Ariana Grande – Yours Truly

Ariana Grande’s Yours Truly introduced her as a recording artist in 2013, after a three-year recording process, and it still stands as a clear statement of where she began: contemporary pop shaped by classic R&B instincts. Grande described the first half as a throwback to 1990s R&B, while the later songs were meant to feel more original to her own writing. That split gives the album a useful sense of direction rather than just a set of early singles.

She co-wrote six of the twelve tracks, and the record pairs her voice with a strong set of collaborators, including Babyface, Harmony Samuels, Patrick “J. Que” Smith and Leon Thomas III. The featured guests are used well rather than for show: Mac Miller appears on The Way, Big Sean on Right There, and Nathan Sykes joins her for Almost Is Never Enough. Across the album, the influences often cited around Grande at the time, from Mariah Carey to Whitney Houston and Christina Aguilera, are easy to hear, but the appeal is in how confidently she handles them.

Yours Truly also proved to be more than an introduction: it debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, a rare result for a debut that still sounds this self-possessed. If later Ariana albums became bigger and more stylistically restless, this one remains the place where her vocal control, retro-pop taste and early songwriting identity first came fully into focus.

Reviews

• Ariana Grande, a teenage actress turned singer, manages to skirt all kinds of retro with ease on her debut Yours Truly. – Pitchfork

• The debut album from Ariana Grande, 2013's Yours Truly, is a surprisingly sophisticated and unique showcase for the Nickelodeon sitcom star's soulful R&B vocals. - AllMusic.com

Genre: Pop & Rock