Today I would like to discuss two musical sisters from other misters: Ariana Grande and Victoria Monet.
Last weekend, the two dropped some highly anticipated projects! Ariana is celebrating the 10th anniversary of her debut album, “Yours Truly,” with the release of a special anniversary edition of the album.
Ariana’s debut album, “Yours Truly,” is a cult classic to her fans, the “Arianators”; it is the album that started it all!
Throughout this past weekend and into this week, Ariana has been celebrating the beloved album, with new merchandise drops, a deluxe release of “Yours Truly,” and live performances of favorite tracks like “Honeymoon Avenue” and “The Way.”
Though this is an older project, I’ll always recommend it. For the average pop-enthusiast, it is a great album with out of this world vocals from Grande. Though it may be a bit too pop for some, I think it is worthy of a listen and is great walking-to-class music.
Meanwhile, her bestie and frequent songwriter, Victoria Monet has released her sophomore album, “Jaguar II.” Knowing that these two have plenty of musical history together (Monet has been writing music for Grande for years now), these albums have been in my rotation since last Friday!
Monet has written several of Ariana’s biggest hits like “7 Rings,” “Thank U, Next,” and “34+35.”
Victoria’s “Jaguar II” is full of sultry, love-ridden R&B, with fun tracks like “On My Mama.”
The project also is packed with some stand-out features like Lucky Daye and Earth, Wind & Fire (and her adorable little girl, Hazel Monet). If you are looking for a beat to dance to, or maybe some new tunes for that quality time with a special someone, I think this might be the album for you!
Another close friend of Ariana’s is planning on releasing music fairly soon. Nicki Minaj will be releasing her highly anticipated first single for her 5th studio album, “Pink Friday 2,” on Friday, September 1st.
The single is titled “Last Time I Saw You,” and Minaj took to Twitter to inform her fans that there are no swear words in her new song, which is something rare for the esteemed rapper.
A snippet of the song released by Minaj on her Instagram showcases a softer, more pop sound from Nicki. This is not totally new for the first lady of Young Money Records as her 2010 breakthrough album “Pink Friday” features many elements of pop!
Now, maybe I am a bit biased because I am a Barb, but I am super excited to hear a different side of Nicki Minaj. But I am sure she has much more in store for us as we get closer to the release of “Pink Friday 2,” which will be out in mid-November.
Thanks for reading this week’s Catch-Up, and we will chat soon about more moments in music and pop culture!
Jade Maxwell can be reached at jamaxwell@eiu.edu or 217-581-2812.
