Andrew.

Nicola saying that if there is a lockdown in England, it might not necessarily happen in Scotland. I’m not sure, the new levels system starts on Monday but I could maybe see them delaying that by two weeks and having a circuit breaker instead of a month-long lockdown. Or, the levels will come into place on Monday as planned and if hospitalisations haven’t gone down in two/three weeks we’ll follow England and have a lockdown then.

I'm torn. We've clearly lost control of the virus (although there are some positive signs in terms of cases stagnating, definitely in Scotland) but the economy is gonna be guttered. I do NOT think this government can give the help local businesses need, I already know some well loved places in Aberdeen that have had to shut. It'll feel so weird going to school whilst a full lockdown is on. I mean how are we gonna be packed into corridors and queue in groups of 100 outside Tesco at Lunch like nothing's happened? I really really don't want school to close but imo we need a new system like S1-3 come in Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday morning whilst S4-6 come in Wednesday afternoon/Thursday/Friday or something. We've just got the new Levels system in Scotland, I suppose if it's a full lockdown than Nicola will follow suit?

I'll say Ari will be #1 with about 30k on streaming (she did 44k last time) but only 9k pure, so somewhere in the 35-45k region. Sam will be #2 (depending on Cliff) with 23k.

Current ranking :heart: 1. (=) My Hair 2. (+1) Positions 3. (-1) Motive (feat. Doja Cat) 4. (+1) POV 5. (+1) Obvious 6. (+1) Just Like Magic 7. (+3) Love Language 8. (=) Nasty 9. (=) 34+35 10. (-6) Safety Net (feat. Ty Dolla $ign) 11. (+2) Six Thirty 12. (+2) Shut Up 13. (-1) Off The Table 14. (-3) West Side Almost everything has grown, especially POV, Love Language and even Six Thirty :wub: Safety Net was about the same second time round but it was one of my faves initially. I'd put the songs in these categories x Crème de la Crème My Hair Positions Motive POV Almost up there Obvious Just Like Magic Love Language Very good Nasty 34+35 Safety Net Six Thirty Solid Shut Up Meh Off The Table West Side

Drunk On Love, which I would've had out in 8th-ish. It's good but it doesn't add anything to the sample I feel.

It only seemed like an underperformance at the time because it flopped on pure sales in a time where you still needed them to be high up on the chart. Issa hit.

The only one I'm not feeling at all is "Off The Table", which just goes nowhere and doesn't hold a candle to their last collab :( Otherwise I'm a fan.

Just Like Magic is so lush :wub: Mess at me (+ others) thinking it was 'middle finger to my bum' and not 'thumb' I think I'm gonna love this album oop, as mentioned not as much as her last three but that is a BAR.

It's a diet bop and doesn't deserve a lot of the hate it gets, but it's verrrry of it's time. To be honest it's not even of it's time, it sounds like a 2013/14 track :lol: I never go back to it but at least she gave us a cute wig in the video.

This is better XWb2ENysUEg

So I'm listening again and everything is making much more of an impression second time round. Don't think it'll ever get in the holy trinity of DW>Sweetener>TU,N but I'm loving the vibe of the album.

THIS. I only ever got behind the top 4 (Thorgy became annoying in her last few episodes although that could've been the edit, and I love Acid Betty's looks) while on Season 7 there's so many queens that brought something besides the top 4. Katya, Trixie, Max, Miss Fame, even Jaidynn and Mrs Kasha D.

‘Wonder’ the single is mindnumingly dull, he has to have better lead singles on the album surely. :( I predict the album will open between #2 and #5 with about 21k sales due to his fan base but I can’t see it having longevity, especially if the campaign is as short and confused as poor little Self-Titled was. He won’t have a Camilla-style bomb at least! If we’re comparing to Ellie then I can’t see this selling as well as ‘Close To Me’ in the long run. And Shawn won’t get a #1 album like Ellie did. Or a #1 single Just saying It’s both their 4th albums as well, which feels strange!

Basically how I feel!

Think and want Biden to win, I'm not a fan of the man but it's crucial for US democracy, for minorities and for society as a whole that Trump is out. Biden should win but even with the polls it wouldn't actually shock me if Trump did.

Pre-ordered the glitter cassette!

1. Don’t Start Now 2. Hallucinate 3. Levitating 4. Break My Heart 5. Physical I alternate constantly between #2 and #3 but Hallucinate just edges it, the top three in particular are 11/10 perfect pop :wub: Break My Heart is a gem and Physical is an 8/10 but I’ve never seen it as one of her best ever.

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.

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

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.

:wub: If only this was the album cover :nocheer:

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.

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

Cases haven’t risen in Scotland as much as expected so that’s encouraging at least. Although they have levelled off before then had a massive spike 🙃 Sorry for going on and on about schools but a lot of evidence is saying that open schools are driving the R number up. They won’t close again but maybe blended learning?

Analis Splendeed