Ariana Grande’s ‘Petal’ displays a pop star at her most restrained

“Petal” by Ariana Grande (Republic Records) [AP Photo]

Gone is the big-belter Ariana Grande. On “Petal,” her eighth studio album and first full-length release since the end of her “Wicked” run and 2024’s “Eternal Sunshine,” the pop powerhouse looks inward across 12 tracks defined by restraint.

Lead single “Hate That I Made You Love Me,” with its muted reception and slinky hook, offered an early taste of the shift. The song, which became Grande’s 10th No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, pairs subdued vocals with bubbling synths and a soft-pop chorus crafted with longtime collaborators Ilya Salmanzadeh and Max Martin. At first, it felt like a test: Could the singer known for outsinging everyone deliver an understated performance? “I hate that I made you love me,” she sings. “’Cause I barely tried.”

That ease carries through much of “Petal.” Peppy production lifts “Oh Well,” offsetting its sharp dismissal: “Good things can replace dysfunction, obsession,” Grande sings before sending someone on their way with a biting “Good luck on your way to hell / Oh well!”

The album offers a range of cool, understated textures. Its somber R&B swagger owes something to SZA’s smoothness, while “Freak” unfolds like a hazy confessional, layered with dreamy vocal overdubs. There are none of Grande’s trademark vocal runs or towering climaxes. She has deliberately moved away from that style. The question is whether such subtlety will satisfy longtime fans.

A more dynamic Grande returns in the album’s final stretch. The blown-out bass of “Like I Do” and the slow-burning “Never Get Over Me” hint at the bolder performer listeners know. Album standout “Bad Thing (Bunny Hop)” delivers the rush of a new crush with dream-pop guitars, Weeknd-esque propulsion and butterflies-in-the-stomach lyricism. It flows naturally into the closer, “Nowhere, Nobody,” with its retro melody and vocoder effects.

In the album’s press notes, Grande described “Petal” as “something that is full of life and growing through the cracks of something cold and hard and challenging.” That feels apt. Small joys emerge beneath atmospheric production and understated melodies. More importantly, “Petal” finds pop’s most elastic vocalist discovering the quiet power of holding back. MARIA SHERMAN, MDT/AP Music Writer