#REVIEW: ARIANA GRANDE – “DANGEROUS WOMAN”

I admit it, I had my doubts about Ariana Grande‘s longevity at first.  Who’d have guessed that the girl from Nickelodeon‘s Victorious would go on to be a bona fide recording artist?  Now onto her third album, DANGEROUS WOMAN, Grande‘s body of work keeps getting stronger and stronger.  I’ll admit it, I’m sold finally.

Following a successful formula so far which has combined ballads and slinky mid-tempo jams, this Disc not only is a cut from the same cloth as her first two discs, but a mature progression as an Artist finding that fine balance between showcasing her powerful, emotive pipes in an era where Electronic House and Hip-Hop rule the airwaves.

Teaming once again with Hit God Max Martin, Grande comes armed with a slate of single-worthy offerings including the R&B-Rocker title track, sexy follow-up Into You (a hybrid of previous singles One Last Time and Love Me Harder), reggae-infused Side to Side (ft. Nicki Minaj) and the undeniably-catchy Bad Decisions. Peter Svensson of The Cardigans lends a hand producing/writing melancholic Thinking About You, which is saved for late.

While the abundance of collabos work well here, a pairing with Macy Gray on the moody Leave Me Lonely is a bit of an odd one and if anything puts into context how much more depth Gray is able to inject into a tune emotionally.

What I do like about Grande is that with her there are few gimmicks, radical makeovers or pleas for attention. The Music speaks for itself. We expect a venti-sized airwave domination these coming months from Grande who has never been better. Certainly one of our favourite Discs of 2016 thus far.

Universal Music Canada release DANGEROUS WOMAN, now available on iTunes and in-stores in both standard and deluxe editions.

Check out the new Video for INTO YOU: