In honor of my favorite artist's accomplishments in winning 2016's Artist of the Year at the American Music Awards, I thought I'd highlight some of her best songs (in my opinion) that supplement any Pop (or mixed genre) playlist:
10. Greedy
This was virtually my expression when I heard this song on Dangerous Woman: speechless - Ariana starts out the song slaying in the first few seconds.
9. Problem [feat. Iggy Azalea]
A fantastic collaboration all around - and the lyrics "I got one less problem without you" are applicable as a response when people tell me they don't like Ariana Grande.
8. Break Free [feat. Zedd]
Hands down an amazing dance (and workout song); enough said.
7. Over and Over Again [Nathan Sykes with Ariana Grande]
Not your typical Ariana song - this is a ballad I could sing to all day (and to be honest, I probably have...)
6. The Way [feat. Mac Miller]
This was the first major Ariana Grande song I heard outside of her role as Cat Valentine on the Nickelodeon show "Victorious" - and I have been perpetually in love with this song ever since.
5. Dangerous Woman
I've noticed many times that when an artist (or their label) names an album after a particular song on the tracklist rather than a lyric or other unique song, that song doesn't do that well. That's not the case here.
4. Into You
A popular song over the summer and into autumn of this year, "Into You" became one of my personal favorite songs of all time - I know all the words, some of you may have even heard me sing them quite audibly. Sorry - just kidding, I can't help it.
3. Love Me Harder [feat. The Weeknd]
From My Everything, this is another track that is slightly different than some of the other pop songs out in the ether, and could almost belong on Dangerous Woman with how different it is from some of her other previous songs. The vocal range she exercises on this song is usually the example I refer to when people question her talent.
2. Side to Side [feat. Nicki Minaj]
Before this became a smash hit on the radio, I listened to it on the Dangerous Woman album and was at that point hoping it'd get on the radio someday - wish granted. Nicki Minaj gives this song an unparalleled flair as a collaborator. Probably the most frequently played track on her CD in my car.
1. Focus
As the bridge between the release dates of My Everything and Dangerous Woman, I listened to this song on repeat frequently for two weeks straight after its release...it's that great, I promise.
Honorable Mentions: Moonlight, Popular Song (feat. Mika), Bang Bang (Jessie J/Ariana Grande/Nicki Minaj), Be My Baby, I Don't Care, Touch It - these songs didn't quite make the list but I would recommend them nontheless, especially Touch It.
Bonus: Christmas Music
Just in time for the holidays, I'd recommend any of the Christmas songs by Ariana, particularly from her Christmas EP titled Christmas & Chill - my personal favorite is the song titled "Winter Things".
