1 who put our ultimate backing behind one of the remaining heavyweight singles.

BuzzJack being indecisive about her most loved album track :cheeseblock: love both of those so both good choices but 'Touch It' was definitely the moment I was most blown away by during the album listenthroughs in here, so baffling that she's basically disowned that song.

What an iconic duo :wub:

 

Such career highlights, I lived for her live performance of 'Be Alright' as there was a part of me that wanted it to be released as a Charity Double A-Side (with One Last Time) after Manchester because of it's message.

 

I too am baffled about her 'Touch It' shade, it just so exhilarating and gorgeous, I imagine she was singing it carelessly, belting in the eye of a tornado. There's some imagery for you.

Be Alright would certainly be my pick of the two album tracks there.

 

I love the choreography that associates with the track. Ari's not known for the dancing but I've always loved seeing performances of Be Alright.

7:

 

 

breathin (334 points)

 

The third and final single from 'sweetener' was 'breathin' is our next out, with a rather large jump in points from 8th. It proved to be a fan favourite straight out of the gate. The song charted at it's peak position in most territories post album release in August 2018, a month before it's official release as a single in September. This was also partly due to the fact it's music video was heavily delayed and end up being released AFTER the following single (suprise hit 'thank u, next') was released in November. For this reason it was very much overshadowed and didn't really get it's full time to shine. Despite this, it did manage to chart at #1 in Iceland and Israel, as well as top 10 in the UK, just missing out in the US peaking at #12. We were also treated to a promotional TV performance on 'Ellen', which became one of my favourite live Ariana TV performances of all time, simply down to the raw emotion she conveyed.

Quite unusually 'breathin' was produced solely by Ariana's long-term collaborator ILYA with no credit being given to his usual partner in production Max Martin.

 

In the beautiful music video Ariana looks gorgeous whisping her way through clouds on a swing and in a train station, where the departure signs tease song titles from the then soon to be released 'thank u, next' album including 'Needy', 'Imagine' and scrapped song 'Remember' (supposedly stylized as "reMeMber" in honor of Mac Miller). There was also a second video featuring Piggy Smallz.

 

Now the facts are out of the way 'breathin' is within my top 5 most streamed songs by Ariana, it's message is so essential to life and it just keeps me going, so I find myself going back to it whenever I need, it's like musical diazepam for me and I hope for many others. The theme of the song clearly revolves around Ariana's experience with anxiety and mental health issues following the Manchester attack and although I hope a huge majority of you won't ever go through something anything near as traumatic, it's helped so many people just as much for all kinds of reasons. I'm struggling to explain myself, but you get the gist.

 

LOVE seeing this strongly in our top 10. Fellow mod Lewis gave it his top marks. Nick, kath and Riser put it in their Top 5. It got a Top 10 ranking from myself (in fact bang on #7). Other good scores came from ...ready for it, Jade, Cremey, Highausakite, Lunar, Brer and Liam.

Wow quite a jump in points there!

 

'breathin' is stunning and I love the video too, a lot more simple than the blockbuster-type predecessors that era but still effective at conveying the meaning creatively.

There's my +40 gone :(

 

I found it really it really tough to decide on what to rank top and while it's probably not close to being the Ariana song I've listened to the most, breathin was her most instant ever for me and hits me in the same way when I hear it now.

6:

 

 

Love Me Harder (feat. The Weeknd) (335 points)

 

Finishing just one point ahead of the song I gave my +40 to, Love Me Harder lands at a very respectable 6th position. This is comfortably our favourite of her three tracks with one of her most iconic collaborators, The Weeknd with Save Your Tears and Off The Table dropping out at #23 and =85th respectively. However, it is not our absolute favourite collab Ari has been involved in with one more still to appear.

 

This was released just before Abel truly break through massively into the mainstream with Can’t Feel My Face smashing the following year and, in such, never managed to crack of the official UK top 40 despite spending 17 weeks in the top 100. It had no such problems in the States, becoming her 4th consecutive single from the album to reach the top 10, eventually peaking at #7.

 

Ari certainly hasn’t shied away from the sexier records since but at the time, this was her most risqué yet. Ariana’s verses are fairly euphemistic but, not being known for his subtlety, The Weeknd’s verse is very blunt and leaves you with no doubt on what the meaning of the song is. While he’s probably most associated with the big pop moments of Ari’s career (Problem, Into You, No Tears), Max Martin had a hand in the song writing for this one, although, unsurprisingly, Abel thought the song was too generic when it was first sent to him and re-wrote his verse to be more in line with the explicit but smooth style he was perfecting. This was the 2nd video of Ariana’s to be directed by Hannah Lux-Davies (after Bang Bang) and it was a step away from the fun and bright videos we we’re beginning to relate with Ari due to the album’s other singles. This was a more mature and serious video even if the cat ears still make an appearance.

 

Loving it the hardest was HausofGucci who had it as his 2nd favourite Ariana track but plenty of others gave it high marks to with Jade giving it her bronze. The rest of the points came from London (+34), Liam.k. (+33), Nick F1 (+32), Julian and Brer (+31), Lunar (+30), Cremey (+25), …ready for it (+12) and Riser (+10). I also gave it +20 so I have it pretty much in the middle of her discography but after its performance here I’m feeling +18 would have been more appropriate. :lol: