Imagine this: your life is water…and let’s be real. You’re basically at your boiling point. Sweetener is a bag of sweet, rainbow tea.
Listening to this album is like immersing this bag of rainbow tea into boiling water. Every note is slowly drawn out in a swirl of colour. You take a sip, and it’s weighty, yet light and sweet as can be.
Ariana Grande elevates sweetness from an idea, to an attitude for life. In her universe, God is a woman, resilience rules all, and lightness overcomes darkness, always.
Her resolve to sweeten life is not without a dark catalyst. I’m sure you know of the bombing that took place outside her concert in Manchester last year. Sweetener is Grande’s first record since the tragedy. The after-effects of Manchester ripple through the album, providing a strong sense of purpose. Every song seems engineered to uplift, doing so in both bold and nuanced ways.
Sweetener opens with a strong vocal statement. The interlude is an acapella cover of Frankie Valli’s ‘An Angel Cried’, showcasing the incredible vocal power we know and love from Grande. This being said, the overall sound of the album favours the charismatic, melodic delivery of her lower register. With a polished and bouncy feel, booming bass notes, glittery rhythmic embellishments, and the awe of Grande’s layered background harmonies, Sweetener signifies a fresh start for Grande, both sonically and personally.
The boldness of Sweetener is most present in the divine empowerment of ‘God is a woman’ (When all is said and done/You’ll believe God is a woman) and the confidence of ‘Successful’ (Yeah, it feels so good to be so young/And have this fun and be successful). This confidence is elaborated into further clarity and understanding with ‘Everytime’ (They keep telling me to let go/But I really don’t let go when I say so) and ‘better off’ (I’m better off without him/I’m better off being a wild one), both about the resolve to break away from a disappointing love.
The nuance of Sweetener is present in tracks reveling in the lightness of love such as ‘R.E.M’ (Boy, you’re such a dream to me) and ‘Sweetener’ (Say, I don’t know what I’d do without you in my life/It’d be so sour). The album also celebrates resilience in ‘Breathin’ (Don’t know what else to try, but you tell me everytime/Just keep breathin’) and ‘No tears left to cry’ (Ain’t got no tears left to cry/So I’m pickin’ it up). The album closes with ‘Get well soon’, a masterpiece hailing self-care and mental health. This final track ends on a reflective note with 40 seconds of silence, bringing the duration of the song to 5 minutes and 22 seconds as a tribute to Manchester, which occurred on the 22nd day of the 5th month of 2017.
Void of anger, Sweetener is an urgent yet wonderfully at-ease dedication to the people she loves. In the wake of Manchester, this record is a beautiful, sweet catharsis and a testament to the value of music. Give it a taste, absorb the nutrients, and let it colour your world.
