Teaming up with Justin Bieber would’ve been enough. Joining Lady Gaga on the VMAs stage would’ve been enough. Hell, inventing staying home would’ve been enough! But ever one to outdo herself, Ariana Grande released “positions,†the lead single off her quarantine album of the same name, on October 23 — and a music video to top it off. And what have we done during these seven months again? In the video, Grande channels her inner girl boss and plays out her fantasy of what life would look like occupying our nation’s top position, President of the United States. She’s melisma-ing all over the White House - in the oval office, the kitchen, and the back yard. It’s all the more sweet, given that it dropped mere hours after the second and final Presidential debate of the 2020 election. Show ‘em how it’s done, Ari.
Grande first teased a quarantine project in early October, telling fans she was submitting her mixes (while also encouraging them to vote). She then confirmed the album a week later, tweeting, “i can’t wait to give u my album this month.†Sure enough, her website since teased “positions†for October 23 and the full album, presumably of the same name, for the week after on October 30. Fans have speculated that the album may include a collaboration with The Weeknd, after he shared Grande’s teaser on his own Instagram. The album comes as her third in just as many years, after the one-two punch of sweetener and thank u, next in less than six months. Between the two albums, she told Billboard she wanted to start releasing music as she felt like it, like rappers. “I want to do it on my own terms from now on,†she said. “If I want to tour two albums at once, I’m going to tour two albums at once. If I want to drop a third album while I’m on tour [in 2019], I’ll do that too!†Yet we still weren’t ready for so much so soon.