Because I am a long-term fan of Ariana Grande, I personally had very high expectations for the release of her new album, “Sweetener.”

After giving the album a listen, I can genuinely say that my expectations were incredibly surpassed as it was beyond anything I could’ve expected, and I was fully satisfied with Grande’s angelic voice meshing beautifully with the unique instrumental for the full extent of the album.

“Sweetener,” which was released Friday, Aug. 17, differs from Grande’s other releases as the vibe of the album steers listeners in a whole new direction, as her style appears to have changed. The tracks are blissful and unique as Grande effortlessly pulls the listener into the music more and more with her mesmerizing vocals and lyrics.

Grande opens the album with “raindrops (an angel cried),” which is a gorgeous 38 second ballad that is absent of any instrumental accompaniment whatsoever. Despite the fact that the song is unfortunately short-lived, Grande’s voice is pure and alluring, making the 38 seconds of this track undoubtedly worth while.

The album then jumps right into the upbeat and vibrant track “blazed,” which is an irresistible track featuring Pharrell Williams that compares to songs such as Justin Bieber’s “Baby” or Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” for having the ability to get stuck in your head after just hearing a small snippet of the track. Williams’ feature accommodates this track nicely with his smooth voice complimenting the funky vibe of the groovy instrumental.

Out of the 17 tracks that Grande presented on this album, it was genuinely tough for me to try and pick a favorite. I thoroughly enjoyed “the light is coming” featuring Nicki Minaj, “borderline” featuring Missy Elliott and of course one of the pre-released singles, “no tears left to cry.”

However, no other songs stand out to me more than “breathin” and “God is a woman.” These two songs are sincerely impossible to pick between. I absolutely love both of them and could listen to them over and over. “breathin” is a song that starts out as blissful and moody, then suddenly shifts to a powerful, colorful tone, making the sound, along with Grande’s voice– euphoric. “God is a woman” is one of the pre-released singles and correlates well with “breathin” as it is powerful and has that distinct, addictive sound that sticks with listeners.

Just like Grande’s previous releases, “Sweetener” was absolutely worth the listen and without a doubt incredible. However, there is something about “Sweetener” that separates it from Grande’s other projects as it reveals a new, mature side of her that makes her sound almost completely different from her typical style. It is because of this that I feel that this is Grande’s best project yet, and I’m ecstatic to see what else she puts out in the future.