“I don’t want it to sound like an extension of Yours Truly,” Ariana Grande revealed to Rolling Stone while discussing the eagerly awaited follow-up to her chart-topping 2013 debut. “I want it to sound like an evolution. I want to explore more sounds and experiment a little bit.” It seems fair to say that the one-time Sam and Cat favorite fulfilled her goal in style.
Indeed, while its predecessor was firmly rooted in the slick balladry and tasteful R&B of vocal gymnasts such as Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston and Christina Aguilera, My Everything ventured into everything from electrifying EDM to horn-heavy hip-hop, recruiting an impressive and eclectic roll call of A-list guests (rapper Childish Gambino, super producer Max Martin, One Direction star Harry Styles) along the way.
Grande’s concerted bid to become the next big pop girl certainly paid off, too. My Everything reached the top of the Billboard 200 with impressive first week sales of 169,000 — the second of six Grande albums to date to reach the pinnacle of Billboard‘s albums chart. It also spawned four top 20 singles on the Billboard Hot 100, earned a Grammy Award nomination for best pop vocal album and, perhaps most notably, forever distanced Grande from her squeaky-clean child star past, after she’d risen to stardom as part of the Nickeloden series Victorious and Sam & Cat.
To celebrate its 10th anniversary on Aug. 22, here’s a ranking of its original 12 star-studded tracks (Nicki Minaj and Jessie J collab “Bang Bang” only appeared on the deluxe edition) from least to most essential.
