Following her sophomore album, My Everything, released in 2014, two years later, Ariana Grande released her third studio album, Dangerous Woman, which produced famous pop anthems including songs such as “Side to Side,” “Into You,” and of course, “Dangerous Woman.”
The album, slated to be named Moonlight at first, was then changed to be named Dangerous Woman because it reflected a change in Ariana’s life. Lyrics in the song such as
it is evident why Grande needed to change her album name. The song “Moonlight” (which, in fact, is the first song on the album) is a much more gentle and touchy love song similar to songs on My Everything or even her first album, Yours Truly, like “Love Me Harder” or “Tattooed Heart.” The era of Dangerous Woman is similar to Ariana’s alter ego, similar to Nicki Minaj’s “Roman” or Beyoncé’s “Sasha Fierce.” For Grande, her prominence as a feminist in pop culture, as well as a symbol of empowerment and positivity for her fans, most definitely led her to change her album title because it reflected the emotions Grande was currently going through.
However, when it comes down to it, Dangerous Woman was a fantastic album. With hits ranging from “Side to Side” to “Into You” or beautifully composed ballads such as “Moonlight” or “Leave Me Lonely,” Grande hits almost all genres with this album. “Greedy” introduces disco-themed pop music, while “Let Me Love You” featuring Lil Wayne and “Everyday” featuring Future not only draw some of rap’s biggest artists to her, but they also bring themes of rap and small hints of R&B. Heavily instrumentalized songs such as “Touch It,” “Be Alright,” “I Don’t Care,” “Knew Better/Forever Boy,” or even “Bad Decisions” all allow not only Grande’s beautiful vocals to shine, but also her song production.
However, Dangerous Woman did more than just deliver fantastic songs left and right; it brought great sales to Grande’s team, well-deserved. Despite this being Grande’s only third album at the age of 23, Dangerous Woman is Ariana Grande’s third (out of 3) platinum album just around five months after its release. Released in a time dominated by Drake’s Views and Beyoncé’s Lemonade, Dangerous Woman debuted at #2 on the Billboard overall charts.
Grande performed at numerous awards ceremonies, including performing “Dangerous Woman” at The Tonight Show, Saturday Night Live, the MTV Movie Awards, “Side to Side” at The Ellen Show, the VMAs, and AMAs, “Into You” at the Billboard Music Awards and The Ellen Show, “Be Alright” at Saturday Night Live, among many others.
Besides these honors, Dangerous Woman was nominated for 2 Grammys for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Pop Vocal Performance (which Adele, as usual, won), received “Artist of the Year” at the AMAs, among positive critical reception, and numerous other awards.
Grande is currently celebrating her one year anniversary of her third album in Europe, as she has officially started the European leg of her “Dangerous Woman Tour,” following the end of her North American leg earlier this year. Still adding dates in Asia and South America continuously to her world tour, so far, the “Dangerous Woman Tour” has grossed colossal amounts of money in just North America alone, including revenue from selling out Madison Square Garden out twice.
Overall, one year of Ariana Grande’s sensational album Dangerous Woman truly shows how time can fly by. Looking back at Ariana’s several accomplishments and accolades received through this album as well as the confidence she’s gained in herself after Dangerous Woman‘s release, I am proud to be an Arianator.
