sweetener

The title track of Ariana Grande's Sweetener album is a song about finding an infectious positivity in dark times; the lyrical message being you can make something beautiful from being dealt bad cards. "It's about bringing light to a situation, or to someone's life, or somebody else who brings light to your life, or sweetening the situation," Grande told Jimmy Fallon.

This was the first song Grande wrote for the Sweetener sessions back in 2016. She penned the tune with Pharrell Williams, who produced about half the tracks on the album. It originated when she was talking about her emotions with Williams and he started coming up with the music mid-conversation. The producer explained at Zach Sang Show's Sweetener Slumber Party. "You're matching a feeling, if that makes any sense. You're feeling what's going on and you're kind of like a stenographer trying to figure out what that is, and to her point about making her feel comfortable - my point of view as a producer and as a writer, if she's not comfortable, she's never going to give me the pure her."

"Sweetener" went viral on TikTok in late 2024 thanks to a dance-related trend with two people trading off different moves.