Of course, this is a woman who’s earned Mariah Carey comparisons since “The Way” dropped in 2013, and Grande serves up the stratospheric vocal runs fans crave in the song’s second half. The instrumental drops out in the final 20 seconds, giving Grande room to riff atop powerful choir vocals. It’s an impressive show of both virtuosity and restraint, one that begs for an extended outro in a live setting. So far, Grande has offered three vastly different versions of herself on her first three Sweetener singles. “No Tears Left to Cry” gave her the chart-busting trap banger she needed, while the Nicki Minaj-assisted “The Light is Coming” hearkened back to the robotic, carnivalesque pop of Gwen Stefani’s Love. Angel. Music. Baby. On “God Is a Woman,” Grande performs with a maturity that her last two singles lacked, taking a fairly simple formula—heroic female pop vocals plus entrancing trap beats—and turning it into a bite-sized masterpiece. The track probably won't put to bed any controversial theological debates, but it sure made a lot of people believe in something tonight.

Review: Ariana Grande’s ‘God Is A Woman’

beautywithin

Published on July 20, 2018

Review: Ariana Grande’s ‘God Is A Woman’

Ariana Grande demands to be taken seriously. This is hardly news to her millions of adoring fans, but for those who were late to the party, she makes it abundantly clear on her new brand new single “God Is a Woman.” The 25-year-old pop star sounds wise beyond her years and performs at the top of her game on the mesmerizing third single off her upcoming album Sweetener, delivering one of the best pop songs of the summer—if not the year—in the process.

Grande proves a master of dynamics on “God Is a Woman,” sprinkling her signature falsetto across the sultry chorus and reining in her vocal acrobatics in the verses. She tries on different flows at her whim, singing slow, seductive come-ons (“I can tell that you know I know how I want it”) and riffing on Migos’ triplet flow in the pre-choruses. The track is full of chilly, hypnotic trap beats, tasteful drops and electronic squawks, atop which Grande harmonizes with herself to suck listeners into the world she’s created for three-and-a-half minutes.