“Y’know, I think I liked her better when her ponytail was a few centimeters higher.”
“Right. And I mean, who cares if she’s happy? I don’t want happy. I want Ari.”
According to Ariana Grande, this is apparently how all of her haters talk. This dialogue plays out during the first thirty seconds of the music video for her newest single, “yes, and?,” set to appear on her upcoming album eternal sunshine. A bunch of people in suits make sneering comments about Grande, and then make their way to a warehouse, beginning the instrumental. Upbeat piano chords with a chopped-up vocal sample playing under it eventually give way to a four-on-the-floor house beat.
When I first heard this song, I did not expect this change from her traditional sound. This wasn’t the first time in recent history that a pop star pivoted to house music for a new album cycle–Beyoncé kicked off her RENAISSANCE album rollout with the single “BREAK MY SOUL,” which was a throwback to ‘90s house music and sampled the 1993 Robin S. classic “Show Me Love.” Ariana Grande’s song is also a throwback, sounding heavily inspired by Madonna’s 1990 song “Vogue.” This immediately gives “yes, and?” very big shoes to fill. “Vogue” is an significant song in pop music history because it took the then-underground genre of house music from the ballrooms of New York all the way to the top of the Billboard charts. That being said, being a pastiche of an earlier era isn’t a bad thing. In fact, the production is easily the best part of Grande’s song. The brighter parts of the instrumental, such as the piano stabs and the twinkling melody at the end of the chorus are complemented very nicely by the fullness of the drums and the bassline. These components may refer back to an older version of house music, but they are also just sleek enough that it doesn’t sound dated.
Despite how good the beat is, “yes, and?” doesn’t really connect. There’s a very bitter undertone present in the song that runs counter to its sonic intention. At first glance, the lyrics of “yes, and?” are about moving on from negativity. This is a theme that was also present in Ariana Grande’s other lead-off singles: “no tears left to cry” from her 2018 album Sweetener and “thank u, next” from her 2019 album thank u, next. Both of these songs were declarations of positivity and triumph over tragedy, and promised that Grande would move on from the setbacks that she has experienced in her life and be happy. “yes, and?” wants to be this too, but it is also a song about “the haters.” The verses tell the listener that they spend too much time negatively commenting about her and that she doesn’t care about what they think. Then, the pre-chorus and the chorus tell the listener that they should just be themselves without any regard for what others think. This is a much more uplifting message, but it doesn’t work with the rest of the song. It seems like she’s trying to address two audiences at once: her critics and her fans. The problem with this approach is that going back and forth between the two undercuts the message of “I don’t care what you think” and it’s not positive enough to reinforce the message of “be yourself.” Grande seems like she does care about what other people think of her, so she can’t sell the above-it-all persona that she’s going for. The biggest example of this issue is the spoken-word bridge, where she recites self-affirmations and encourages a “live and let live” mindset. This is a direct homage to Madonna’s “Vogue,” which also has a spoken-word bridge. Compared to “Vogue’s” bridge, however, the bridge of “yes, and?” is a mere whisper, both literally and figuratively. Grande is barely audible, and her voice is too light and feathery to convey the same kind of imperiousness as Madonna or the confidence of a ‘90s house diva. Here, the problems with the lyrics and Ariana Grande’s presence are egregious enough that not even the production can save it.
“yes, and?” is a song that I really wanted to like. I listen to a lot of dance music, so when I heard that Ariana Grande was doing a house song, I became really excited about this new era of her career. However, instead of sounding refreshed, she appears to be stuck in a pattern of claiming confidence and ignoring haters. Compared to the genuinely strong and happy “no tears left to cry,” or “thank u, next,” where it sounded like she had found peace and gained perspective, “yes, and?” conveys insecurity. As much as I like her albums Sweetener and thank u, next, I really hoped that Grande would be able to move past this cycle of responding to negativity in her music and be less burdened. For a while, this was the case. As mediocre as her 2020 album positions was, it was her first album in several years where the music wasn’t a response to anything. Now that she’s back to being a pop megastar, Ariana Grande is relying on tried-and-true tropes that feel more hollow than they did before. Hopefully, the rest of eternal sunshine doesn’t fall into this trap.
The Roar 