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" &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m a very flexible person - but if I feel like you want me to compromise my views or myself as an artist, you can go f**k yourself,&amp;quot; Ariana Grande said in a recent interview when questioned about the criticism of her new-found sexier image. It&amp;#039;s a feisty answer from the usually PG-13 starlet who, just under a year ago, took the pop world by surprise with her debut album Yours Truly. Not many Nickelodeon sidekicks go on to outshine their leading co-star, but Grande&amp;#039;s uncanny vocal likeness to Mariah Carey, along with riding a revival of early &amp;#039;90s R&amp;amp;B, allowed her to cross over to the Hot 100 remarkably smoothly. Eager to keep the spotlight burning bright, My Everything comes along a mere 11 months later. On first listen, it comes across as a hodge podge collection of electronic club numbers, slinky R&amp;amp;B and impressive co-writes; fundamentally Top 40 radio condensed into a 12-track collection for iTunes. Of course, this is no bad thing. Ariana&amp;#039;s flexibility comes with the intention of becoming the world&amp;#039;s next big popstar, and as lead single &amp;#039;Problem&amp;#039; proved with its strutting brass and hair-flipping hooks, she has all the potential to reach that goal. However, with repeated listens, My Everything&amp;#039;s mixed bag proves that whatever the genre, Ariana&amp;#039;s voice shines supreme. &amp;#039;Break Free&amp;#039;s pulsing beats and zippy synths are big enough to reach nightclubs on the fringes of the galaxy, while its more restrained sibling &amp;#039;One Last Time&amp;#039; has speckles of electronica to save it from falling into dwindling balladry. Elsewhere, Ariana&amp;#039;s slick R&amp;amp;B roots are represented on Big Sean hook-up &amp;#039;Best Mistake&amp;#039; and Cashmere Cat collaboration &amp;#039;Be My Baby&amp;#039;. Both carry over nicely from Yours Truly, elevating Grande&amp;#039;s wispy ad-libs over light hip-hop taps and potentially winding up an elusive chanteuse in the process.      As for a rousing mid-tempo number? That&amp;#039;s covered with &amp;#039;Why Try&amp;#039;, co-written by Ryan Tedder, no less. &amp;quot;We&amp;#039;ve been loving like angels, we&amp;#039;ve been loving like devils,&amp;quot; Grande admits on the middle eight, before launching into the kind of euphoric, cliff-top belting chorus we&amp;#039;ve come to expect from the OneRepublic frontman. There&amp;#039;s a real sense that Ariana has filled the album with chart-bound hits, managing to avoid slipping into generic pop territory. She even successfully drags The Weeknd out of his Pitchfork mixtape mindset to sound like an upbeat popstar over subtle grooves and disco claps on captivating serenade &amp;#039;Love Me Harder&amp;#039;. Rebuking an ex-boyfriend who cheated on her with a guy is a refreshing approach to the classic heartbreak anthem. Sampling Diana Ross&amp;#039;s &amp;#039;I&amp;#039;m Coming Out&amp;#039;, &amp;#039;Break Your Heart Right Back&amp;#039; is a clicking hip-hop number that hears featured rapper Childish Gambino fearlessly tackle a subject his genre has issues with (&amp;quot;Yes I&amp;#039;m a G to the A and they ask why?&amp;quot;). Furthermore, Ariana graduates from the school of tween star on &amp;#039;Hands On Me&amp;#039;; its mix of oriental riffs and hip-shaking beats reminiscent of the steamy pop that helped Britney Spears do the same back in 2001. They both make up for piano-led dud &amp;#039;Just A Little Bit Of Your Heart&amp;#039; (penned by Harry Styles) and saccharine title track &amp;#039;My Everything&amp;#039;. Overall, though, Ariana Grande has delivered a solid transition record with My Everything, proving that her honeyed vocals can handle more than the light R&amp;amp;B rhythms of her debut. As for her no compromise mantra? There are too many big-name songwriters here to believe that she exercised complete creative control, but it takes considerable talent to front the right balance of playful pop, heartfelt sentiments and sexy sassiness with ease. Believe the title - this is Ariana&amp;#039;s everything, and she&amp;#039;s taking it right to the top.  Tracks to download: &amp;#039;Problem&amp;#039;, &amp;#039;Break Free&amp;#039;, &amp;#039;One Last Time&amp;#039;, &amp;#039;Why Try&amp;#039;, &amp;#039;Hands On Me&amp;#039;, &amp;#039;Break Your Heart Right Back&amp;#039; "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/music/album-reviews/review/a591987/ariana-grande-my-everything-album-review-her-voice-shines-supreme/>