Ariana Grande: "Break Free" [ft. Zedd]
Ariana Grande‘s first full-length, last year’s Yours Truly, paired the teen TV star-turned-pop singer’s impressive vocal skills with airy yet sumptuous R&B-leaning pop that, at its best, evoked Mariah Carey in a way that transcended Grande’s own mini-Mariah aspirations. From the looks of it, her forthcoming My Everything stands to expand her sound palette a bit: first single “Problem” overcame guest appearances by no-talent stars Iggy Azalea and Big Sean, coming off as the best saxophone-featuring pop song since Jennifer Lopez’s “Get Right”, and now there’s the delightfully colorful, life-affirming “Break Free”, perhaps Grande’s boldest song yet.
From the zippy opening synth line to the verse’s insistent pounding, “Break Free” certainly invites comparisons to Swedish pop mastermind Robyn; as ever, Grande brings her own skyscraping voice in top form, so vocally the comparisons don’t stick. Production-wise, however, this is top-notch synth-pop, and all credit goes to German producer Zedd, whose own megahits “Clarity” and “Stay the Night” have doubled as showcases for his capability to wield loopy, lollipop-sticky synths into dizzying pop-confection perfection. “This is the part when/ I say I don’t want you/ I’m stronger than I’ve been before,” Grande belts during the chorus, a breakup-survival cry that matches Kelly Clarkson‘s I’m-still-moving-on “Since You Been Gone”, updating that song’s guitar-driven rush for today’s computer world.
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