15 best Ariana Grande songs
By Micah Wimmer
10. “Ghostin”
While many of her best songs are predictably up-tempo pop songs that all sound destined for an infinite amount of radio play, Grande has also showcased a knack for singing ballads on occasion. None are quite as good as this track from Thank U, Next though. In it, she sings of lying next to a lover while pining for another, the pain it causes her and the inherent unfairness of the situation towards her partner. While she tries to be resilient, closing the song out by singing of her belief that “we’ll get past this,” her vocals make that sound like nothing but a well-intentioned lie. It’s a heartbreaking song and she sells it with an aching delivery that may be the most emotional of her career thus far.
9. “Fake Smile”
The foundation of “Fake Smile” is a sample of a little-known, though tremendous, soul song by Wendy Rene called “After Laughter,” previously used to build up the Wu-Tang Clan’s “Tearz.” While “Tearz” is a great track in its own right, “Fake Smile,” to its benefit, stays truer both to the old song’s original instrumentation and emotions, transmuting Rene’s mournfulness into something new and poignant. Listen to the wordless “ooohs” that punctuate several lines, and you can hear the desperation behind the fake smiles she sings of, the aching desire to feel a joy that can be performed but not experienced within. It’s well-trod territory made transcendent by a performance both spectacular and sensitive.