Ariana Grande: Why Sweetener Stirred Up Mainstream Fame

There’s a good chance that you have heard of Ariana Grande’s album titled “Sweetener.” This wasn’t by accident; this album was literally everywhere you turned your head. It appeared on YouTube advertisements, billboards, Instagram and all over Twitter feeds. This albums’ publicity was going to make it a success since the moment it was officially announced in June of 2018. There are a plethora of factors that went into why this album was marketed so well through media, how it reached you, why it was so hyped up, what made the album work and why you listened to it when it came out. I wouldn’t consider myself a fan of Ariana Grande, I can recognize that she has quite an amazing voice—one of the best female vocalist of our generation, however, I was never really into her music. Despite that, as soon as her album came out I opened up my Spotify and listened to it… But why? 

People Start Talking 

The album was announced somewhere in June of 2018 with Ariana Grande posting pictures on her Instagram. She posted snippets of her upcoming singles in the album and photo shoots relating to the album cover and upcoming music videos. This got people talking. Many artists often try the tactic of building up anticipation for an upcoming single and/or album. They do this by posting pictures on social media with minimal captions that don’t make sense out of context to provoke discussion.

In the comments fans will speculate theories about new album themes, singles or collaborations; this gets people talking which in turn gives the musician publicity. It’s kind of like warming up the pan on the stove before you put the food in, you want the pan to get hot first. Ariana continued to drop hints on her social media, first announcing the single of “No tears left to cry” with teaser pictures and videos on Instagram. Following that, songs featured on the album like “God is a Women” and “The light is coming” were teased on her instagram platform as well. Ariana had posted a video on Instagram with no caption of her singing along to a song where Nicki Minaj is spitting a verse on a new beat. This indicated that Nicki Minaj was going to be featured on Ariana Grande’s album; this would will bring a whole other demographic of Nicki fans anticipating the album’s release. 

The marketing team behind Ariana’s album promotion made a smart move by having her post pictures of behind the scenes of her music videos to keep people talking in between singles and the final release of the album. In the music industry is essential to keep the pan hot, so to speak, because new singles and artists come out every day. It’s hard to grab people’s attention for long amounts of time, even as a big artist like Ariana Grande. 

Along with teaser trailers on Instagram and other platforms, merchandise started coming out promoting the album as well. This is a tactic that isn’t new. It is used by people in the movies, television, sports, youtube and other business industries. However, this method of promotion is very successful and profitable. There’s no surprise that merchandise assisted in the promotional aspect of the album. 

The Sweetener’s Recipe

The purpose of all the promotion for this album was creating a following and anticipation for the albums’ release. Once the album released on August 17, 2018 it blew up! Now the hard part comes in for an artist and a label. The promotion and marketing is the easy part, the challenge is whether or not the audience thinks the album itself lives up to the hype. It’s not difficult to create an eye catching design, intriguing trailers and aesthetically pleasing photo shoots, but when it comes down to it, talent and content is what really matters. There were several reasons as to why the construction of the album made it so successful. 

The album starts off with “Raindrops (an angel cried)”  which offers a soft, echoey A Capella ballad emphasizing the artist’s outstanding vocals for 38 seconds. Many musicians try to do intro tracks to an album that as stand-alones aren’t feasible. However, this soft ballad can be used as an intro to the album as well as a song put in a playlist. Every song on this album can be listened to as if it was a single. The album structure also has no songs that aren’t playable on the radio. Ariana provides a wide range of tracks that are all intriguing to the ear and radio friendly because they’re all upbeat. Even the last track “Get well soon” offers a audibly engaging sound fit for radio play, although it’s a more emotional track.  

The contents of the album itself was a great mixture of meaningful songs, as well as easygoing dance and hype music. Songs like Blazed, The light is coming, Borderline, Sweetener, Successful, Pete Davidson and Every time offer complex beats and groove that can be danced to with your friends. On the other hand, songs like R.E.M, Breathin, Better off, Goodnight n go and Get well soon have an appealing beat but strong emotional meaning behind them. In songs like those, the Ariana’s choice of topics were big contributors as to why the songs were so highly anticipated and successful. For example the song “Breathin” was inspired by the struggles of people with anxiety disorders, it reminded them to just keep breathing. The song “Get well soon” was a tribute to those who lost their lives in the Manchester bombing during one of Ariana’s concerts. The song “Better off” and “R.E.M” offers complex love related circumstances that many can connect to. Not only did her album consist of fun tracks but also provided deep meaningful connections to the listeners. 

Ariana also jumped on the bandwagon of the Trap craze in the music industry. This album consisted of R&B influenced instrumentals along with Trap vocal techniques and style. Ariana also capitalized on the publicity and media craze surrounding her engagement with Pete Davidson by naming one of the tracks after her then fiance. The song “God is a woman” stirred up a lot of controversy because it was thought to be a part of the feminist movement, thereby making a political statement. 

One of the biggest contributions to the hype of the album was its features. This album featured Pharrell Williams, Nicki Minaj and Missy Elliott, all respected and successful musicians in the music industry. Collaborating with Pharrell Williams, a very successful artist as well as producer, for the album was a intelligent move on Ariana’s part. In addition to that, having the album produced under Republic Records practically ensured quality and reputability since a well-known name. 

The Media is the New Hype Man

The difference now compared to back when albums were released on vinyl and played on a record player amongst family and friends, is the media. Now strangers in countries all over the world can put their two cents in. Reviewers on YouTube, music blogs and average people on social media have the ability to make or break any musician’s record. Large music blogs gave Ariana Grande’s album overall outstanding reviews. Pitchfork gave an 8.1 out of 10 saying “After years of searching, Ariana Grande has found her true voice. Sweetener is an exemplary pop album, radiating with low-key joy and newfound love.” Rolling stones gave 4 out of 5 stars claiming Sweetener was the “best album yet, and one of 2018’s strongest pop releases to date.” The line of best fit gave her an 8.5 out of 10 and said the artist was “a spoonful of sugar in an otherwise sour world.” Consequence of sound, with a more aggressive approach said “It’s rare for an album with so many stunning moments to suddenly become so aggressively mediocre. Still, the highs of Sweetener outweigh the lows. But with such lofty highs, it’s hard to be content with the album that is and not think about what the album might have been.” 

The internet has allowed for the music industry to become extremely more accessible, however, vastly more competitive. Repetition throughout media is one of the biggest reasons why the album was so successful. I remember I saw this record constantly all over Instagram, Twitter and YouTube feeds. Just like in Netflix when you see the same movie popping up over and over again eventually you watch it because it was recommended to you so many times. That’s what this album did, it was in your face until you couldn’t avoid it. When you finally did listen to it, the content caught in your eye for a multitude of reasons. Whether or not you were in touch with the events surrounding Ariana Grande like her engagement, the Manchester bombing and her struggle with anxiety disorder, you can still appreciate some aspects of this album.