Lyrically, it’s a mess of cliches and generic empowerment lines paired with subtle nods to the whole media circus surrounding Grande that fall flat. The improv-tastic title suggests a playful tone that does not carry over to the rest of the song. The Madonna samples indicates fun is just around the corner. Grande’s girlish delivery gives the impression we’re not taking things too seriously. It runs at 3 minutes and 35 seconds of underwhelming bitchiness.
The biggest crime is the sample.
For starters, I think it takes a special kind of talented producer to sample an already classic hit and create something equally undeniable. You’re fighting against not just your own potential inadequacies, but the cultural memory of the song you’re sampling. Which is why the decision to build this comeback single on the foundations of the 1991 cultural juggernaut that is ‘Vogue’ is an odd one. This is not a good enough beat to justify its own existence.
Ariana Grande is back.
