Here's What You Need To Know About Ariana Grande's New Album
It’s been a hot minute since Ariana Grande last blessed us with solo music (20 months, to be precise), but the drought is finally over, because #AG6 is coming, and better still, we don’t have at all long to wait (cue the hysteria). Swooping in to save 2020, just days ago the princess of pop casually revealed on social media that she would be dropping a whole new album this month, sending her millions of followers into a fevered frenzy.
Earlier this year, Grande stated in an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe that while she had continued to make music in self-isolation, she didn’t feel comfortable releasing a full record during quarantine. But speculations over her sixth studio album nevertheless ran rampant on the internet, especially after the “thank u, next” singer teased a brief five-second clip of fresh vocals last month.
And thanks to the trail of clues Grande has left in the hours since her big announcement, we now know a little more about the upcoming project — keep reading to find out what the pop star has in store for us this October.
When will #AG6 drop?
Although her initial post merely mentioned “this month” (i.e. October 2020), over the weekend Grande got specific about the exact dates of the premiere by tweeting a link to her website, which has been revamped to display two countdowns: one ticking down to this (!) Friday, October 23, and the other to Friday, October 30. Neither timer is labelled, but they seem to suggest the artist’s lead single will arrive on the 23rd, with the full album ensuing on the 30th.
What is the title of the new album?
Grande’s recent social media activity hints at the title Positions — posting a video of what looks like her own hand typing on a lit-up keyboard, the singer-songwriter slowly spells out the word “positions”. Naturally, fans had a field day with the teaser, deducing that “Positions” is the actual name of the LP or its lead single (or both).
What songs will feature on the album?
Details are thin on the ground at the moment, however, we have reason to believe that one track is called "Nasty". Back in March, Grande shared a short snippet of a never-before-heard song, along with the caption “I miss making things, can’t wait to get back to work”. In it, she croons, “Got me all up in my feels / In all kinda ways / I be tryna wait / But lately I just wanna keep it real”, then “Don’t wanna wait on it / I wanna get nasty / Watchu waiting for?”
Another track might just be a collaboration with Doja Cat — Grande confirmed in her interview with Lowe that she had recorded an as-yet-unreleased song with the "Say So" singer, which she “want[ed] to save for whenever it’s time again to drop”. That time being… now?
Positions is the much-anticipated follow-up to Grande’s thank u, next, which was nominated at the 2020 Grammys for Album of the Year and broke the record for a pop album’s biggest streaming week. It also marks another high note in an already remarkable year for the pop star, who released several smash-hit collaborations this year, including “Stuck with U” together with Justin Bieber and “Rain on Me” with Lady Gaga, making Grande the only artist to have debuted four singles at the top of the Hot 100 list.
