ARIANA GRANDE

‘God is a Woman’

(Single Review)

Reviewer: Jamie Velevski

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Who’s ready for another slice of Grande?

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Just when you thought Ariana Grande couldn’t possibly mark an even bigger stamp over 2018 pop culture, she’s done it again. With the countdown to her highly anticipated fourth studio album Sweetener in the next month creeping up, the global superstar has officially released its second single God is a Woman, which will serve as the lead up from her current megahit No Tears Left to Cry. Giving her social media followers across all platforms a 24 hour warning for its release, the fandom has been in craze ever since. If you thought previous smash hit singles such as Problem, One Last Time and Side to Side were the absolute height of her catalogue, then you haven’t heard anything yet.

The instrumental to this track starts off very similar to No Tears Left to Cry. It’s a slow, sensual intro that pulls focus to Ariana’s vocals and lyrical content, as it’s easily bolded. As soon as the intro parts ways, an unexpected trap beat kicks in on the first verse that literally left my jaw dropped. Just when I thought Ariana couldn’t experiment any further with possible sounds for Sweetener, she’s gone ahead and made another genre flip that surprisingly suits her new style perfectly. The subtle drop within the beat between the verse and chorus highlights an important transition for the purpose of the message that is being conveyed. Thinking Ariana had pulled out all the tricks, the end of the tracks background begins to transform into an instrumental built up on choir like vocals layered by her vocals only, yet again proving that the starlet is beyond expressing brand new influences and inspirations that work remarkably.

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“When all is said and done,

You’ll believe God is a woman”

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The lyrics of this track touch on themes of sex, religion, feminism and power. As the lyrical content of this track is quite broad, a general overview of its message refers to the satisfaction of sex and fearlessly encourages female dominance. When Ariana sings the phrase “you’ll believe God is a woman,” she is referring to the spiritual and almost religious feeling some may have from sex, emphasising the fact that although she might be great in bed, she’s so great that you’ll believe you’ve just encountered God. The starlet presents a confident image throughout the lyrics, as she’s not afraid to jump blindly into this passionate love romance with her significant other. The lyrics also highlight the fact that women should own their sexuality as stereotypes in the past have made women feel the opposite.

Although Ariana’s contention is downright empowering towards woman, its lyrical message is expanded through its controversial music video. Drawing inspiration from her idol Madonna as she contributed to the music video, there are many religious and biblical references throughout the clip that are seen through art recreations and references. It’s almost as if Madonna’s controversial 1989 hit Like A Prayer had given birth to God is a Woman. We also see a tremendous amount of visual references that refer to a woman’s down below, which I believe was created with great artistic flair to celebrate female sexuality. As God is also seen as a father figure, backlash over the true identity of God has also sparked attention from religious groups, particularly Christian’s.

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“When you try to come for me,

I keep on flourishing”

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If you’re all about women’s liberation then this track is definitely going to be your anthem for the next ten years, guaranteed. It’s an uplifting, vigorous track that plays around with many different styles, promising to make you hit that repeat button over and over again. Just when I honestly thought Ariana couldn’t get any better, she’s wholeheartedly created an iconic one for the record books and quite possibly delivered the most substantial track of 2018 so far in pop music. We’ve only just gotten a taste of what Sweetener is going to sound like and I can already smell that Grammy in the distance. Give the music video a watch down below, I promise the visuals will blow your mind as it’s nothing you would have ever witnessed before.

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In need of some empowerment? Ariana Grande has got you covered.

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