Ariana Grande's Petal introduces an angry, angular Ari
Ariana Grande's Petal introduces a darker, moodier sister to 2024's Eternal Sunshine. Why ariana grandes petal introduces an angry, angular Ari matters now: the Max Martin and Ilya Salmanzadeh collaboration swaps heartbroken resilience for unfiltered rage, vengeance, and sex—her biggest musical departure yet, per Variety.
Key Takeaways
- Petal reunites Grande with Ilya Salmanzadeh and Max Martin, the same trio behind 2024's Eternal Sunshine.
- Grande described writing from “unfiltered rage,” yielding a darker, blunter, less internalized sound.
- Lead single “Hate That I Made You Love Me” flags the album's experimental synth-and-spare-beat lane.
- Ilya executive-produced with Grande; Martin appears on just three songs, unlocking weirder textures.
- Variety calls it her biggest musical departure—and most musically and lyrically accomplished album.
On paper, Petal looks like a sequel: same co-writers and producers, same closed-circuit creative unit. In practice, Variety's album review hears a different Ari—volatile where Eternal Sunshine was heartbroken, blunt where that set stayed internalized. For more entertainment alerts, check our Streaming & TV Alerts hub.
What makes Petal different from Eternal Sunshine?
Usually that three-person formula means “chapter two: more of the same but different.” Not here. The review frames the record as darker and moodier, with emotions that feel less filtered and more confrontational.
Grande primed fans in a widely circulated interview earlier this week, saying listeners would feel familiarity and comfort, yet calling the project experimental. She laughed that she wrote from a place she usually avoids—“unfiltered rage”—because she is “too shy to tap into that” and did not filter as much this time.
How angry does Angry Ari actually sound?
It is still a pop album, even as it drifts into weirder territory. With her pristine soprano, pure fury is hard to picture—but Variety points to lyrics lurking under the shine: flowers from a tomb, stories ending in catastrophe, “Good luck on your way to hell,” plus a franker NSFW streak. The mission line lands clean: “Keep my heels tall, my ego small, but I'm still Grande.”
Aside from one closer, the songs center vengeance or sex—fuel for the online guessing game about whom she means. Full analysis is in Variety's Petal album review.
Which Petal songs define the new sound?
“Hate That I Made You Love Me” opens the experimental door: a crinkling synthesizer hook over a spare beat, haunted space for multitracked vocals, and a mellifluous middle that shows her growth as a melodicist. Familiar-leaning moments surface on “Kiss Me” and “Freak,” while other cuts nod toward FKA twigs or the Weeknd.
“Like I Do,” likely the darkest cut, pivots from an eight-note wordless figure into an ominous rhythm. The title track pairs a busy melody with a thudding Portishead-like pulse. “Never Get Over Me” rides icy funk with a distant Kill Bill–style siren; “Bad Thing (Bunny Hop)” flashes new-wave energy; “Big Feelings” adds rare sultriness.
The exception is closer “Nowhere, Nobody,” a ballad with echoed guitar that restores Eternal Sunshine wistfulness—and ends deliberately on a preposition. Eight albums in, Variety argues Grande keeps surprising: her biggest departure, and her most accomplished work yet.