Last week, Ariana Grande released her fifth studio album, ‘Thank U, Next’. The release comes just six months after ‘Sweetener’, her chart-topping fourth album. The title ‘Thank U, Next’ would suggest the 25 year old is more than ready to move on from the previous project (and ex-finacé Pete Davidson), although bizarrely she is set to embark on her six month long ‘Sweetener World Tour’ next month (perhaps named before she had plans to release a new album). Time will tell which songs she favours when putting together the show’s setlist. I know many fans were less than keen on some of the content found on ‘Sweetener’, with many citing producer Pharrell Williams as the issue. For me, I actually liked most of the album and thought there were a couple of real standout tracks. In particular, ‘Better Off’.

There is something youthful about Ariana’s voice that sometimes as a 34 year old man I struggle to find an emotional connection with. However, when it comes to ‘Better Off’, the subject matter combined with her choice to give a more simple vocal delivery resonates deeply with me and I would sooner listen to this Ariana than ‘7 Rings’ Ariana any day.