Ariana Grande’s Yours Truly turned 10 last week. This means that an expanded reissue for the album was just released and Ariana is now back, perhaps briefly, in the spotlight. The ‘Tenth Anniversary Edition’ of the album includes a (vaguely) Spanglish version of her first legitimate hit in collaboration with the late Mac Miller, ‘The Way’, and a handful of live recordings. None of those are particularly interesting. But the release has provided a good reason to revisit Yours Truly, a pretty monumental stepping stone for the only Nickelodeon alum who actually reached ultra-mega-superstar status.

Listening to Yours Truly again - having been pretty fond of Ariana’s early music - reintroduced me to ‘You’ll Never Know’, a song which I adored years ago but has been entirely forgotten by time. I have no idea why that is the case. Even more, I have no idea why reviews of this album both from 2013 and today seem to ignore the song’s existence entirely. ‘You’ll Never Know’ is completely off the wall and you should listen to it.

‘You’ll Never Know’ is an immaculately written kiss-off, primarily successful because it seems so effortless. Songs like that often fall flat because the nastiness is dialled way up to the point of overkill. ‘You’ll Never Know’ has so much levity, much of which is imbued by Ariana’s weightless, elastic vocal. That’s not even the best part. The song is pure 80s electro revivalism, a sound that bears closer resemblance to contemporary hip hop than pop. Every element is is perfect service of the groove: the 808 hi-hats and claps are impossibly crisp and the synth stabs are equally rhythmic and melodic. The result is a relentlessly danceable sugar rush. I genuinely struggle to think of better pop songs from last decade. I’m sure they exist, but they probably aren’t as thrilling.

88

Sam Gollings

14 September 2023