Here's Everything We Know About Ariana Grande's Fourth Album

Here's Everything We Know About Ariana Grande's Fourth Album




Ariana Grande fans have no need to cry, as the pop star’s new era is officially underway.


While her fourth album — the follow-up to 2016’s Dangerous Woman — is still very much shrouded in mystery, we have gotten some key specifics and hints about the forthcoming #AG4. So, in celebration of the album's lead single, “No Tears Left to Cry,” and the promise of more music to come very soon, we’ve rounded up everything we know about the album so far.





  1. It’s called Sweetener, and it’s out this summer.



    Throughout an appearance on The Tonight Show on May 1, Grande spilled some exceedingly sweet secrets to host Jimmy Fallon. Most notably, she revealed that her fourth album is titled Sweetener, saying, “It’s sort of about bringing light to a situation or to someone’s life or somebody else brings life to your life. Sweetening the situation.”






  2. “No Tears Left to Cry” is the anthemic lead single



    Grande shared the initial taste of Sweetener on April 20 with “No Tears Left to Cry,” a defiantly joyful celebration of dancing against the odds. “Right right now I’m in a state of mind, I wanna be in like all of the time / Ain’t got no tears left to cry,” she belts over rhythmic, upbeat production. The single art reflects that optimistic spirit, with a rainbow resting across Grande’s eyes. Much to fans' delight, she also released the accompanying, gravity-defying music video, helmed by VMA-winning director Dave Meyers.






  3. She's already revealed the tracklist



    Or at least, part of the tracklist. On The Tonight Show, Grande confirmed the fan theory that her album's tracklist is concealed on a segment of paper in the video for “No Tears Left to Cry.” It’s hard to create out all the song titles in the scene, however they are possibly:


    1. ?


    2. “No Tears Left to Cry”


    3. “Blame” feat. Pharrell


    4. “R.E.M.”


    5. “God is a Woman”


    6. “Successful”


    7. “Sweetener”


    8. “Breathing”


    9. ?


    10. “Borderline”


    Grande confirmed some of the titles on The Tonight Show, revealing that “R.E.M.,” “The Light is Coming,” “God is a Woman,” (her grandma's preference) and “Raindrops” are all titles that made the list. As for what the songs themselves will sound like, everything except “No Tears” remains a mystery.






  4. There are some pretty falsetto harmonies to come



    In a snippet from Instagram posted on New Year’s Eve — her last post before a social media hiatus that just recently ended — Grande harmonizes with herself, sounding like a choir of angels.








  5. “Raindrops” is the album’s oldies-inspired intro



    Grande told Fallon that Sweetener’s beginning track is a cover of a portion of the 1964 song “An Angel Cried” by The Four Seasons. The track has special significance for Grande, who explained, “It’s a really crazy story, actually. … I went go check to be able to see who wrote it. It turns out, my grandfather’s best friend, who I grew up hanging out with in Boca, Charlie Calello, wrote it with Bob Gaudio from The Four Seasons. That just really gave me goosebumps.”






  6. She’s working with two superstar producers



    According to TMZ, half of the songs on the new album were produced by Pharrell Williams, who previously worked with Grande on the Calvin Harris group effort “Heatstroke.” Back in November, Pharrell told WWD, “The Ariana Grande stuff is pretty astonishing. The things that she has to mention on this album, it's pretty next-level.”


    As for the other half of the album? Those songs are reportedly the work of hitmaker Max Martin, the mastermind in back of “Into You,” “Side to Side,” and “Problem” (as well because the aforementioned “No Tears Left to Cry”). In other words, expect some more monster jams on #AG4.






  7. It’s very personal



    Grande reportedly co-wrote each song on the album, and it’s mentioned to be her most “personal” project however. That makes sense, given all that’s happened in the two years since Dangerous Woman. Most famously, her concert in Manchester last year was the site of a terrorist bombing that killed 22 people and injured dozens more. Grande rebounded in stunning style by organizing a star-studded benefit show and by bravely resuming her worldwide Dangerous Woman tour. She had actually began writing her new album before the bombing, and reportedly took some time off to reevaluate the work in the aftermath of the tragedy.


    In September 2017, she told Billboard, “It's been very hard for all of us involved. It could be nice to really hold my loved ones close for a little bit while, stay house for a little. Although knowing me, I’m going to be in the studio because I love it, and I'd like to prepare. I began an album already per year ago, over each year ago, although I'd like to keep creating, and it’s not done nevertheless. So I’m going to take my sweet ass time, so I’ll be rested and willing to go again any time possible.”






  8. There would be a collab or two



    Dangerous Woman boasted four different features, also it looks like Grande’s new album might have at least one or two as well. The aforementioned tracklist hints at a possible collab with Pharrell, and fans have speculated that fellow pop vixen Dua Lipa would make an appearance as well. Grande and Lipa were photographed together earlier this year, along with a couple of weeks ago, a alleged snippet of their collab surfaced online.


    For all we know, though, that rumored duet could appear on Lipa’s second album, which she’s currently working on. Right considering that, we know Grande’s already recorded a song for Troye Sivan’s forthcoming album, so she clearly has features on the brain.






  9. These new songs could “define” her

    Getty Images


    Grande’s manager, Scooter Braun, told Variety that the new album has a more mature sound, and that it’s packed with “big vocal moments” that would be career-defining: “It’s time for [Ariana] to sing the songs that define her ... Whitney, Mariah, Adele — any time whenever they sing, that’s their song. Ariana has big vocal moments; it’s time for her song.”


    As if that wasn’t an exhilarating enough tease, Grande’s pal Colleen Ballinger (a.K.A. Miranda Sings) reportedly said in a Q&A that she’s heard some of the album and that “your wigs are gonna be gone.” Arianators, you’ve been warned!













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