Maps of Music

Sweetener (2018)

Where the lyrics of Sweetener take you, and where it was really made.

The opening track is the only song on the album that Grande did not co-write: it is an a cappella cover of a 1964 song.

Key places

Hollywood recording studio (2018)

Recording site Chalice Recording — Several album tracks were recorded at this Hollywood studio, according to the recording locations list. The point is set at city-centre level. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Hollywood studio for several tracks (2018)

Recording site Conway Recording Studios — Several album tracks were recorded at this Hollywood studio, according to the recording locations list. The point is set at building level. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

New York studio (2018)

Recording site Jungle City Studios — One album track was recorded at this New York studio, according to the recording locations list. The point is set at building level. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

EastWest Studios in Hollywood (2018)

Recording site EastWest Studios — One album track was recorded at this Hollywood studio, according to the recording locations list. The point is set at building level. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

South Beach studio in Miami Beach (2018)

Recording site South Beach (Miami) — One album track was recorded at this Miami Beach studio, according to the recording locations list. The point is set at building level. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Stockholm studio for two tracks (2018)

Recording site Master Plan — Two album tracks were recorded at this Stockholm studio, according to the recording locations list. The point is set at city-centre level. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Los Angeles studio for three tracks (2018)

Recording site Motown Recording Studios — Tracks 1, 8 and 9 were recorded at this Los Angeles studio, according to the recording locations list. The point is set at city-centre level. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Sweetener: fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Ariana Grande
• Released 17 August 2018 through Republic Records
• Grande co-wrote every song except the first track
• Producers: Pharrell Williams, Charles Anderson, Hit-Boy, Ilya Salmanzadeh, Max Martin
• Guest features: Pharrell Williams, Nicki Minaj, Missy Elliott
• Themes: healing, optimism, romance, sexual intimacy, unhealthy relationships, anxiety, perseverance through hardships
• Mostly pop, R&B, and trap, with house, funk, neo soul, and hip hop elements
• Uptempo tunes alongside downtempo ballads

Background

• Dangerous Woman, released May 2016, peaked at number 2 in the United States
• Work on Sweetener began around early July 2016
• The title track was the first song made, co-written and produced by Pharrell Williams
• Manager Scooter Braun told Variety the album has a more mature sound
• Max Martin and Savan Kotecha were later confirmed to collaborate on the album
• Over 30 songs recorded for the album did not make the final cut

Recording

• Tracks were recorded at studios in Los Angeles, Hollywood, Burbank, New York, Miami, Stockholm, and Northridge

Cover

• Dave Meyers shot the cover artwork and also directed the first two singles' music videos
• The artwork was the first color cover in Grande's discography
• The upside-down theme was inspired by a friend's remark

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Early life

• Born June 26, 1993, in Boca Raton, Florida.
• Performed as a child with the Fort Lauderdale Children's Theater, playing Annie.
• Sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" at a Florida Panthers home game at age eight.

Career

• Began in the Broadway musical 13 (2008).
• Gained fame as Cat Valentine in the Nickelodeon series Victorious (2010–2013) and its spin-off Sam & Cat (2013–2014).
• Signed with Republic Records; debut album Yours Truly (2013) debuted atop the Billboard 200.
• Albums My Everything (2014) and Dangerous Woman (2016) brought international success.
• Sweetener (2018) and Thank U, Next (2019) mark her trap-influenced period; Positions followed in 2020.
• Eternal Sunshine (2024) marked her move into dance and house music; Petal (2026) followed as her eighth studio album.
• Acting work includes Don't Look Up (2021) and Glinda in Wicked (2024) and Wicked: For Good (2025).

Recognition

• Three Grammy Awards, one Brit Award, and fifteen MTV Video Music Awards.
• Ten Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles; the first solo artist to hold the top three Hot 100 spots at once (2019).

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Received critical acclaim on release, favoring the experimental nature of its production
• Metacritic: average 81 out of 100 from 20 reviews, indicating universal acclaim
• Robert Christgau (Vice): called it a "garden of sonic delights"
• Jon Pareles (The New York Times): praised the voice as always supple and airborne
• Brittany Spanos (Rolling Stone): called it a refreshing, cohesive package and Grande's best album yet
• Kate Solomon (The Independent): described an album by an artist in flux
• Douglas Greenwood (NME): called it a confident, accomplished collection of pop bangers
• Alexis Petridis (The Guardian): called it uneven, with collaborations with Pharrell pushing boundaries while the rest seemed formulaic
• Neil McCormick (The Daily Telegraph): called it a delightful confection, but criticized guest rappers Nicki Minaj and Missy Elliott

Reappraisal

• Some critics called it an important album in Grande's catalogue
• Billboard placed it at the top of its 2018 year-end list of albums
• Billboard later ranked it 38th on its decade-end list of the 2010s, with Thank U, Next at number 8
• Paper placed it second on its Top 20 Albums of 2018
• Evening Standard named Grande the most important artist of 2018, partly for the album's positivity
• Paper compared it with Beyonce's Lemonade

Records

• Debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 231,000 album-equivalent units
• Grande's third number one album in the United States
• Ranked 38th on the 2018 year-end Billboard 200
• Certified double platinum by the RIAA on 17 August 2023
• Debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart with 45,000 units; BPI platinum
• Third ARIA number one in Australia
• Won Best Pop Vocal Album at the 61st Grammy Awards, Grande's first Grammy

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Over 30 songs were recorded for the album but left off the final track list, including "On Top of Everything"
• The cover is the first color artwork in Grande's discography, shot by Dave Meyers
• "Get Well Soon" closes the album with 40 seconds of silence as a tribute to the 22 victims of the Manchester Arena bombing
• The closing track runs 5:22, a reference to the date of the bombing, May 22
• Grande explained the title as bringing light to a situation, or to someone's life

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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