Ranking every Ariana Grande lead single before she drops the next one

I sort of forgot that Ariana Grande was a pop star. Not only a pop star, but for the tail end of the last decade arguably the biggest pop star on the planet. Thank U, Next in particular broke streaming records globally and made Ariana one of the most streamed artists of all time. But in recent years, the music career of Ariana Grande has taken a backseat beyond the odd feature in favour of Ariana Grande the makeup businesswomen and Ariana Grande the movie star. For the past few years since her last album, 2020’s Positions, Ariana Grande stated she would make no new record until filming wrapped on Wicked – the long awaited movie adaptation of the musical that’s coming in two parts and sees her star as Glinda alongside Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba. Wicked’s boxed off now, and slowly but surely Ariana began to tease pictures in the studio – with Max Martin no less. Yes, And looms – and so with the new one on the horizon, I ranked all the other Ariana Grande lead singles as the hype BUILDS.

6. Problem (My Everything, 2014)

Nothing says 2014 more than an abrasive horn instrumentation and a “featuring Iggy Azalea.” The 10 years that has now passed – yep, a full decade this year – since Problem released have not been kind to it. Back in the day, I was insufferable with this song. I thought it was potentially the most fun thing that had ever hit my ears. It’s still not bad. Honestly, Ariana hasn’t really had any bonafide misses when it comes to her leads, but it’s My Everything’s full-pelt menace that sounds the most tired. Iggy certainly doesn’t help matters.

5. positions (Positions, 2020)

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Positions is the peak of Ariana in her what I would call “can’t be arsed” pop era. Obviously, she is arsed – but her music is doing the most to sound breezy and laidback that she comes across like she can’t be arsed. Compared to her first four records, her later two are significantly less oomph-filled and have more of an emphasis on vibes than being PAWP. She’s had huge commercial success here, but in my opinion, it makes the most recent era of Ariana less special. She has one of the best voices ever, and here phones it in. Where’s the diction? Where’s the it-factor?

That being said, Positions the song is actually one of my highlights of this specific era. Its biggest crime is being inoffensive, but it’s certainly not a bad tune and it’s easy to see why it racked up the streams. The kind of song your sister who obsesses over Love Island might think is life-changingly good.

4. The Way (Yours Truly, 2013)

After the pure hell and horror of Put Your Hearts Up in 2011, the first ever Ariana Grande song that she and everyone else despises and that she wisely pretends never existed, The Way signals the first ever true arrival of Ariana Grande: Future pop superstar. It’s the lead single to your first ever album that pop princesses can only dream of. Featuring the late Mac Miller, who Grande would go on to date a few years later, the two trade verses like they were made to do it. The Way never sounds immature even when some of Yours Truly does – it has a throwback 90s manner that feels fresh over 10 years later. The perfect Ariana Grande intro – and still to this day even if this was a ranking of more than just lead singles, I’d get it ranked within the top 10.

Celebrating her debut album’s 10 year anniversary last year, Ariana sang The Way live in London and I can’t think of a finer demonstration of how well this excellent song still holds up.

3. Dangerous Woman (Dangerous Woman, 2016)

If James Bond ever decided it wanted to slay (beyond Bond girls), Dangerous Woman is the theme for it that never was. A big departure from the Ariana sound of yore when it dropped in 2016, Dangerous Woman sounds like an icon singing with a point to prove. Where her first two records fell all over the place vibe wise, something shifted with Dangerous Woman – and this song acts as the lead and the title track. The mic was ON – and it still sounds cool as fuck now. The guitar riffs ALONE – whew.

The vibe Ariana goes for here could veer into corny, but never does. It’s menacing, it’s sexy, it’s big.

2. thank u, next, (Thank U, Next, 2018)

Thank U, Next was more than just a lead single – it was a cultural juggernaut that threw the pop girl rulebook out the window. Barely three months after the release of her fourth album Sweetener, Ariana Grande dropped Thank U, Next – a brand new lead single that namechecks her exes after a highly publicised split from her fiancé Pete Davidson. The song instantly became the most talked about thing not just in music, but in pop culture in general. A Mean Girls inspired music video amplified that intro stratospheric heights. All that, and deciding to start a new album era mere months after you release your previous album causing the music industry to freak out a bit about “traditional eras”. A bold and game changing move.

Not just is it highly personal to Ariana, but it’s a great song to boot. Catchy beyond belief. If you don’t get it, you just had to be there.

1. no tears left to cry (Sweetener, 2018)

No Tears Left To Cry is special. The first song Ariana Grande released following the tragedy of the Manchester Arena attack in 2017 – which took place during Ariana Grande’s Dangerous Woman tour stop at the venue – I think the world wondered how Ariana would sound when she eventually felt ready enough to release music after what happened. The result? No Tears Left To Cry – a thoughtful, moving song that isn’t a ballad, but an ode to healing and moving through trauma. The way her voice glides over a UK garage influenced beat and the way she crafted a song that sounds like nothing else she’s done before is still so worthy of wowing over six years later.

When it comes to Ariana Grande lead singles ranked, there’s nothing else for the top spot. She hasn’t sounded so at the forefront of innovating a cool pop sound since she dropped this – let’s hope Yes, And can change that.

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