It’s ironic, really, that Brandy should release her seventh record the same year as Ariana Grande decides to completely tweak her voice to become the best candidate for a Brandy impersonator–at least, for the majority of Positions. Featuring a solid fourteen tracks, Grande kicks things off with “shut up,” which is something of her answer to what Madonna did to critics with 1994’s “Human Nature.” With its orchestral string arrangement and Ariana’s angelic voice saying something so “rude” as “shut up,” there is a harmonious dichotomy between the message and the medium that works quite effectively. As Grande spins her own version of “I’m not your bitch/Don’t hang your shit on me,” she asks of her critics and trolls, “How you be spending your time?/How you be using your time?/You be so worried ’bout mine/Can’t even get yourself none/You know you sound so dumb.” It is the perfect way to commence the album as she then leads into the “scandalous” “34 +35.”
For those who can’t do math, that equals “69.” Because what would a record called Positions be without referencing one of the most classic permutations in the history of “sexy time” (a nod to Grande being a Borat fan)? Alas, Grande veers dangerously toward being rather icky à la Lana Del Rey on “Let Me Love You Like A Woman” when she says, “If I put it quite plainly/Just give me them babies.” Not exactly the best way to make sex sound, well, erotic, so much as a mechanical method of reproduction. Luckily, she recovers some of her edge as she continues, “Can you stay up all night?/Fuck me ’til the daylight/Thirty-four, thirty-five” in between alluding to her health and stamina thanks to eating well and drinking caffeine. It’s almost like the white female pop answer to “WAP”–and one could easily imagine Cardi B jumping in for a remix version.
For now, instead of Cardi, we’ll have to settle for erstwhile white supremacist Doja Cat on “motive.” Asking the question every girl wants to know when a “situationship” begins, Grande demands, “So tell me what’s your motive?” before warning, “Might have to curve you if you just can’t talk straight/Say what you mean ’cause you might get it.” Considering how frequently Grande is able to find herself in a serious relationship, maybe she’s onto something with this whole getting straight to the point approach.
“just like magic” commences with a dreamy intro that makes one think automatically of spell casting. As Grande talks of her attractiveness–ergo ability to attract what she wants–the song starts to echo the “I thought you into my life” sentiments of “pete davidson” from Sweetener. Grande, indeed, seems to be a big believer in putting an intention out into the world in order for the universe to kick something back at her. Hence, “Just like magic, I’m attractive/I get everything I want ’cause I attract it.” For those who would call such an assertion narcissistic, if anyone has the right to be so cocky, isn’t it Grande? Plus, to anybody that might “hate” her for this perspective, she maintains her positivity regardless as she shrugs, “Losing friends left and right, but I just send ’em love and light.”
The tongue-in-cheek tone shifts on the next song, for which The Weeknd teams with Grande again–long overdue when taking into account how much both of them love translating lasciviousness into sonic form. Called “off the table,” the slow jam is in keeping with the themes presented on thank u, next (namely “ghostin’”), as Grande questions, “If I can’t have you, is love completely off the table? Do I sit this one out and wait for the next life?” Once again a seeming allusion to Mac Miller, The Weeknd takes on the ostensible position of Grande’s current boyfriend, Dalton Gomez, as he assures, “I’ll wait for you/Even though it always feels like I’ll be number two/To someone you can’t hold anymore.” The Weeknd is also, of course, quick to self-reference with, “I can love you harder than before” and “I was haunted by the hills.” The result is a bittersweet follow up to their first collaboration, “Love Me Harder.”
Grande persists in addressing the issues that stem from her Cancer tendency to jump straight into domestic mode as she makes cuckoo queries on “six thirty” (another evocative title when picturing what that looks like as hands on a clock). Like, “I just wonder, baby, if you’re gonna stay/Even if, one day, I’ll lose it and go crazy/I know this shit kinda heavy/I just wanna tell you directly.” For, despite Grande still being the youthful age of twenty-seven, she’s been through enough to know she doesn’t have time to waste. In many ways, this track serves as the “Cancer anthem” of Positions that “needy” was for thank u, next. It’s also one of the most noticeable “Brandy moments” of the record as she chants, “Are you down? What’s up?” in an intonation similar to Brandy’s 1994 hit, “I Wanna Be Down.”
“safety net” marks the first collaboration between Grande and Ty Dolla $ign (which is sort of surprising since he’s so “down” to jump on any track with anyone). In it, Grande explores a motif that’s starting to get a bit played as she revisits the Pete Davidson phenomenon that happened to her in 2018 as it now applies to Dalton Gomez. So it is that she marvels (again), “You know you really something, yeah/How we get here so damn fast?” Quarantine conditions might have helped in this case, which in and of itself is something of a safety net to keep a breakup from happening sooner, as no one wants to be alone in this climate of being told to isolate. Even so, Grande wonders, “Is it real this time or is it in my head?/Got me tripping, falling, with no safety net.”
For the woman who once bragged, “You like my hair? Gee, thanks, just bought it,” it’s only natural (maybe not the best word choice for referencing Grande’s extensions) for her to have a song called “my hair.” While the entire record has had a mid-90s R&B feel, it is with this particular track that Grande goes her most Mariah Carey circa Music Box while still sustaining that Brandy lilt as she croons, “Know this ain’t usually mе/But I might let it down for ya.” Delivering a missive in direct contrast to Solange Knowles’ “Don’t Touch My Hair,” Grande urges, “Run your hands through my hair/Baby, ’cause that’s why it’s there.”
Carrying on the tradition of Janet Jackson, now Grande also has a song called “nasty”–still more in the spirit of 90s R&B than late 80s dance pop. Doing her Mariah note at the beginning, the slow tempo track comes across as an accurate representation of what Grande has been doing in lockdown (besides recording new music) as she sings, “Swear it’s just right for ya/Like this pussy designed for ya… /Don’t wanna wait on it/Tonight, I wanna get nasty (yeah, yeah)/What you waitin’ for?”
Because Grande is a sensible girl who knows that the west coast is the best coast, she speaks in L.A. geography on “west side.” This is her most Brandy-sounding tone yet, sustaining the slowed down pace of “nasty” while she inveigles, “Show up, now if you’re down, roll up/Meet me on the west side for me.” Her self-confidence is also at a peak here, fueled by the happiness she’s given from her new boo while she touts, “I’m gonna make you want more/I’m gonna be your new favorite/Tell ’em you closing the door/I am the only for sure, baby.” That is, perhaps for a little while until she finds someone new.
The tempo picks up on “love language,” featuring a rhythm reminiscent of the one on Sweetener’s “successful.” An homage to Gary Chapman’s 1992 sleeper hit in pop psychology, The Five Love Languages, Grande is trying to assess her own new lover’s “language” of choice–the classic options being: words of affirmation, quality time, receiving gifts, acts of service and physical touch. For Grande, it’s clear she needs and prefers all five–in addition to “speaking in tongues” (wink wink). Wanting to get it right this time, Grande entreats, “Teach me how to love you/I’m not learning what ain’t right/I want you to keep speaking my love language.” As Selena Gomez did on 2017’s “Bad Liar,” Grande is wont to make a real estate reference in the vein of, “In my room there’s a king size space/Bigger than it used to be/If you want you can rent that place/Call me an amenity.” But real estate metaphors make even more sense for Grande, wanting to riff off Gomez’s (Dalton, not Selena) profession with the outro, “I ain’t tryna sign no lease/I’m just gon’ make you my home.”
The femme-positive “positions,” which serves as the lead track from the eponymous album, remains a standout. The mainstream 2020 anthem to remind men still clinging to Trump that women are many things, but “kept down” isn’t one of them. Discussing her “heart on sleeve” propensities with “obvious,” Grande makes more declarative statements about being awed by and enamored of Gomez. Unable to contain the extent of her emotions, she assures, “Don’t put the bands, put the bands on me/All my love, all my love is free/Ain’t no price on my loyalty/No shit, got me right where you want me, baby/Could I be more obvious?” Not likely. But then, we’ll see if she can be with the next album.
The concluding “pov” is the cherry on top, so to speak, of 1) referring to “positions” (as POV is a category in porn) throughout the record and 2) expressing deep affection for her latest love (in a sort of Taylor Swift on Lover maneuver). A serene sonic tapestry complements Grande’s earnest vocals, here reminiscent of 90s Mariah once more. Wishing she could see herself through the eyes of her love, she trills (while keeping it trill), “The way that you love me for all of my pretty/And all of my ugly too/I’d love to see me from your point of view/I wanna trust me/The way that you trust me…/I wanna love me the way that you love me.” Maybe she hasn’t yet fully learned what she said on “thank u, next” about self-love coming from within. In any case, with Positions added to her oeuvre, Grande might be just one step closer to achieving that. And, if nothing else, she can revert to remembering her self-worth with the lyric from “monopoly” that boasted, “And if they try come stoppin’ me/I show them my discography.”
