Released: 2020Get ready to dive into the depths of “positions” by Ariana Grande. On the surface, it’s a straight-up love song, but under the hood, it’s an intriguing mix of self-realisation, vulnerability, and a shout-out to the dance of compromise in relationships.
Let’s start off with “I’m tryna meet your mama on a Sunday / Then make a lotta love on a Monday”. Ariana’s flipping the script on traditional gender roles and expectations, embracing both domesticity and sensuality. Sunday dinners meets Monday loving, anyone? This is prime Ariana, unafraid to mix tradition with a dash of confident sexuality.
The recurrent lines “Switchin’ the positions for you / Cookin’ in the kitchen, and I’m in the bedroom / I’m in the Olympics, way I’m jumpin’ through hoops” serve as the nucleus of the song. ‘Switchin’ positions’ isn’t just about the romantic or the physical – it’s a metaphor for behavioral flexibility in love, for adapting, adopting roles, and putting in the hard work for a relationship’s survival. Making it work, in the kitchen and the bedroom, whatever it takes. And the ‘jumpin’ through hoops’? A nod to the trials and tribulations we navigate for love.
Roll on to “Perfect, perfect / You’re too good to be true / But I get tired of running’, fuck it, now I’m runnin’ with you”. She’s acknowledging the effortless appeal of her lover, her own withdrawal tendencies, and ends with that sweet surrender to love.
In the second half of the song, where Ariana sings “This some shit that I usually don’t do / But for you, I kinda, kinda want to / ‘Cause you’re down for me, and I’m down too”, she’s yet again revealing her willingness to break character, to take a chance, to adapt and change – for love, and for the person who’s willing to do the same for her.
To wrap it up, “Positions” is a modern pop anthem that beautifully weaves a narrative about embracing vulnerability, breaking molds, flipping scripts, and finding power in adaptation, all in the name of love. It’s Ariana’s pop-powered ode to the dance of compromise that defines relationships, and a testament to the lengths we’re ready to go when we are down for someone as much as they are for us.
