base talk Was positions half-arsed?

[truthteller]

i always consider it as a b-side / leftovers from previous sessions / quarantine mixtape sort of project so YUH.

[Mtjjproducer]

it's one of her better albums

 

1. TUN

2. DW

3. Positions

4.Sweetner (just the Max and Tommy tracks)

5. Yours truly

6. Sweetner (the Pharrell tracks)

7. My everything

[wastedpotential]

It's a lot of undercooked filler beats with lyrics that try to be provocative but just come across weak

[americanlife]

Not at all. It’s not a perfect album but many songs from it are aging much better than thank u, next. The whole second half eats TUN up!

[ariananext]

2 minutes ago, Eglė said:

That makes sense. I just feel like she didn’t even really care about the album or the era, she just dropped it, shot some music videos and called it a day, whereas with her previous records, I think she was more invested in the eras themselves. 

 

And the fact that she ventured out into other businesses, such as her make-up brand, or The Voice, makes me feel like she’s lost her spark or interest in music/being a popstar.

She didn't care about Thank U, Next either, it was her biggest album yet and all she did was perform Thank U Next on Ellen and Billboard Women in Music - because she was Woman of the Year and had to perform, and well, obviously the Grammys but that was a whole year after the release so it wasn't much of a promotional thing anyway. She hasn't done a single interview for Thank U Next and Positions bar Zach Sang because they're real life friends. She hasn't been that invested in an era since Sweetener - which leads us back to the fact that since Mac passing she stopped caring, she was promoting hard until the day before he left, after that day she didn't really go out for anything. 

 

I think any Ariana stan that has really followed her journey knows that Positions is the album that she's been wanting to make since the beginning - whether they appreciate it or not-, and that she finally got to make because her label gave her complete freedom after Thank U, Next - an album that she created with her friends in two weeks and which got no traditional roll-out or input from the label - took her to the next level. It's not a coincidence that she made a project which is very similar to Thank U, Next/Positions back in 2015 (Christmas & Chill), and it got no support from her label because she had to make dance-pop music at the time.

 

As for the last part, I don't think she cares much about REM Beauty considering she has done nothing compared to the other pop girls who own a make up brand. They're making Vogue videos while she's making unstaged get-ready videos with a random Youtuber with no big following or badly edited instagram reels. The Voice was just a quick gig to make some money in a dead year. I don't think she's lost interest in music or she ever could, she's been singing since she was born and I've never seen anybody as passionate as her in music. The pop star thing? Of course, she's said that herself, she's said multiple times how she hated her breakthrough eras because they forced her to promote her music everyday and she was depressed all the time + how she thinks it's unfair that women have to go through the typical roll-out everytime they have an album ready, which lead to her just releasing whenever she felt like the product was ready (hence Thank U, Next single coming out on a Sunday with no music video). 

 

Spoiler

Grande was criticised for not being fully committed to the promotional cycle, with fans noting her absence from the usual roster of American talk shows. Facing mounting criticism, she tweeted that album promotion “destroyed my mental health and was horrible for me”

 

[Sweet Sexy Savage]

12 minutes ago, ariananext said:

She didn't care about Thank U, Next either, it was her biggest album yet and all she did was perform Thank U Next on Ellen and Billboard Women in Music - because she was Woman of the Year and had to perform, and well, obviously the Grammys but that was a whole year after the release so it wasn't much of a promotional thing anyway. She hasn't done a single interview for Thank U Next and Positions bar Zach Sang because they're real life friends. She hasn't been that invested in an era since Sweetener - which leads us back to the fact that since Mac passing she stopped caring, she was promoting hard until the day before he left, after that day she didn't really go out for anything. 

 

I think any Ariana stan that has really followed her journey knows that Positions is the album that she's been wanting to make since the beginning - whether they appreciate it or not-, and that she finally got to make because her label gave her complete freedom after Thank U, Next - an album that she created with her friends in two weeks and which got no traditional roll-out or input from the label - took her to the next level. It's not a coincidence that she made a project which is very similar to Thank U, Next/Positions back in 2015 (Christmas & Chill), and it got no support from her label because she had to make dance-pop music at the time.

 

As for the last part, I don't think she cares much about REM Beauty considering she has done nothing compared to the other pop girls who own a make up brand. They're making Vogue videos while she's making unstaged get-ready videos with a random Youtuber with no big following or badly edited instagram reels. The Voice was just a quick gig to make some money in a dead year. I don't think she's lost interest in music or she ever could, she's been singing since she was born and I've never seen anybody as passionate as her in music. The pop star thing? Of course, she's said that herself, she's said multiple times how she hated her breakthrough eras because they forced her to promote her music everyday and she was depressed all the time + how she thinks it's unfair that women have to go through the typical roll-out everytime they have an album ready, which lead to her just releasing whenever she felt like the product was ready (hence Thank U, Next single coming out on a Sunday with no music video). 

 

  Hide contents

Grande was criticised for not being fully committed to the promotional cycle, with fans noting her absence from the usual roster of American talk shows. Facing mounting criticism, she tweeted that album promotion “destroyed my mental health and was horrible for me”

 

I agree with all of this as this is her experience and I could never, but damn it surely does feel like she’s slowly losing interest. 

[ariananext]

2 minutes ago, Sweet Sexy Savage said:

I agree with all of this as this is her experience and I could never, but damn it surely does feel like she’s slowly losing interest. 

It obviously does, her loving making music =\= her loving being a global music artist. She could be making music and not releasing anymore, who knows considering we haven't heard from her since 2020 and we don't know what her plans are. I feel like she links her fame with her traumas, TUN being so successful when she was at her lowest, My Everything being so huge taking her being miserable vs. her being her happiest when she's home and away from the public. 

[supertiffany]

1 hour ago, Jjang said:

It’s filled with quality bops. You tripping. 

aside from positions, 34+34, pov, and motive what are other bops?

[Jjang]

1 minute ago, supertiffany said:

aside from positions, 34+34, pov, and motive what are other bops?

nasty, obvious, my hair, west side, love language, safety net 

[saintspice]

why’d i like the deluxe tracks more than the actual album tracks and those felt pretty half baked

[Gerardo]

No, but the era was, she hasn’t cared about an era since Sweetener and that one was cut short due to obvious reasons, she never keeps going with an album cycle for more than a few months 

She also never has a concept that she follows, she just makes a bunch of songs and realizes they all sort of fit together and gives it a track list and an aesthetic, that she won’t even keep exploring cause she’ll abandon the era very quickly 

[Gerardo]

10 minutes ago, supertiffany said:

aside from positions, 34+34, pov, and motive what are other bops?

The album is great aside two bad tracks, and other two corny/meh tracks 

[Marianah Adkins]

The album, honestly no. Its very underrated and is actually aging like fine wine lately. 10y from now, ppl will appreciate the understatedness of this album

 

Now the era…it wasnt even half arsed at all, girl just dropped it and dipped (save for the occassional obligatory MV and the VEVO thing she did- which she should do more imo)

[channel orange]

what you said in the op is definitely not true, the album is cohesive and there’s a clear storyline throughout the whole tracklist. i guess the pop/r&b/trap/lo-fi sound is not extremely exciting for pop fans but that doesn’t make it less enjoyable for people who want to hear Ariana build upon sweetener and thank u, next

[Cherish]

6 minutes ago, channel orange said:

what you said in the op is definitely not true, the album is cohesive and there’s a clear storyline throughout the whole tracklist. i guess the pop/r&b/trap/lo-fi sound is not extremely exciting for pop fans but that doesn’t make it less enjoyable for people who want to hear Ariana build upon sweetener and thank u, next

What storyline is there? I like the album but I’m genuinely curious

[jjmed59]

the music itself was excellent. the safety net > my hair> nasty >west side> love language >positions>obvious>pov run is INSANE. 

 

everything else pertaining to the era? she didnt even quarter a** it lmfao

[dirrtydiana]

idk about half assed just by looking at her record the outro for the lead single shows she worked a lot on this album

 

maybe the promo and the fact that she didn’t tour is half assed but I think she took part of a concept and sound that she liked on the last 2 and evolved it from there 

[ariananext]

11 minutes ago, Cherish said:

What storyline is there? I like the album but I’m genuinely curious

The storyline starts with Sweetener and ends with Positions so far. In Sweetener she celebrates healing from Manchester and discusses the ups and downs of the process while being in a toxic relationship (No Tears, Successful, Sweetener, Goodnight n Go / Breathin, Get Well Soon, Everytime, Better Off) 

 

In Thank U, Next she has a relapse after Mac's death, she discusses the fact that she will never find love again, her issues with fame, with falling in love too quickly and her personal struggles.

 

In Positions she seems to be ready to find happiness again, in Just Like Magic she discusses her new habit of meditating, she wonders if she can find love again after her trauma (Off The Table) and the fear of being let down again (// and Safety Net), closing it with POV, when she finally opens herself up to love again, wishing that she can find peace with herself too. 

[JCsNumba1Fan]

It’s my least favorite album, but the lead single is perfection. 

[ZIVERT]

The whole thing just felt like an afterthought. If she kept it to herself a little longer and created more standout tracks, maybe I would have enjoyed it more. But it does seem like she’s taking her time for the next one, so I’m excited for that

[raven]

The era was half-arsed but the album itself is her most cohesive and probably my favourite of hers. I feel like it's going to get more appreciation as time goes on. 

[supertiffany]

48 minutes ago, ZIVERT said:

The whole thing just felt like an afterthought. If she kept it to herself a little longer and created more standout tracks, maybe I would have enjoyed it more. But it does seem like she’s taking her time for the next one, so I’m excited for that

 

this.

same with sweetener, there are great tracks but the fillers are so bad and lacks the melody.

[channel orange]

3 hours ago, Cherish said:

What storyline is there? I like the album but I’m genuinely curious

a relationship that starts with a hookup and progresses onto something deeper while she goes through the different emotions in the middle of the album. it’s not a Jane Austen novel but there’s a clear narrative in my opinion

 

Spoiler

fling/careless fun - 34+35, motive, just like magic

falling in love/anxious - off the table, six thirty, safety net

coming to terms with it - my hair, nasty

taking it to the next level - west side, love language

loving relationship - positions, obvious, pov

 

[tost1]

I always get that feeling with arianas music, maybe cause of her voice. I still bop tho so it dont matter

[Rev8]

U are literally not the only one

This forum has been hating on it since it came out, plss

 

 

it's more like that the album isn't as bad as yall make it out to be lmao