With the debut of Positions atop the Billboard 200, Grande earned her fifth number one album in the United States. adult contemporary radio as the third single. In 2021, the album was promoted by a series of performances of its tracks, presented by Vevo, and the release of " POV" to U.S. All 14 tracks on Positions charted simultaneously on the Hot 100, with the second single, " 34+35", arriving at number eight on the chart and peaking at number two, following the release of its remix with Doja Cat and Megan Thee Stallion. The song was her third Hot 100 chart-topper in 2020, following " Stuck with U" and " Rain on Me". The title track was released as the lead single, which debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100 and marked Grande's fifth number-one single in the United States, making her the only act with five number-one debuts on the chart. Publications ranked the album on various year-end best albums lists of 2020. Upon release, Positions was met with generally favorable reviews from music critics Grande's vocal performance was often praised, though the album's lyrics and production style drew criticism. Doja Cat, the Weeknd, and Ty Dolla Sign appear as guest features, alongside Megan Thee Stallion on the deluxe edition. Musically, it expands on the trap-infused R&B and pop sound of its predecessors, Sweetener (2018) and Thank U, Next (2019). Positions is built around themes of sexual intimacy, romantic devotion and endearment. Recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic, Grande worked with numerous producers on Positions, including frequent collaborator Tommy Brown, accompanied by longtime co-writers Victoria Monét and Tayla Parx. ![]() Grande created the album with focus on her vocals, while its subject matter conveyed emotional healing. ![]() It was released by Republic Records on October 30, 2020. “I don’t criticise,” he adds, leaving a pause to give himself a pat on the back.Positions is the sixth studio album by American singer Ariana Grande. “Where are you now when I need you most?” he mopes on the title track, while on slow-burn opener Alone Again you can imagine him padding mournfully around his apartment as he sighs: “I don’t know if I can be alone again.” Unfortunately, this being a Weeknd album, there are still moments of misogyny, specifically on the bloated Heartless, which seems like self-parody, and the risible, nearly six-minute epic Escape from LA, in which he details having very boring-sounding sex in a studio with women who have all had the “same work done on their face”. Even when he’s apologising or looking for reconciliation, however, it’s always to serve him and him alone. The featherlight, Limahl-esque Save Your Tears, meanwhile, offers up a hint of self-reflection. On the widescreen expanse of the excellent Faith he croons, “thought I’d be a better man but I lied to me and you” in his best choirboy voice. ![]() The album opens with a suite of songs that show a scintilla of remorse for failed relationships that never seemed to make it beyond the bedroom. Lyrically, he ventures into new territory too, albeit briefly. Just as those early mixtapes were buffeted by blog-friendly samples from the likes of Beach House and Siouxsie and the Banshees, the Phil Collins-esque ballad Scared to Live soars over a hilarious sample from Elton John’s Your Song, while new single In Your Eyes struts around a refreshingly uncool sax solo. Rather than sticking out like a sore thumb, the glorious 80s synthpop explosion of lead single Blinding Lights – No 1 in the UK for five of the last six weeks – blends in nicely with the album’s nostalgic palette of shape-shifting synth workouts, tactile minimalism and (on Too Late and Hardest to Love), splashes of drum’n’bass and UK garage. The agile After Hours might be his best attempt yet at fusing the two.
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