Skipping into 2024 with a breezy, ponytail-flipper of a beat, Ariana Grande’s first single in three years has a perky new year resolution vibe. “Yes, And?”, riding high on a breezy, brush-off title, channels the empowered attitude and snappy pulse of Madonna’s 1990 hit, “Vogue” (a song Grande covered on her 2015 Honeymoon tour). Fans of the same vintage as 52-year-old producer Max Martin may also catch a cheeky little nod back to British duo Mel and Kim’s 1987 house anthem “Respectable” in the brittle “take or leave us” sass of the phrasing.
“In case you haven’t noticed/ well everybody’s tired,” begins Grande over a squidgy little synth worm hook, muted key chords and thumping 4/4 beat. The Floridian singer who grew up modelling her vocals on the big gargling choruses of Celine Dion and Whitney Houston (learning to nail the drama while keeping the volume down) takes a sweet, light shimmery tone. Her voice soft and glancing as a make-up brush tickling your eardrum, she sets fans up to be themselves, regardless of haters. In another hat-tip to the queer history of “Vogue”, she sings: “Boy come on put your lipstick on,” before flitting into a chorus that wears its expletives like chiffon, urging listeners to “be like ‘yes, and?’/ say that s*** with your chest/ and be your own f***in’ best friend”.
