Ariana Grande: Armed & Dangerous

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Image: idolator.com

“Something bout you, makes me feel like a dangerous woman,” are the words slithering out of Ariana Grande’s plump pink coated lips. Her third album titled Dangerous Woman branches away from her past musical endeavors as Ms. Grande is now a full grown woman, although she remains at a tiny 5′ 0″ tall with a net worth of $25 million.

Grande has been doing pop right since day one; catchy lyrics, a hop on the EDM wagon, pop synths for days, and flawless harmonies. Dangerous Woman is a lethal album, torching every other pop sound in the way. With the help of musical God Max Martin, who’s worked with almost every pop artist in the game (Maroon 5, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, etc),  Grande’s album is destined for success.

Add guest artists like Lil Wayne, Future, Nicki Minaj, and Macy Gray, and the album becomes a show of who can Ariana NOT sound good with. She pushes her musical limits mixing more dance/hip-hop/r&b elements than we’ve heard from the singer before. She also keeps her vocal runs we so desperately crave i.e. “Dangerous Woman,” “Be Alright,” and “Greedy.”

Not only is the album a slice of musical heaven, but the advertising behind it was brilliant in every way. Ariana had originally planned on calling her album Moonlight, then decided to change the name to Dangerous Woman, highlighting the changes she’s gone through over the past year. After posting pictures and quotes of dangerous women in history to motivate, fans became more excited for the album. Her style shifted to more of an edgy vibe; something that suits her well. The cover artwork for Dangerous Woman is Grande in a black latex cat face mask, showing a sexier side of the singer.

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Image: urbanislandz.com

It’s very easy to put Grande in a category with every other pop star, but we shouldn’t. Woman is proof of her own sound; romantic pop. Each song takes you on a gorgeous journey through love and relationships. She swoons over her crushes, pain, and longing for real love. “Thinking Bout You” takes on the theme of loss as Grande sings, “I don’t have you here with me, but at least I have the memory.” Her voice couldn’t be more impeccable if she tried. Everything about Dangerous Woman is an addicting force in the music world.

Ariana Grande: The reincarnated pop Queen our kingdom has been longing for.

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Girl Crush: Ariana Grande

Her latest single, “Dangerous Woman” makes Ryan Seacrest want to “slither.” 

Image: thedailytwist.com

“Made my decision to test my limits, cause it’s my business, God as my witness, start what I finished, don’t need no hold up.” Ms. Grande’s sexy feminine voice pulls us in again with her lead single off her new album, Dangerous Woman. Fans originally thought the album would be named Moonlight, well, not anymore friends. Grande launched the official website for the album a couple weeks ago along with minimalist-style sweatshirts and shirts for sale with “dangerous woman” written on them in classy Times New Roman.

Check it out: http://www.arianagrande.com/ 

It seems like just yesterday we were dancing to “Love Me Harder” and “One Last Time” and now we have even more new music from the singer. Dangerous Woman is destined to be perfect. We already know of a collaboration with Lil Wayne called “Let Me Love You”, which should be interesting…Macy Gray is also set to make a feature on the album. Grande debuted her new music on SNL last weekend performing “Dangerous Woman” and her single coming tonight titled, “Be Alright” that fans have been DYING to hear ever since she teased it on her Snapchat several months ago. “Alright” seems to take on all the right Ariana cues; a little R&B, a lot of airy vocals, and a slight dance feel.

Grande recently stopped by On Air with Ryan Seacrest to talk about the new musical phase in her life saying, “The album is definitely the next step for me…it feels like a more mature evolved version…the whole body of work is a little darker and sexier and more mature.” After listening to “Dangerous Woman” and “Be Alright” I can only imagine how magically empowering the rest of the album will be.

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gif: giphy.com

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A GRANDe Christmas!

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Photo via: thisisrnb.com

In case you missed it…Ariana Grande really likes Christmas. Last year we got the fun “Santa Tell Me” and the year before that she released, Christmas Kisses -EP. Ariana’s voice was made for some sultry carols and airy harmonies, which is what we hear on her EP, appropriately titled, Christmas & Chill. Fans are already loving the holiday vibes!

With a total of six songs, Grande puts her gorgeous vocals to good use, singing about mistletoe, kisses, and well… you get the idea.

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Photo via: hngn.com
Ariana Grande recently said on Twitter that the EP was made in a week, which is insanely impressive, considering the overall production of these songs. The beats are infectious, reminding you of the classic pop/R&B Ari that we all love. “December” has a sexy tone to it with Grande singing, “I just wanna keep my baby warm through the wintertime”. While “True Love” plays with some light hip-hop in the cutest way.

I will definitely be listening to this as I make cookies, decorate the tree, wrap presents, and pretty much anything else Christmas related. Hell…I’ll keep listening to this for the next three months.


Abbey

Twitter: @bloggingblondie

Instagram: Blondieandthebeat  

 

 

 

Ariana Grande concert!

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Over the weekend I had the pleasure of seeing Ariana Grande LIVE and it was everything I hoped it would be and more! Not to mention the best early birthday present ever! My friends and I walked into the stadium through a flock of 10-13 year olds wearing their blinking Ariana cat ears (which were $40…no thanks…hello DIY). We grabbed a pretzel, tried to wait in the merch line…then decided to skip it and head to our seats. We were in the stands but had a perfect view of the stage in its entirety. The show start to finish is a massive production. Gorgeous lights, clear sound, fantastic choreography, and incredible visuals were everywhere during The Honeymoon World Tour. It’s easy to see that everyone on this team work day in and day out to make the show perfection every single time its done.

An almost 20-song setlist provided fans with the best Ariana playlist you could imagine, even playing her Major Lazer song from The Hunger Games, “All My Love”, her older unreleased track “Pink Champagne”, and a perfected cover/mashup of “I’m Every Woman/Vogue”. She talked to the crowd a couple times reminding everyone of how cute they are and expressed how thankful she is that everyone came to see her perform. There’s no doubt Ariana Grande will go down in history as a pop diva.

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Most of the time she was strutting across the stage in her white sparkly Louboutin’s as her thick flowing hair bopped around to her every move. She kept up with the choreography while belting out every note even better than you hear it coming out of your car speakers. It’s almost as if she downplays her singing on her CD’s and then blows the roof off every venue when she performs them live. Grande makes every song sound effortless in the most angelic way. I was almost waiting for her to grow wings and fly back to the magical place she must’ve come from, because a voice like hers is truly one in a million.

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Slower more sentimental songs like, “Honeymoon Avenue”, “Tattooed Heart”, and “My Everything” showcased her voice even more, and brought serious tears to my eyes. A sweet homage to her late grandfather brought the rest of the fans to tears as his voice was heard through the stadium giving Ariana words of encouragement for the rest of her life. Grande’s show start to finish was personal in the coolest ways.

Outfit changes, chandeliers, large clouds, sparks, confetti bombs-it’s safe to say Grande literally had it all. She was the epitome of a pop princess on a world tour. The bigger the better.

The spark-tastic finale feature the Queen herself.
The spark-tastic finale feature the Queen herself.

-Abbey 🙂

Spring Playlist!

I’m sure not all of you have been experiencing an absolutely brutal winter like I have, but let me tell you… I have never looked forward to spring as much as I am this year. The constant scraping of my car and 15 layers a day walking to class are as annoying as it gets. Not to mention the dirty muddy floors of every entrance way making me fear my life every time I slightly slip.

Me walking to and from class every day...
Me walking to and from class every day…

So what do I do to get over my winter blues? Sit in my warm bed, drink some tea, and listen to music. I feel like I haven’t shared what I’ve been listening to lately, so I thought I would update you guys as to what’s on my “Spring Playlist”.

1.) “Treat Me Like Fire” by Lion Babe. Just found this duo recently and totally dig their vibes. R&B infused with some killer beats, add some seriously sexy vocals and I am hooked! Also check out “Jungle Lady”.

2.) “Dream” by Imagine Dragons. One of my favorites off their new album “Smoke and Mirrors”. The song is absolutely beautiful start to finish, complete with the always heart pounding ID drum beat and Reynolds’ vocals cutting through to the very core of every human heart.

3.) “All Day” by Kanye West feat. Theophilus London & Paul McCartney. You guys…I’ve been raging to this song at the gym ever since it came out. Yes, it is laced with profanity, but that’s just Yeezy at his finest. There are so many dope elements to this song and it also happens to be sitting proudly at number 1 on iTunes. This only gets me more psyched to hear the new album.

4.) “We Don’t Have to Take Our Clothes Off” by Ella Eyre. I was watching another music video and this song was playing on a laundry commercial of some sort, I stopped what I was doing immediately and looked the song up. Eyre resembles a slightly edgier Adele with endless vocal runs and classic piano accompaniment. Yes, this is a remake from the late 80’s. HERS IS SO MUCH BETTER.

5.) “Play No Games” by Big Sean feat. Chris Brown & Ty Dolla $ign. Sean’s whole album is pretty epic to say the least. His lyrical content is way beyond anything he’s ever done before. I think this song should be on the radio IMMEDIATELY. It would do so well, and I really hope he makes it a single. Brown seems to have a way with radio hits…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvPeyVhHDvg

6.) “I Caught Myself” by Paramore. This song was on the first Twilight soundtrack and for some reason I forgot it existed for the longest time and recently I have been obsessing over it again. The guitar is so mesmerizing and Hayley’s voice is on the verge of pleading and it couldn’t be more angelic.

7.) “One Last Night” by Vaults. I plucked this from the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack as one of my favorites off the album. The string section truly makes this song as delicate as it is. With such powerful lyrics, the sense of beauty dangles around the hidden agenda of love.

8.) “Adore” by Cashmere Cat feat. Ariana Grande. Who’s that? Nobody knows, but now we do. Holy hell, Ariana’s vocals are spot on as usual. The best part? The song stays true to Grande’s musical form mixing R&B and hip-hop beats to create a perfect pop song as her high notes weave interchangeably throughout the entire three and a half minutes.

Hopefully these songs drag you out of the snowbank and into the flower bed. March 20th can’t come soon enough…

This is what my dreams look like right now.
This is what my dreams look like right now.

-Abbey