Ariana Grande originally teased the track “positions” in September with a snippet of harmonies, with the caption ”brb.” Fans grew excited, catching the parallel to her “see you next year” post in 2018, months before Grande released the “Sweetener” album. 

One month later, Ariana Grande’s Twitter and Instagram filled with tweets hinting towards her sixth album. 

On Oct. 14, she tweeted “I can’t wait to give you my album this month.” Three days later, she posted her typing  “positions” on a keyboard and two countdowns under the word, giving a name to AG6. 

Grande dropped the single and its music video on Oct. 22. The song is sultry, the lyrics remind me of the “Dangerous Woman” album and the musical structure of “God Is a Woman.” 

This track is completely different from the leading singles of her previous albums, “Sweetener” and “thank u, next.” Both “no tears left to cry” and “thank u next” were personal, marking two different shifts towards healing. Unlike the two former tracks, the song “positions” is less personal, simply singing about flexibility within relationships. 

But despite the suggestive title “positions,” the album takes listeners through the universal experience of accepting imperfect, flawed love. 

Of course, the album does consist of two raunchy bops. “34+35” and “nasty” are two upbeat hits that immediately caught my eye when I first read the tracklist. After all, I’ve been looking forward to “nasty” since the singer dropped a snippet back in March. 

However, there is more to focus on than eyebrow-raising titles for songs she made for fun. There are meaningful gems on this project that deserve an equal amount of attention. 

On the track “my hair,” Grande expresses intimacy, using her own hair as a symbol. In a Zang Sang interview, she explains the connection from the signature ponytails she shares with the world to the head of curls hidden underneath, only visible to those she would allow to run their hands through. 

In “six thirty” Grande sings about transitioning from crushing to a relationship. After weighing pros and cons of the relationship in each verse, she asks “Are you down like six thirty?” in the chorus. Which is brilliantly referring to the position of both hands’ on a clock when displaying 6:30. 

Unlike most of the songs on the album that revolve around actually being in a relationship, one track steers away from that narrative. “just like magic” is a hit to play throughout the day to maintain tranquil energy. In this song of good karma and positive affirmations, Grande reminds us that we “ get everything [we] want” through the law of attraction.

Playing the dreamy “pov,” my favorite track of this album and “off the table” back-to-back is a totally different experience than listening in their chronological album order. They both revolve around common fears and worries when love comes around.

Grande and The Weeknd show a relationship where one feels undeserving of love. In the chorus of “off the table,” Grande sings, “I just wanna know is love completely off the table?” The Weeknd’s verse is a comforting response to the insecurities that everyone wants to hear. 

“pov” shows the aftermath of accepting love despite the fears spoken in “off the table.” It’s often harder to accept and give yourself the love that is given to other people. She sings about having a partner that sees, accepts, and loves all of her and how she is also “learning to be grateful” for herself. 

Grande reveals new sides of her with every album release, and this album was no different. “positions” is a collection of universally relatable pieces about acceptance and even falling in love, no matter if you’re scared of it. Outside of brilliant lyrics and dreamy beats, it’s refreshing to see Grande in a state of healing.