Ariana Grande's new album Petal channels her anger into pop

Ariana Grande has released her eighth studio album, Petal, and Rolling Stone critic Rob Sheffield reviewed it as a record built from anger that suits her. "A little feral," Grande calls the album, explaining she wrote from "a place that I don't usually, which was like an unfiltered rage." The review points to "Oh Well" as the catchiest example, built around the line "good luck on your way to hell" followed by the promise that the target will "keep getting breakup songs about you."

Petal follows 2024's Eternal Sunshine, which Sheffield calls a "complex and masterful song cycle" that Grande seemed to step back from almost as soon as she released it, throwing herself into the Wicked films rather than promoting it further. Lead single "Hate That I Made You Love Me" hit Number One despite being, in the review's assessment, one of the album's lesser tracks, with Grande sneering at a culture that "studied my crown and borrowed my body."

Much of the record's anger aims at the tabloid rumor mill that followed her quiet split from Wicked co-star Ethan Slater and a rekindled relationship with former dancer Ricky Alvarez, the same ex she name-checked years earlier on "Thank U, Next." The review notes she has taken to changing that song's lyrics on her current tour to reflect the reconciliation.

Grande co-wrote and co-produced the whole album with longtime collaborator Ilya Salmanzadeh, with Max Martin joining on three tracks. Sheffield singles out "Freak" for its Eighties synth-pop textures and layered harmonies, and "Warning Signs (Interlude)" for channeling a Stevie Nicks-style haunting quality as Grande imagines an ex hearing her voice from a passing taxi.

Petal has already had a strong commercial run, taking the top spot on the US albums chart, even as Grande has said she is stepping back from the spotlight following her Eternal Sunshine tour. The record joins the rest of the year's pop releases in the release calendar.