Ariana Grande Appears As The First Female POTUS In Her New Single "Positions"

A few verses down into Ariana Grande’s new single “Positions”, one realises that a new era has dawned for the singer’s music. The sensual slow burner, which is a lead to her upcoming album, marks a departure from her recent upbeat hits. With soaring vocals and soothing tunes, the song is almost like a new-age lullaby. However, the track’s most interesting aspect is that it signifies Grande coming into her own as a woman. Moving over all talk of ex-boyfriends and rings, “Positions” posits Grande as a boss-woman running the country and her household with aplomb.

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In "Positions", The Future Is Female

The “Positions” music video features Ariana Grande as the first female president. Grande oscillates between the professional and the personal – the Oval office-like set up and the kitchen – singing lyrics like, "Switching my positions for you / Cookin' the kitchen and I'm in the bedroom / I'm in the Olympics way I'm jumping through hoops / knowing my love infinite /nothing I wouldn't do, that I won't do / Perfect." Attending meetings, bestowing honours, cooking, sitting on the bed – Grande’s woman avatar switches ‘positions’ with ease. Moreover, she does all this and more while looking effortlessly chic. Like most of Grande’s songs, sexual undertones are present in “Positions” as well: “Boy, I'm tryna meet your mama on a Sunday/Then make a lotta love on a Monday.”

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“Cookin' the kitchen and I'm in the bedroom”

For all of the song’s women-empowerment strains, I have a small bone to pick with Grande. The song's lyrics like “Cookin' the kitchen and I'm in the bedroom” seem to put all the more pressure on women to excel in all their roles. In fact, Grande goes on to croon, “This some shit that I usually don't do (Yeah)/But for you, I kinda, kinda want to” and “know my love infinite/ nothing I wouldn’t do.” These lyrics make one wonder if a Grande is romanticising the idea of girls ‘adjusting’ and taking on the bulk of responsibilities in relationships. Sure, women can do everything. But should they?

Despite this, Grande wins some major points for her refreshingly diverse reconfiguration of the White House in her song. Additionally, her politics-centric music video has come at just the right time to encourage Americans to cast their votes in the upcoming US presidential elections.

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A bonafide pop-sensation, Grande experiments with R&B tunes in “Positions” to put out a delightful song that is, as her lyrics suggest, “too good to be true.” If the other songs in Grande’s upcoming album are even half as good as “Positions”, Arianators around the world are in for a real treat.

Picture Credits: Pitchfork

Tarini Gandhiok is an intern with SheThePeople.TV. The views expressed are the author's own.