Top 10 Best Songs of Ariana Grande

The undisputed magnum opus of Ariana. Instead of a vengeful diss track following her very public breakup with Pete Davidson and the death of Mac Miller, Grande chose radical grace. She names her exes by name and thanks them for the lessons.nMusically, it is deceptively simple: a dreamy synth-pop beat that leaves all the space for the lyrics. The song (and the viral Mean Girls-inspired video) changed the way pop stars deal with their private lives: she took control of the gossip press and turned the headlines into the biggest hit of her career. A cultural reset.

Shopping as therapy, wrapped in a trap banger. Grande brazenly samples "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music and transforms it into a boastful anthem about wealth and friendship. It marked a shift in her style: less singing, more rhythmic rap-singing (rap influences). It polarized critics, but the public lapped it up. It is arrogant, materialistic and unabashedly fun.

How do you come back after national trauma? With this song. No Tears Left to Cry starts as a sad ballad, then suddenly switches after thirty seconds to hopeful UK Garage/Disco. It is a brilliant musical choice: it doesn't deny the pain, but chooses to dance it away. The production is light and airy, and the message of "picking it up" felt like exactly what the world (and herself) needed.

A reggae-pop fusion that is much more explicit than the radio edit suggests (yes, that "walking bow-legged" is about exactly that). The collaboration with Nicki Minaj is, as always, gold. The slow, tropical beat gives Grande room to sing almost nonchalantly, which makes for a nice contrast with Minaj's sharp, staccato rap. It is the ultimate "gym-banger", though the workout she describes isn't for the treadmill.

Ariana goes EDM. Together with producer Zedd, she created this intergalactic dance floor anthem. The lyrics are grammatically nonsensical ("Now that I've become who I really are"), but in the context of this synth explosion, it doesn't matter. The song showed that her voice was powerful enough to tower above the heaviest electronic beats. A glorious piece of camp that perfectly fits the tradition of diva-house.

The track that launched her from star to superstar. Problem is built on a relentless saxophone loop and a clever structure: instead of a bombastic chorus, the beat drops to a whispered hook from Big Sean. It is a chaos of 90s R&B influences, jazz elements and the then-ubiquitous rap of Iggy Azalea. It proved that Grande could carry a summer hit without sacrificing her vocal acrobatics.

Perhaps the perfect pop song of the past decade. Into You is a masterclass in building tension. The pulsing bass line and synths slowly build toward a chorus that explodes with desire. The feeling of "a little less conversation and a little more touch my body" is perfectly translated here musically: urgent, sweaty and irresistibly catchy. This is pop music in its purest, most effective form.

A perfect fusion of divine vocals and earthly trap influences. On God is a woman, Grande positions herself as a deity, supported by production from Max Martin and Ilya that remains surprisingly minimalist. The strength lies in the "layering": Grande is her own choir, with dozens of layers of harmonies blanketing the beat like a warm duvet. It is sensual, feminist and vocally otherworldly.

Originally a David Guetta-produced banger about cheating and regret, but history gave this song a completely different meaning. After the terrible Manchester attack, One Last Time became an unexpected anthem of grief, resilience and unity. The euphoric synth hook and driving rhythm no longer sound like a party, but like an emotional survival cry. A pop song that completely transcended its original meaning.

This was the moment the ponytail came down and the "cute" image went in the trash. Dangerous Woman is a sultry, slow waltz (in 6/8 time) that leans on noir-like guitars and controlled vocal explosion. Where she previously often overpowered, she shows here that she can also seduce with control. The guitar solo midway through gives the song a rock edge that gave her discography the necessary "edge".

The big streaming favorite from the album Positions (now good for well over a billion streams). pov (point of view) is a heart-wrenching beautiful R&B ballad about the struggle with self-acceptance and the desire to love yourself the way your loved one does unconditionally.

The worldwide #1 hit with which she defined her signature "quarantine-sound". positions is a refined tour de force of acoustic trap-pop, driven by tightly plucked strings (pizzicato guitars and violins) and a relaxed 808 bass.

A mischievous and masterfully arranged homage to the same-named R&B classic from Brandy & Monica from 1998. On the boy is mine, Grande channels her inner "bad girl" with a wink to the gossip press about her love life.

Her triumphant comeback single of 2024 and a direct homage to ballroom culture and Madonna's Vogue. With a driving 90s house beat, Grande coolly dismisses outsiders' opinions: "Your business is yours and mine is mine, why do you care so much whose d*** I ride?".

The crown jewel of eternal sunshine and one of the best pop songs from her entire career. Inspired by the film classic Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and the melancholic synth-pop of Robyn, she sings about the painful realization that two people who love each other deeply still cannot be together. Max Martin's production ticks deceptively cheerfully with a pulsing electronic beat, while the lyrics break your heart.

The title track of her eighth studio album Petal (2026). The song marks a new, artistically more subdued and experimental phase in her career, in which vulnerability and organic instrumentation are central.

Where pop songs usually are about the pain of being abandoned, Grande radically flips the perspective here: the guilt and remorse when you realize you made someone fall in love with you while knowing you would ultimately break their heart. Musically, the track combines melancholic lo-fi drums with warm analog synths and a dragging bassline.

A Grammy-winning pop banger of gigantic proportions. Two of the greatest vocal powerhouses of their generation found each other in a pumping French house production about resilience and dancing through trauma: "I'd rather be dry, but at least I'm alive".

Unanimously praised by music critics as the absolute artistic and emotional pinnacle of her discography. ghostin is a fragile ambient ballad about a painfully complex theme: grieving your deceased ex (Mac Miller) while your new partner (Pete Davidson) holds you crying in bed.

The emotional and musical core of her album Sweetener. Written after the Manchester attack, she sings openly about her crippling anxiety attacks and the feeling as if the ground beneath her feet is disappearing: "Just keep breathin' and breathin'"

The track that proved Ariana could also pull off a mature, sensual and dark sound. Produced by Max Martin and Ali Payami, Love Me Harder combines sultry synthwave with a heavy electronic pulse.

The historic track with which the world first became acquainted with Ariana Grande as a serious pop prospect. Built on a nostalgic piano sample from Brenda Russell (and Big Pun's hip-hop classic "Still Not a Player"), "The Way" breathes pure 90s R&B joy.