Ariana Grande's 10 best songs: From 'Break Free' to 'Ghostin''

To celebrate the release of her fifth album Thank U, Next

Ariana Grande has found herself in a unique position: an artist with a string of hits, but still in the process of finding her identity.

Her relative inscrutability has helped define an image of a pop princess who can deliver the hits while refusing to settle on any one style or genre.

For her critics, the approach has made her work erratic, but it’s also arguably what’s allowed her to find her own maturity in her work, successfully transitioning from Disney Channel star to fully fledged pop star.

That musical journey continues with the release of her fifth studio album Thank U, Next.

To celebrate, here are the versatile singer’s 10 best tracks.

1. Dangerous Woman

The title track of her 2016 album signalled one thing for music commentators: the Disney star had grown up. Yet, a song this bold and self-assured must surely speak to so much more. “Cause it's my business/God as my witness/Start what I finished”, her silky vocals intone.

This is the anthem of self-ownership. A self-ownership, specifically, of power and sexuality. And, thanks to that big-band feel and 6/8 time signature, “Dangerous Woman” could easily have been a Bond theme, but only if Bond had been punted off a bridge somewhere in Siberia and replaced by Naomie Harris’s Moneypenny.

2. Into You

“Into You”, another of the major tracks off Dangerous Woman, speaks directly to Grande’s unique appeal. Over the course of her career, she’s been able to carry over that wide-eyed, innocent image from her Disney days, bolstered by that candy-floss-sweet voice, while still expressing herself as a grown, independent woman.

That balance is no more perfectly struck than here, mingling sultry bass and poppy disco synths.

3. no tears left to cry

A year after a terrorist attack on Grande’s Manchester concert killed 22 people and injured more than 100 others, the musician turned defiantly on her own trauma, eschewing the message that joy cannot, and never will, be defeated.

“Ain’t got no tears left to cry/ So I’m pickin’ it up, pickin’ it up/ I’m lovin’, I’m livin’, I’m pickin’ it up”, she sings, as the Sweetener track makes a sudden shift from soft gospel to a garage-inspired beat. “No tears left to cry” is a prime example of a musical balm.

4. Thank U, Next

Almost out of the blue, Grande last year released the break-up anthem that the world truly needed. “Thank U, Next” isn’t a song about looking better than your ex, finding someone better than your ex, or getting that sweet taste of revenge – it’s a song about making peace with and finding gratitude with your past. And that’s an attitude we could all benefit from.

5. Baby I

Listen back to Grande’s debut album, 2013’s Yours Truly, and you’ll be treated to a bouncy, 1990s-esque jam with “Baby I”. At the time, it seemed to perfectly reflect where Grande was musically: a powerhouse voice on the cusp of breaking free from the influence of her predecessors, Britney and Mariah.

Perfect for summer, this song is perhaps no better summed up than by the outfit she wears in the song’s video: this is the music of people who pair denim overalls with Converse.

Grande’s first two albums were littered with catchy doo-wop tunes, but it’s Dangerous Woman’s opener that may actually prove the most sophisticated of her excursions into the genre. The retro theme has been solidified with here with the lyrics, “He’s give me Elvis/with some James Dean in his eyes”, while the softer notes of “Moonlight” evoke a more Skeeter Davis-type, albeit with a dizzying vocal range to show off.

7. Ghostin’

The release of Thank U, Next brings with it as much doubt and insecurity as it does the sort of free spirit and self-celebration that we see on the likes of “7 Rings”. On “Ghostin’”, the soft rise and fall of strings beckon introspective from Grande, as she notes: “ We’ll get through this, we’ll get past this, I’m a girl with/A whole lot of baggage”.

8. Break Free ft. Zedd

A triple Platinum, certified dancefloor hit, “Break Free” marked a major milestone in Grande’s career. Having already delivered anthems “Clarity” and “Stay the Night”, EDM producer Zedd once more helped weave a pounding beat into a synth-pop confection. “Break Free” proved to have the right tone needed to open the singer to new realms of versatility.

9. Be Alright

Dangerous Woman took a detour into the 1990s deep house genre with “Be Alright”, combining a welcoming, hopeful message with mellowed-out vibes. It’s far from the most audacious of Grande’s songs, but that exact subtlety lends it a pleasing musical sophistication.

10. Side to Side ft Nicki Minaj

The audacious magic of "Side to Side” is that, despite its lyrics addressing some imagined male suitor, the track is more subversively tilted with a knowing smile to an audience immediately on board with the innuendo. It’s a song, in short, that exists strictly in the world of giddily Whatsapping the clique the morning after.

Thank U, Next is out now.