Sweetener
by Ariana Grande
  • Record Label: Republic
  • Release Date: Aug 17, 2018
User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 3093 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,340 out of 3093
  2. Mixed: 204 out of 3093
  3. Negative: 549 out of 3093
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  1. querinx
    Nov 15, 2018
    10
    álbum íconico né mores, ariana rainha sempre arrasando e pisando nas ratas.
  2. dislexicpotato
    Nov 2, 2018
    1
    Absolutely horrible album, the one point is for Breathin which is a great song.
  3. Dsros96
    Oct 29, 2018
    3
    Honestly a let down. After her masterpiece Dangerous Woman this is a step back. Almost every song is uninteresting. The singles are the best songs: No Tears Left To Cry, God Is A Woman and Breathin.
  4. imaginetruly
    Oct 23, 2018
    10
    $(3(3($+$)+$)+$)jdljsldksldjpdkdljeldjslsklsjdldjdkjdkdkdkkdkdkdkdkdkkdjdkdkdkdkdkdk
  5. rafaelgrande919
    Oct 17, 2018
    10
    She's best album
    And the best of 2018
    RollingStone say :
    Ariana Grande’s ‘Sweetener’ Proves That Trap Is the New Pop
  6. MaikelGAri
    Oct 12, 2018
    10
    Lo mejor de Ari hasta ahora, sin tanta promocion,nha logrado ser mejor que sus antiguos 3 albumes
  7. thienluan
    Oct 9, 2018
    7
    When the triple threat "No Tears Left To Cry" - "The Light is Coming" - "God is a Woman" came out, I was really excited for this album to be released. However, I was disappointed. The songs on the album are just great, but the production has been ruined by Pharrell Williams, except those tracks that were produced by Max Martin and Ilya. You can see that Ariana Grande's team is very smartWhen the triple threat "No Tears Left To Cry" - "The Light is Coming" - "God is a Woman" came out, I was really excited for this album to be released. However, I was disappointed. The songs on the album are just great, but the production has been ruined by Pharrell Williams, except those tracks that were produced by Max Martin and Ilya. You can see that Ariana Grande's team is very smart as they have released almost all the songs that weren't made by Pharrell as singles. The only 2 songs that were produced by him that I can enjoy on this album is TLIC (as I mentioned) and R.E.M.… Expand
  8. SuchiB14
    Oct 4, 2018
    2
    The album is actual crap. That is just a euphemism. The bubble gum beats make me want to puke, her singing is overrated, clearly average and her lyrics are as simple as a baby's vocabulary. However, 'Sweetener' is perfect for 12 yr old girls and the features do raise the album's quality a slight notch. There are one or two average to good songs, but one or two songs do not make an album,The album is actual crap. That is just a euphemism. The bubble gum beats make me want to puke, her singing is overrated, clearly average and her lyrics are as simple as a baby's vocabulary. However, 'Sweetener' is perfect for 12 yr old girls and the features do raise the album's quality a slight notch. There are one or two average to good songs, but one or two songs do not make an album, and the bar for pop artists has clearly dropped off a cliff if critics are going to suck Ariana's dick like displayed by their overly kind reviews. Anyway its a 3 out of 10 from me and a recommendation to all of those who may read this to listen to other more talented artists.… Expand
  9. thunderjohnny
    Sep 30, 2018
    10
    An amazing album with an amazing production ! In my opinion the best i’ve heard from her and the best album i’ve heard this year!
  10. deanjacobson_
    Sep 29, 2018
    8
    A very solid work of art that was compounded by the commercial and musical success of every single on the album. Featured notable contributions from established artists and the artist tracks delivered well. The album, however, lacked consistency and, despite being a shift in Ariana's nature, was somewhat messy. A great album overall.
  11. schubert1992
    Sep 26, 2018
    5
    pharrel ruined the album and borderline was the worst collaboration and song
  12. adrien20
    Sep 25, 2018
    10
    A real good, creative and personal album. Congratulations! Breathin, God is a woman, Get well soon and REM are probably my favourite tracks!
  13. JosephTrem
    Sep 19, 2018
    8
    Grande is expanding her music style, and the result is sweet pop recipe that goes beyond modern pop standards.
  14. RoyRunt
    Sep 16, 2018
    7
    Sweetener has solidified itself to be one of the many important albums that will go down in music history. With Ariana's sweet voice and creative mind, she can either make herself sound like a dream (R.E.M) or a full choir (God is a woman). However, Pharrell Williams' produced songs (Blazed, R.E.M, The Light is Coming, Sweetener, Successful, Borderline and Get Well Soon) were weak, withSweetener has solidified itself to be one of the many important albums that will go down in music history. With Ariana's sweet voice and creative mind, she can either make herself sound like a dream (R.E.M) or a full choir (God is a woman). However, Pharrell Williams' produced songs (Blazed, R.E.M, The Light is Coming, Sweetener, Successful, Borderline and Get Well Soon) were weak, with the exception of Get Well Soon. The production of the said tracks weren't on par with the rest of the songs produced by Max Martin and the like, receiving mixed reactions because of how small the impact is but personally, he did fair. However above all things, we can respect Ariana Grande's decision to experiment and for me, it is a good experiment.… Expand
  15. Lopesito27
    Sep 16, 2018
    7
    Definitely accomplishes it's sweet premise, but it disappoints considering Ariana's trajectory. Many tracks on this album offer a well-produced and well-written sweet mature tracks but it also has tracks with average writing and messy production that make really hard for the listener to be able to enjoy the first listens and some others just don't do enough to differentiate from an averageDefinitely accomplishes it's sweet premise, but it disappoints considering Ariana's trajectory. Many tracks on this album offer a well-produced and well-written sweet mature tracks but it also has tracks with average writing and messy production that make really hard for the listener to be able to enjoy the first listens and some others just don't do enough to differentiate from an average pop radio song.… Expand
  16. fabiannn
    Sep 14, 2018
    10
    This is the album where Ariana goes from a talented pop star to an artist, an icon in music and society, she is here to stay.
  17. nickixkingdom
    Sep 14, 2018
    4
    the album disappoints in lyrics, I expected to see the dark moment of Manchester in a powerful ballad, the production is crap for pharrell, its worst album at the moment.
  18. sweetenericonic
    Sep 9, 2018
    10
    Grande's best album yet! R&B/Pop perfection as well as her as her most personal. Very beautiful songs.
  19. jcgmalave
    Sep 7, 2018
    6
    half of this album sounds like madonna's hard candy thanks to pharrel, thats not bueno
  20. joshdkaye
    Sep 6, 2018
    4
    Ariana's voice sounds a lot fuller in this album compared to her others. The first few tracks are some decent bangers, and I started to realise why the album was rated so highly by critics. But the album takes a nosedive very quickly. Too many tracks and she doesn't sing with enough emotion. Catchy in parts though.
  21. u137288reddit
    Sep 5, 2018
    8
    Okay, let's get this out of the way. Borderline sucks and is a waste of Missy Elliot. However, everything else on this album ranges from good to great. The production is a change for Ari, but still bops, as do her vocals
  22. Hotnicks
    Sep 5, 2018
    4
    I can tolerate about 40% of this album hence the 4 out of 10 ranking. I don't know if she was experimenting with her sound or truly believed the album was good?? And Pete Davidson as a track title?!? That's more permanent than a tattoo.
  23. danielfonseca
    Sep 5, 2018
    9
    Este álbum é diferente do que a Ariana costuma fazer habitualmente. Sweetener é um album que contem musicas felizes e melodicas ao nivel pop e logo aí tem muito a ganhar por ser um album completamente diferente ao que estamos habituados no mundo da musica. A única coisa negativa que me chateia é o facto do album ter menos tempo do que o habitual e haver uma musica com 30Este álbum é diferente do que a Ariana costuma fazer habitualmente. Sweetener é um album que contem musicas felizes e melodicas ao nivel pop e logo aí tem muito a ganhar por ser um album completamente diferente ao que estamos habituados no mundo da musica. A única coisa negativa que me chateia é o facto do album ter menos tempo do que o habitual e haver uma musica com 30 segundos(raindrops) outra com 1:15(Pete Davidson) e aqueles 40 segundos mudos na ultima musica.....acho que no fator tempo a Ariana tem um pouco a perder neste album. Quanto menos musica fizer, tambem menos erros dá.… Expand
  24. AX3L022
    Sep 4, 2018
    4
    An album that has some great singles, but the other tracks are very basic to say so, not bad for the queen of anal sex
  25. eumesmogusttavo
    Sep 4, 2018
    10
    Um dos melhores álbuns da carreira da Ariana! Ela conseguiu pegar elementos dos seus álbuns anteriores e colocar no Sweetener sem perder a originalidade. Sweetener tem a doçura do Yours Truly, a força do My Everything e a sensualidade do Dangerous Woman. A true masterpierce!
  26. StavoSwift13
    Sep 3, 2018
    7
    Un trabajo que se aleja bastante de sus ultimos 2 trabajos discográficos pero nos muestra una Ariana más madura, con ganas de experimentar y dar su álbum más personal. Si bien muchos pueden defender este álbum de alejarse de lo comercial e irse más a lo íntimo y personal, en un punto llegas a ver un desastre de mezclas que no terminan de funcionar, un pop tradicional de Ariana, más ritmosUn trabajo que se aleja bastante de sus ultimos 2 trabajos discográficos pero nos muestra una Ariana más madura, con ganas de experimentar y dar su álbum más personal. Si bien muchos pueden defender este álbum de alejarse de lo comercial e irse más a lo íntimo y personal, en un punto llegas a ver un desastre de mezclas que no terminan de funcionar, un pop tradicional de Ariana, más ritmos R&B, más mezclas y samples de otras canciónes/voces, más la mala producción al estilo Mi Villano Favorito del muy innecesario Pharrel Williams que es el cáncer de este trabajo. Sin duda entre mi top de queda 1. God Is A Woman 2. Breathin 3. Everytime 4. R.E.M. De ahi 3 o 4 canciones están totalmente de sobra y el resto, relleno cómodo de escuchar. Buen álbum pero hasta ahí nada memorable. Calificación final 7.8… Expand
  27. Godrox20
    Sep 3, 2018
    10
    This new album sweetener is a completely HIT for Miss Grande and it's perfect .God is a woman , no tears left to cry sweetener , R.E.M , Everytime and Successful are all great.
  28. itsvague
    Aug 31, 2018
    8
    wish there were more songs like R.E.M, God is a woman and no tears left to cry. Trying to reignite the 90s chill diva vibe, sweetener is a good album to clean the house and do the homework. Ariana found the perfect style for her music tho Dangerous Woman still sounds like her pinnackle.
  29. mattiazisa
    Aug 31, 2018
    8
    Ariana Grande is moving from her musical comfort zone, and she's doing good anyways.
    I can't say "Sweetener" is a perfect album, but it's a great new start for Ariana, who must follow this flow of change.
    In this album we can't notice, as much as the previous ones, notable tracks (except "No tears left to cry"). But this is not necessarily a negative thing. The production is well done,    Ariana Grande is moving from her musical comfort zone, and she's doing good anyways.
    I can't say "Sweetener" is a perfect album, but it's a great new start for Ariana, who must follow this flow of change.

    In this album we can't notice, as much as the previous ones, notable tracks (except "No tears left to cry"). But this is not necessarily a negative thing. The production is well done, the vibe is good and we can all notice the work behind this album. I really enjoyed Pharrel's productions, even though many people didn't. But the only big problem with "Sweetener" is the lyrics, that work for most of the songs, but not in every of them.

    My top 3 is:
    1. "R.E.M"
    2. "The light is coming" ft. Nicki Minaj
    3. "successful"
    bonus: "God is a woman"

    This may not be the best album of the year, but Ariana is working to achieve this goal.

    7,6/10 (8 for Metacritic)    … Expand
  30. enricoputzolu
    Aug 31, 2018
    10
    best album of 2018. it has to be listened more than 1 time because the first time it sounds weird
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Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Most Discussed Album of 2018
2
#2 Most Shared Album of 2018

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
81

Universal acclaim - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 20
  3. Negative: 0 out of 20
  1. The Quietus
    Aug 31, 2018
    70
    Grande’s new sound, the Williams-produced Not-Bangers, only make up half of the album. These standout tracks are interspersed between standard pop tracks. ... That’s not to say that the Bangers on Sweetener are bad--it’s more that they belong in previous era of Grande and they spoil the flow between songs. Sweetener may not be the dawning of a new age for Ariana but it could be a step towards somewhere weird and wonderful.
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  2. The New York Times
    Aug 29, 2018
    90
    Ms. Grande backs up her statements with song-and-dance mastery. ... She’s her own choir, support group and posse. While a few guest vocalists (Mr. Williams, Nicki Minaj, Missy Elliott) provide a little grit for contrast, Ms. Grande sails above any fray, past or present. Her aplomb is her triumph.
    Read full review
  3. AllMusic
    Aug 28, 2018
    80
    An album that coheres in a way other Ariana Grande albums don't, which means Sweetener is something of a double triumph: she's come through a tough time stronger and better than before.
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