Sweetener is the fourth studio album by American singer 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 romance, sexual intimacy, unhealthy relationships, womanhood, anxiety, and perseverance through hardships. Primarily a pop, R&B and trap record, it also incorporates elements of house, funk, neo soul and hip hop music, mainly consisting of uptempo tunes and downtempo ballads, which heavily incorporate harmonies. 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-twenty 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 many other countries, including in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Grande ventured on a four-show promotional tour, entitled The Sweetener Sessions, after the album's release. Launched in further support of 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 commercial success. Work on Sweetener commenced around early July of that year, the first song created being the title track, co-written and produced by Pharrell Williams. On November 13, 2016, Grande stated on Snapchat that she had finished her fourth album. Later, she clarified by saying, "I didn't mean to make an album, and I don't know if it's done at all, but I just have a bunch of songs that I really really like. I've been working a lot and have been creating and feeling inspired." Further confirmation came in December 2017, when Grande confirmed that she was still working on the album.
Grande's manager Scooter Braun told Variety that the album has a more mature sound: "It's time for [Ariana] 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." Williams told Los Angeles Times: "The things that [Ariana] has to say on this album, it's pretty next-level." Producers Max Martin and Savan Kotecha were later confirmed to have collaborated with Grande in the album. On December 28, 2017, Grande shared several pictures of her in the studio throughout the year. On December 31, 2017, Grande shared a snippet from the album on her Instagram, 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".
In April 2018, it was reported that Grande was planning on releasing the album's lead single on April 27, 2018. The following week, on April 16, 2018, it was reported that Grande had moved up the lead single release to April 20, 2018, due to label-mate Post Malone's album Beerbongs & Bentleys being released on April 27. The following day, Grande announced that the album's lead single, "No Tears Left to Cry" and revealed the release date to be April 20, 2018.
Grande appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where she announced that her album was titled Sweetener and that it would be released that summer. She further explained the meaning behind the title is "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, or sweetening the situation." A May 2018 cover article in Time magazine by Sam Lansky noted that, for the first time with this album, Grande "took the lead on writing". In late May 2018, she announced that the album would feature fifteen tracks and three collaborations, which are Missy Elliott, Nicki Minaj and Williams.