Sweetener is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Ariana Grande. It was released on August 17, 2018, through Republic Records. Grande co-wrote all the songs on the album except for the first track, and its production was handled by Pharrell Williams, Charles Anderson, Hit-Boy, Ilya Salmanzadeh, and Max Martin, with guest features from Williams, Nicki Minaj, and Missy Elliott.
The album explores themes of healing, optimism, romance, sexual intimacy, unhealthy relationships, anxiety, and perseverance through hardships. Primarily a pop, R&B, and trap record, it incorporates elements of house, funk, neo soul, and hip hop music that mainly consists of uptempo tunes and downtempo ballads. Sweetener received critical acclaim upon its release, favoring the experimental nature of its production. Some critics considered it a vital record in Grande's career due to its subject matter. It won Best Pop Vocal Album at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, scoring Grande her first Grammy Award. Sweetener featured in numerous publications' year-end music lists of the best albums of 2018, and was subsequently inducted in decade-end lists of the 2010s.
Three singles were released from Sweetener, all of which reached the top-fifteen of the US Billboard Hot 100. The lead single, "No Tears Left to Cry", debuted and peaked at number three, while the second and third singles, "God Is a Woman" and "Breathin", reached numbers eight and twelve, respectively. Sweetener debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, making it Grande's third album to reach the summit. It was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and topped charts in other countries including Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Grande ventured on a four-show promotional tour, the Sweetener Sessions, following the album's release. To further support both Sweetener and its successor, Thank U, Next (2019), Grande embarked on the Sweetener World Tour in 2019.
Background and recording
On May 20, 2016, Grande released her third studio album Dangerous Woman, which was met with positive reviews and peaked at number 2 in the United States. Work on Sweetener commenced around early July of that year, the first song created being the title track, co-written and produced by American musician Pharrell Williams. On November 13, Grande stated on Snapchat that she had been recording and compiling songs she "really really like[d]", though she remained uncertain as to whether the album was complete. In December 2017, Grande confirmed that she was still working on the album.
Grande's manager Scooter Braun told Variety magazine that Sweetener has a more mature sound: "It's time for [Grande] to sing the songs that define her... Whitney, Mariah, Adele – when they sing, that's their song. Ariana has big vocal moments; it's time for her song." In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Williams described Grande's forthcoming album as "pretty amazing", adding that "the things that she has to say on this album" were "pretty next-level". Producers Max Martin and Savan Kotecha were later confirmed to collaborate with Grande on the album. In a 2018 interview with American radio personality Zach Sang, Grande mentioned that she had recorded over 30 songs for the album that did not make the final cut, including "On Top of Everything". According to Time magazine's interview published May 2018 by Sam Lansky, Sweetener was the first album that Grande "took the lead on writing".
Music and lyrics
Sweetener is a pop, R&B and trap record that includes elements of house, funk, neo soul and hip hop music on its beats and productions. The melodies and harmonies on the album are diverse and include uptempo songs and downtempo, sentimental ballads. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic stated that the album "deepens the R&B inclinations of 2016's Dangerous Woman". In an interview with Zach Sang, Grande said: "The thing that I love most about this project sonically, is that all I really did was sing in my sweet lower register".
The album begins with 38-second a cappella intro "Raindrops (An Angel Cried)", written by Bob Gaudio, and originally performed by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. "Blazed" is a high tempo funk-influenced song, featuring vocals and background vocals by Williams, who also produced the track. "The Light Is Coming" is a new wave and dance song with hip hop and R&B elements. Grande sings over a jittery beat used with quick drums and synths and heavily sampled CNN clip of a man shouting at former senator Arlen Specter at a town hall meeting in Pennsylvania in 2009, concerning healthcare ("You wouldn't let anybody speak and instead"). Spins Israel Daramola described the song as a "glitchy, thumping" dance record with a sample that highlights Grande's "nursery rhyme-style melody". "R.E.M." is an R&B song that is built over a smooth doo-wop beat. She later confirmed on Twitter that it is based on American singer Beyoncé's demo titled "Wake Up", a leftover from her 2013 self-titled album.
An R&B ballad "God Is a Woman" contains lyrics about female sexual empowerment and spirituality; Time described the song as "an anthemic, sultry banger". A trap-pop song, "God Is a Woman" contains influences of reggae, while "Successful" is a 1990s-esque neo soul song that has elements of gospel and trap. "Everytime" is a trap-pop track that contains a pop-rap chorus, while "Breathin" is a dance-pop song that contains influences of synth-pop. The Independent called the latter an "emotional highlight" and that it is a "mental health bop over a good, solid pop beat". Lyrically, it addresses anxiety and mental health struggles.
"No Tears Left to Cry" is a dance-pop and disco song with a UK garage beat. Lyrically, it centers on resilience and optimism, with Grande expressing a determination to move beyond negativity and embrace life despite adversity. "Borderline" is a 1990s contemporary R&B song that features American rapper Missy Elliott, and "Better Off" discusses a toxic relationship with Mac Miller. "Goodnight n Go" is an EDM song with deep house and tropical influences; it incorporates elements of Imogen Heap's "Goodnight and Go". In an interview with Billboard, Heap said that "it feels like a gift", adding: "When somebody that famous picks up on a song that has had its day and gives it a second life, it's a real gift. I think she's done a lovely version of it." "Pete Davidson" is about her then-fiancé, Pete Davidson. "Get Well Soon" is a soul-ballad that has a laid back R&B melody with lyrics that talk about Grande's personal anxiety and trauma following the Manchester Arena bombing. At the end of the song, 40 seconds of silence are played as a tribute to the twenty-two victims of the bombing, bringing the duration of the track to 5:22, a reference to the date of the bombing, May 22.
Promotion and release Distribution and packaging Sweetener was released on August 17, 2018, via Republic Records in CD, digital download, and streaming formats. A cassette edition was issued exclusively in the United Kingdom by Island Records on August 21, before receiving an international release on October 15. A vinyl LP edition was released in November through Republic. About the album's title, Grande explained: "It's kind of about like bringing light to a situation, or to someone's life, or somebody else who brings light to your life, sweetening the situation." The inspiration for the upside-down theme in cover artwork of Sweetener was inspired by a friend who told her he "even love[d] it upside-down" while looking at one of the images. She further stated: "At the time I had been feeling very 'upside-down' for a while & the simplicity of that was like, 'oh duh, wow, my bestie a genius.' Everything clicked after that."
American director Dave Meyers shot the cover artwork, who also directed the music videos for the album's first two singles—"No Tears Left to Cry" and "God Is a Woman"—as well as the promotional single "The Light Is Coming". The artwork was the first in her discography to be in color, which she said was because it reflected both "a new chapter" in her career and a brighter period in her life. In 2023, Joe Lynch of Billboard named it the 98th best album cover of all time.
Marketing
Grande shared several pictures of her in the studio throughout the year on December 28, 2017, and a snippet from the album on her Instagram three days later, with the caption "see u next year"; it was later revealed that the track was the closing track on the album, titled "Get Well Soon".
Grande performed "God Is a Woman" at Coachella on April 21, 2018, as a guest during the performance of Norwegian DJ Kygo. In May, she appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and the 2018 Billboard Music Awards, the former where she announced the album's title and its release date. The album's pre-order, title, and release date were announced during her set at Wango Tango in early June, alongside the release of "The Light Is Coming" on June 20. She later confirmed that the song was not the album's second single; instead, "God Is a Woman" would be the second when it was released on July 20. On June 12, she posted a cover artwork of Sweetener piece by piece through the anonymous Instagram account of the same name, and revealed its full artwork on June 18. Grande surprised her fans a month later by announcing that the single would be released on July 13.
On August 8, three dates were announced for a series of promotional concerts in the United States, titled the Sweetener Sessions, in partnership with American Express. Prior to the album's release, Spencer Kornhaber of The Atlantic commented that the first three singles from the album "sparked with a sense of defiance and rattled mortality ... [a] trifecta of pseudo-spiritualism and sneaky innovation. [...] Grande's music and videos radiate [intoxicating, unworried confidence]". Grande also announced a world tour in support of the album and its successor Thank U, Next (2019). Titled the Sweetener World Tour, it began on March 18, 2019, and concluded on December 22. A concert film, titled Ariana Grande: Excuse Me, I Love You, is based on the tour and was released on Netflix on December 21, 2020.
Singles "No Tears Left to Cry" was released on April 20, 2018 as the lead single from the album. The accompanying music video, directed by Meyers, followed on the same day. The track debuted at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming Grande's ninth Hot 100 top-ten and sixth to debut in the top-ten, tying Grande with Lady Gaga and Rihanna in sixth among acts with the most top 10 debuts on the chart. The single made Grande the first artist in the chart's 60-year history to debut in the top 10 with a lead single from each of her first four albums. The song also topped the Mainstream Top 40 chart in July 2018, reaching number one in nine countries. It was later certified sextuple Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for earning over six million units in the United States. "The Light Is Coming", featuring Nicki Minaj, was released on June 20, along with the pre-order of the album as the only promotional single. It was co-written and produced by Williams, while Meyers handled the music video's direction. The song peaked at number 89 on the US Billboard, following the release of the parent album.