mxoonlight Posted July 9 Posted July 9 1 minute ago, ariananext said: I disagree, you can see that she's handling her musical career differently and that she has a newfound passion. She could've done a Positions type of roll-out and re-release but she literally run to the studio after she was done with the MET Gala, she had a proper release week with high profile appearances, and is currently talking about a well done re-releases. This era has a lot of thought put into it creatively. However, I think she's just over it and I've learned to just appreciate what we get because she doesn't owe anybody anything, she's not a career-focused person and when you accept that you'll start to appreciate everything she does a lot more. I'm aware of this and if I was exorbitantly rich, I wouldn't be either. I don't want it to seem like I hate the output, I just think she should and can be doing better. The thought of being charged rent payments to see the bullshit she did with TBIM on Fallon in person BOILS the blood and I'm still going to try to do it anyway lol. It is what it is and I'm fine with being a passive viewer if I'm ruining the party since it's unlikely she'll ever do anything like this again if she had it her way.
mxoonlight Posted July 9 Posted July 9 (edited) 3 minutes ago, KasioKas said: Ms. @mxoonlight is making some points but not too much on my TBIM remix, it slaps and will hopefully continue to gain on radio. It's cute!!! I just don't like the way they blended the beginning. Brandy and Monica should have had the full second verse to themselves rather than the weird overlay! Edited July 9 by mxoonlight
State of Grace. Posted July 9 Posted July 9 (edited) 19 minutes ago, mxoonlight said: I don't want to compare her because anyone trying is still emergent so it'd be apples to oranges, she's solidified so she gets to do whatever she wants (and she should), but like, I really don't think TBIM was done right, she hasn't had an interesting interview since Zane Lowe, she gave her best performance to a group of elites behind closed doors and they're still not going to vote for her to win a Grammy or an Oscar. The only thing that has been completely 10/10 no notes for me is WCBF because she didn't sully it with a poorly mixed remix and the music video was genuinely perfect. I get the frustration with TBIM rollout because it's a fan fave and we all wanted it to smash, but I honestly don't see what else could be done for it. Radio adds, a MV, a remix with two of her idols and paying homage to the OG, a late night show performance..that's kinda as good as it gets for a post-album release nowadays. Maybe because I have lowered my expectations lol. SNL was excellent and arguably one of her best performances imo. The lack of performance is very annoying, but then again there hasn't been any relevant awards show for her to perform at. I would maybe love a VEVO presents special like she did for Positions and YT10 but idk if her schedule allows it. As for the interviews, I actually thought Podcrushed and Shut Up Evan (which I'm currently listening to as we speak) were really fun, interesting, and revealed some stuff that we usually don't get in regular interviews. She sounds much more mature and at peace with her life/career. She just mentioned on this new podcast that she's "interested in the long haul" instead of throwing everything at once, so I believe she intends to keep the era going until next year with the mini tour. Edited July 9 by State of Grace. 4
duybeeGAshantiGA Posted July 9 Posted July 9 (edited) I mean if the AOTY noms are all the pop girls (Bey, Tay, Ari, Billie, Sabrina, etc.) and 1 make sneaked in. Highest chance that the girls' votes will split and the male will take it. It's the Grammys after all they are going to have another Beck / Harry Style / Jon Batiste this year I think. Edited July 9 by duybeeGAshantiGA
mxoonlight Posted July 9 Posted July 9 (edited) 23 minutes ago, State of Grace. said: I get the frustration with TBIM rollout because it's a fan fave and we all wanted it to smash, but I honestly don't see what else could be done for it. Radio adds, a MV, a remix with two of her idols and paying homage to the OG, a late night show performance..that's kinda as good as it gets for a post-album release nowadays. Maybe because I have lowered my expectations lol. I'm just being a jaded bitter ***** but I'm fine with that, it's honestly been way worse being her fan before so these silly hang ups that are completely subjective to everyone's experience are totally fine with me. It's just the idea she sat in the studio with Max Martin recording a song that sounds like 2000's Ciara cut more than it ever sounds like The Boy Is Mine by Brandy and Monica and she did not think at all to do a STEP of choreography is what really pissed me off. Yet you've allegedly been dancing every day in rehearsals for two years #OKAY - you saw Victoria eat that video and you decided to put on the cat ears/sympathy fro because you lost the sauce. Bye pony. People would be all over this had the video or the performances met the song and it's really annoying to me because it is my favorite song off of the album and yet it's going to be staged weird on the tour I'm not going to get tickets to and have a random aesthetic that doesn't match the music. This is why I respect Gaga for keeping the music and movies/associated soundtrack songs mostly separate because she lets those delusions live separate lives and her fans know what mode she's in relation to the project she's doing. The weird Judy Garland/high end oh I'm a popstar but I'm actually an actress performance is not blending well for me and I wish she'd have just committed fully to one or the other and that's making the effort not match the moment. The charts and how it lands in the zeitgest or whatever really don't matter to me because I'm the one streaming it, but like that's why it is giving what it's giving IDK. It just feels off. It feels like mostly fanservice rather than like… moving us forward, which this album and the sonic excellence it is really shouldn't be struggling to do. Edited July 9 by mxoonlight
ariananext Posted July 9 Author Posted July 9 I do hope she performs at the VMAs serving a great performance of TBIM. Since she's there she should do a long performance with a medley of songs.
State of Grace. Posted July 9 Posted July 9 (edited) 1 hour ago, mxoonlight said: I'm just being a jaded bitter ***** but I'm fine with that, it's honestly been way worse being her fan before so these silly hang ups that are completely subjective to everyone's experience are totally fine with me. It's just the idea she sat in the studio with Max Martin recording a song that sounds like 2000's Ciara cut more than it ever sounds like The Boy Is Mine by Brandy and Monica and she did not think at all to do a STEP of choreography is what really pissed me off. Yet you've allegedly been dancing every day in rehearsals for two years #OKAY - you saw Victoria eat that video and you decided to put on the cat ears/sympathy fro because you lost the sauce. Bye pony. People would be all over this had the video or the performances met the song and it's really annoying to me because it is my favorite song off of the album and yet it's going to be staged weird on the tour I'm not going to get tickets to and have a random aesthetic that doesn't match the music. This is why I respect Gaga for keeping the music and movies/associated soundtrack songs mostly separate because she lets those delusions live separate lives and her fans know what mode she's in relation to the project she's doing. The weird Judy Garland/high end oh I'm a popstar but I'm actually an actress performance is not blending well for me and I wish she'd have just committed fully to one or the other and that's making the effort not match the moment. The charts and how it lands in the zeitgest or whatever really don't matter to me because I'm the one streaming it, but like that's why it is giving what it's giving IDK. It just feels off. It feels like mostly fanservice rather than like… moving us forward, which this album and the sonic excellence it is really shouldn't be struggling to do. The lashings This could have been avoided if ponytail filmed a dance video or even recorded some TikTok doing some sexy choreo Also, sis you should take a look at the Gaga base. They have it x100 worse than us here. If anything its Chromatica that felt like pure fanservice because her ass wasn't even into it. I think Ariana has been managing the popstar/actress combo pretty well so far, but we'll see once the Wicked era officially starts. It is totally normal to feel off about her "IM AN ACTRESS!" era, especially since she does sound more excited/enthusiastic about the films (which is understandable seeing how its a literal dream role). Edited July 9 by State of Grace. 1 1
mxoonlight Posted July 9 Posted July 9 9 minutes ago, ariananext said: I do hope she performs at the VMAs serving a great performance of TBIM. Since she's there she should do a long performance with a medley of songs. yes, and intro, tbim slightly abridged and we can't be friends (wait for your streams) as everyone is moved to tears and falls to their knees at the closing strings i'll take everything back i swear!!! 1
genio Posted July 9 Posted July 9 US Spotify #53 (+9) We Can't Be Friends #154 (+12) The Boy Is Mine Global Spotify #22 (+1) We Can't Be Friends #113 (=) The Boy Is Mine Intro on Spotify #19 (+2) Malaysia #48 (+3) Philippines #48 (+2) Singapore #71 (+3) Indonesia #140 (+1) Vietnam Very nice gains! 1
Gerardo Posted July 9 Posted July 9 Now what the hell is going here anyways I'm like 99% sure she's going to the VMAS, the only times she didn't go when she was on an album cycle was TUN (because of tour) and Positions (era was practically over and she was auditioning for wicked), she even performed just for ROM also, a GoldDerby insider said she was one of the most submitted artists at the VMAS, and another two people picked her to be Video Of The Year nominee, they also sent the boy is mine to best r&b which is an easy win, I don't see how she decided not attend specially because it's over two months before Wicked's premiere 1
Tm4074 Posted July 9 Posted July 9 (edited) 5 hours ago, mxoonlight said: That's why she's doing it, though. "I'm doing literally anything" is supposed to be cheered because the opposite is doing nothing. TBIM single run was a joke, both remixes were botched and WCBF promotional campaign should have been longer. I'm not asking her to do Scooter work because I'm not a delusional sixteen year old that started stanning her during Tuna. I know what she's capable of and it just feels like she's underdelivering and I'd rather her just focus on the movie if that's where our energy needs to be. The music is not why she's leaving the house and it seems like she's doing this to pacify you guys rather than move the approach to her as a musical act forward. Which is fine but like You make some solid points. Although I don't think it's she doesn't care about the music, but her rollouts have been terrible and she's not the best at capitalizing during the right time. Kinda ironic since she used to be so good at that but she seems...out of practice lol. I feel like they have no real strategy. I love this album and I think she's putting in effort but I agree she's not really challenging herself in the music space. I love a good reference but she needs to wrap it up with the references. Don't get me wrong I think her music videos this era are some of her best in terms of performance, quality, etc. but in terms of pursuing original creative ideas she's not pushing herself forward much. This is me being very nitpicky though so overall it's not that big of a deal. I think she will take more risks with AG8. However I am kinda over this Glinda persona tbh. I get she's excited for Wicked but they are hyping it up so much if it doesn't meet those expectations the backlash is going to be huge. I hope it delivers... In terms of Grammys - She's going to be like Justin Bieber during the Justice era. Get nominations for AOTY/ROTY/SOTY/Pop Vocal/Pop Solo/Pop Dance/R&B Performance/Pop Duo and likely go home empty handed again. Unless they throw her Pop Dance Recording or something. I was initially thinking she could beat Billie for BPVA but not so much anymore. Billie had the much better rollout, timing, and the album has strong legs. Ariana doesn't campaign or kiss ass like Billie/Taylor do so her chances to win are slim. Billie will likely win BPVA and Sabrina has a good shot to win Pop Solo for Espresso/PPP. They usually don't reward "new" artists like Sabrina who are doing that type of music but she does have the biggest pop hit this year by a large margin. Crazy that Sabrina could potentially have almost as many Grammys as Ariana. It's comically ridiculous how under-awarded Ariana is. They did this same **** to Mariah back in the day. She was stuck at only 2 Grammy wins until TEOM era...16 years into her career and they were 3 r&b genre category wins. Edited July 9 by Tm4074 1
Saud Posted July 10 Posted July 10 She is definitely getting nominationS in the scammys, especially AOTY. The grammy's won't pass the chance to get all the big names in the ceremony, especially how woman dominated this year. + wouldn't be shocked if they expand the AOTY category (for this year) to ensure they show up. i can see WCBF being her strongest contender to a win. + if the deluxe is superior i can see her snatching pop vocal album. This era has been amazing and so much fun and so much forward to look for! I'm happy she found the passion again!
knewbetterpt2 Posted July 10 Posted July 10 (edited) I don't think TBIM was a misstep by any means. Ariana is the only pop girl milking a third single this deep into the post-album roll out, something we've wanted from her for a while! The drive is still fully there she's just matured her image a bit. Demanding sexy dances to "meet the music" is such a strange take to me lmao. I remember seeing her on the last leg of the sweetener tour boozing herself up in order to deliver said sexy choreo and it wasn't healthy or comforting to watch as a fan. This is who she is in present form and if you've been following since day one she hasn't really changed all that much, and if she has, it's been solely for the betterment of her character and career. Her aesthetic this era has been consistent in paying homage to the legends and movies that she was raised on. Which, if you think about it, is the perfect recipe for where she's at in her career with Wicked incoming. This era has been such a fun ride so far, the album still feels fresh on every play, we've been getting new surprises from her routinely, she's shining during her interviews and SNL-Fallon-MET performances. She's feeding us beyond compare and it doesn't feel fanserviced to me, it feels like an artist that's mastered her craft coming into her own, finally!! now when is that deluxe due sis? Edited July 10 by knewbetterpt2 4
judasmonster Posted July 10 Posted July 10 So far a lot of grammy predictions are ruling out Ariana for any wins and even nominations, but I feel she can pull through in the end and they will surprise us. She has a strong narrative again, she managed to use this album to take back her power in the media a bit and actually shifted the home-wrecker image people put on her (even tho there's still a few toxic ppl out there). She's being very consistent with her promo and doing everything she can to keep this album in conversation compared to some of the other girls, I feel that will pay off in the end.
Danny1021 Posted July 10 Posted July 10 14 hours ago, State of Grace. said: If this aint me after she released Positions Sis if this era sucks then...who exactly is serving a good era in your opinion? Outside of Brat, all pop girl eras are the pits. Beyonce...crickets. Taylor dropped her album and moved on to continue her tour. Billie also hasn't been doing much since her album's release and her MVs were boring. Dua's era is a mess and half after serving the best era of the decade in 2019-2022. Idk, the only girls working their asses of are the newbies Tate/Sabrina/Chappell/etc which makes sense. Few months ago in the base we were expecting her to drop the album in March then disappear until Wicked release but I feel like we've been eating pretty well? Did anyone expect 3 (excellent) music videos with more content coming? Girl brat is garbage album too. & Tate hasn't released anything recently? What u talkin about? only girls who are giving us music & a good era is Ariana, Sabrina, Chappell, Madison Beer, Tyla, & Katy seems like she's gunna give us a good era too
genio Posted July 10 Posted July 10 4 hours ago, knewbetterpt2 said: I don't think TBIM was a misstep by any means. Ariana is the only pop girl milking a third single this deep into the post-album roll out, something we've wanted from her for a while! The drive is still fully there she's just matured her image a bit. Demanding sexy dances to "meet the music" is such a strange take to me lmao. I remember seeing her on the last leg of the sweetener tour boozing herself up in order to deliver said sexy choreo and it wasn't healthy or comforting to watch as a fan. This is who she is in present form and if you've been following since day one she hasn't really changed all that much, and if she has, it's been solely for the betterment of her character and career. Her aesthetic this era has been consistent in paying homage to the legends and movies that she was raised on. Which, if you think about it, is the perfect recipe for where she's at in her career with Wicked incoming. This era has been such a fun ride so far, the album still feels fresh on every play, we've been getting new surprises from her routinely, she's shining during her interviews and SNL-Fallon-MET performances. She's feeding us beyond compare and it doesn't feel fanserviced to me, it feels like an artist that's mastered her craft coming into her own, finally!! now when is that deluxe due sis? I don't think it is a misstep at all as well, I just think it should've been the lead, so more people could've seen its potential. It could have been the Promiscuous of the 2020's. But yeah, I'm glad she made it a single at the very least, gave us a PERFECT music video with great actor and a fantastic remix with two r&b legends. The song is also performing better than POV did so far, which is already a step into the right direction. It doesn't have to be a huge smash, but it seems to be performing similar to Breathin' (Top 20 peak, nice radio gains, cute streaming numbers and fan favorite). She already has had two #1's this era, so it's fine. I guess she wants to move on to another single with the deluxe and that's alright. TBIM you will always be the most iconic song of the era. 2
genio Posted July 10 Posted July 10 (edited) Playing the album from start to finish again right now and it still sounds very fresh. I know it's been out for only a couple of months, but after overplaying some songs, I still don't get tired of them. I never did a ranking and review here, so let me do it: Spoiler intro (end of the world) 8/10 - a nice opener. Not her best, but good (ME + SLU /P-D intro clears) bye 8/10 - fun song, used to love it more, but I still think it's a fun track don't wanna break up again 7/10 - it's cute, but I'm not THAT much into this, still wouldn't skip it eternal sunshine 7.5/10 - sweet title track, but it's no TU,N and definitely no Positions supernatural 9/10 - very euphoric and the Troye remix is great as well. It's like the Touch It of the era True Story 9.5/10 - fantastic r&b!!! The Boy Is Mine 10/10 - one of the best songs of all time!!!!!!! yes, and? 7.5/10 - could've been her own Vogue, but it turned into some gay friendly radio fodder a la BTW (and that's fine) We Can't Be Friends 8/10 - a very cute pop midtempo-ballad. Reminds me of Anti-Hero for some reason I Wish I Hated You 7/10 - nice ballad, the sounds in the back are interesting Imperfect For You 6/10 - it's an alright to cute track, not really my strongest cup of tea but the SNL performance elevated it for me Ordinary Things 4/10 - no comment Overall: 8 - it's a great album, you have something in there for every kind of Ariana fan. You have the excellent pop songs, the r&b bops, the typical Ari ballads, some kind of family or friend voice notes and there's always 1 or 2 songs that make you want to go to bed. This album is kind of safe and while she didn't really push herself out of her comfort zone and gave us something COMPLETELY different, she still gave us exactly what we want as fans. I'm saying completely different, because to me this album is still different then her previous ones and don't sound the same (as some haters would say). That's why it was never a big problem to me that she didn't dive into very different sounds and genres. The highs of the album are not as high as the ones from Sweetener for example, but overall I would put the album in the same category as Sweetener, because the lows aren't as low as the ones on Sweetener. The era overall is also one of her best tbh. We got Mariah Carey, Brandy & Monica remixes, great performances on Jimmy Fallon & SNL, also a very cute interview with Zane Lowe, high budget music videos (although I am not a huge fan of the YA? mv, but the other two are amazing). Commercially it's also doing very well, to be fair. Its commercial performance is not as good as Positions and Thank U, Next, but it's doing better than Sweetener, which is already a plus, since the Sweetener era was also a success. I guess it is somewhere in the middle between Sweetener and Dangerous Woman in terms of commercial purposes. If you consider the fact that she has been in the industry for 14 years and making music for 11 to 12 years and is on her 7th album now, this is more than fantastic. Lead Singles: Positions > Thank U, Next > The Way > Problem > No Tears Left To Cry > Yes, And? > Dangerous Woman Albums: Positions > Thank U, Next > My Everything > Eternal Sunshine = Sweetener > Dangerous Woman > Yours Truly My favorite Ariana songs ever: 1. Positions 2. 7 Rings 3. God Is A Woman 4. The Boy Is Mine 5. Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored Also, this is incredibly underrated and should be tagged into the deluxe version for sure, alongside the Mariah remix (I am not the biggest fan of the Mimi remix, but come on you have Mariah Carey on a song, so she better tag that into the deluxe version as well). Edited July 10 by genio
Funnyfatty Posted July 10 Posted July 10 I just listened to the TBIM remix and its SO GOOD! Brandy sounds so cool on it. The only thing i got weirded out by was that the song is too long for an Ariana song
KasioKas Posted July 10 Posted July 10 (edited) 10 hours ago, knewbetterpt2 said: I don't think TBIM was a misstep by any means. Ariana is the only pop girl milking a third single this deep into the post-album roll out, something we've wanted from her for a while! The drive is still fully there she's just matured her image a bit. Demanding sexy dances to "meet the music" is such a strange take to me lmao. I remember seeing her on the last leg of the sweetener tour boozing herself up in order to deliver said sexy choreo and it wasn't healthy or comforting to watch as a fan. This is who she is in present form and if you've been following since day one she hasn't really changed all that much, and if she has, it's been solely for the betterment of her character and career. Her aesthetic this era has been consistent in paying homage to the legends and movies that she was raised on. Which, if you think about it, is the perfect recipe for where she's at in her career with Wicked incoming. This era has been such a fun ride so far, the album still feels fresh on every play, we've been getting new surprises from her routinely, she's shining during her interviews and SNL-Fallon-MET performances. She's feeding us beyond compare and it doesn't feel fanserviced to me, it feels like an artist that's mastered her craft coming into her own, finally!! now when is that deluxe due sis? This read as a label insider or ariana's team defending every era decision thus far, no shade I don't particularly agree with the "coming into her own finally" comment as if Ari hasn't been her genuine self and spoken up for herself at moments in eras past;; and if she was younger and chose to be the sexy pop star and drink occasionally (idk why you felt the need to mention this, she wasn't drinking to become sexy idk how u got there? did she say this somewhere?) that's her perogative, it was fun and successful and we're all too quick to dismiss the good times back then. Also I don't think@mxoonlight is making "demands", a great choreo video for a very obviously sassy toungue-in-cheek song like TBIM couldn't hurt and isnt "strange", She clearly felt sexy enough to don a cat suit!. If she's more comfortable being toned down now that's simply maturity that comes with age and that's fine, but let's not forget she's a pop girl at heart. Personally love the tbim video but people calling for a different vibe aren't wrong, it's a valid critic. Edited July 10 by KasioKas
duybeeGAshantiGA Posted July 10 Posted July 10 6 hours ago, genio said: I don't think it is a misstep at all as well, I just think it should've been the lead, so more people could've seen its potential. It could have been the Promiscuous of the 2020's. But yeah, I'm glad she made it a single at the very least, gave us a PERFECT music video with great actor and a fantastic remix with two r&b legends. The song is also performing better than POV did so far, which is already a step into the right direction. It doesn't have to be a huge smash, but it seems to be performing similar to Breathin' (Top 20 peak, nice radio gains, cute streaming numbers and fan favorite). She already has had two #1's this era, so it's fine. I guess she wants to move on to another single with the deluxe and that's alright. TBIM you will always be the most iconic song of the era. Totally agree. TBIM (+TBIM remix ft Brandy & Monica) would have been a multi-week #1 not that 1 week #1 no, and. 1
knewbetterpt2 Posted July 10 Posted July 10 43 minutes ago, KasioKas said: This read as a label insider or ariana's team defending every era decision thus far, no shade I don't particularly agree with the "coming into her own finally" comment as if Ari hasn't been her genuine self and spoken up for herself at moments in eras past;; and if she was younger and chose to be the sexy pop star and drink occasionally (idk why you felt the need to mention this, she wasn't drinking to become sexy idk how u got there? did she say this somewhere?) that's her perogative, it was fun and successful and we're all too quick to dismiss the good times back then. Also I don't think@mxoonlight is making "demands", a great choreo video for a very obviously sassy toungue-in-cheek song like TBIM couldn't hurt and isnt "strange", She clearly felt sexy enough to don a cat suit!. If she's more comfortable being toned down now that's simply maturity that comes with age and that's fine, but let's not forget she's a pop girl at heart. Personally love the tbim video but people calling for a different vibe aren't wrong, it's a valid critic. She has spoken out about her drinking problem during the Sweetener TUN era numerous times, I was not implying she drank to become sexy lmao. No one is dismissing any of the said good times, but dwelling in them and praying for a version of her that's dead and gone isn't exactly progressive thinking either. And maybe I am an insider! 1
KasioKas Posted July 10 Posted July 10 (edited) 34 minutes ago, knewbetterpt2 said: She has spoken out about her drinking problem during the Sweetener TUN era numerous times, I was not implying she drank to become sexy lmao. No one is dismissing any of the said good times, but dwelling in them and praying for a version of her that's dead and gone isn't exactly progressive thinking either. And maybe I am an insider! you very clearly said "boozing herself up in order to deliver said sexy choreo" and i just thought it was a weird take, as if a woman cannot be sexy without alcohol , but if she has indeed attributed alcholism to her raunchier moments in an interview prior then fair play, I'd like to see it. Also saying there is any one 'version' of ariana and that it is "dead and gone" is a weird take, she's not a saint now... the glinda-fication of Ari recently has really got some some of you fooled, she's not just one thing, no one is. Edited July 10 by KasioKas 1
HausofAri Posted July 11 Posted July 11 Supernatural is too good to not be a single. I don't care if it flops to oblivion. It deserves a push at least. 1
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