7 Reasons Her New Album Is Going to Be Awesome

Hold on to your butts — Ariana Grande’s new album is going to be awesome. “Problem,” Grande’s insanely good new single featuring rapper Iggy Azalea, was released late Sunday evening and has been sitting pretty in the number one spot on iTunes ever since. “Problem” is everything: it’s old school, it’s new school, it’s pop, it’s R&B — it’s got it all. If “Problem” is any indication of the quality of the rest of the material on Grande's as-yet-untitled sophomore project, I am going to be an absolute emotional wreck when the album hits stores.

Interesting factoid: at first, Grande didn’t even want “Problem” on her new album. Gasp! It’s true. In a new interview with Billboard released on Monday, Grande revealed that initially, she wasn’t all that impressed by the song. It wasn’t until after she played “Problem” during a meeting with her label and management team that she was finally convinced that “she had another hit on her hands.” Phew, that was a close call.

In the aforementioned Billboard interview, Grande elaborated a little bit about what we can expect from her upcoming second studio album, and you guys, it’s going to be great. Here are the seven reasons why you need to start saving your money for Grande’s new album NOW:

The Album’s Helmed By Max Martin & Savan Kotecha

According to Billboard, two of pop music’s greatest producers/songwriters, Max Martin and Savan Kotecha, are guiding the direction of Grande’s new album. Somebody hold me. I could go on and on about how amazing both Martin and Kotecha are, but I’ll cut to the chase: Martin is responsible for pretty much every important Britney Spears, Katy Perry, and Pink song, and Kotecha is responsible for all of those catchy little One Direction ditties you secretly sing in the shower. What more is there to say?

Ariana’s Getting Ready for Her “Halo” Moment

Billboard reports that Grande put in studio time with OneRepublic front man Ryan Tedder, who co-wrote and produced Beyoncé’s “Halo,” along with several other incredible pop ballads like Leona Lewis’ “Bleeding Love” and Maroon 5’s “Love Somebody.” Tedder most recently produced the astonishing “Ghost” for British newcomer Ella Henderson. Grande’s enormous voice paired with Tedder’s trademark thundering percussion? Yes, please.

Benny Blanco Is Awesome

Billboard revealed that Grande worked with Benjamin Levin a.k.a. Benny Blanco on her new album. Blanco is known for crafting hits like Katy Perry’s “Hot n Cold,” Kesha’s “Tik Tok,” and Rihanna’s “Diamonds.” He worked with singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran on his upcoming album, X, too.

The Album Is At Least 5 Times Better Than Yours Truly

Grande told Billboard, “I never thought I’d be able to say this, but I love this [album] five times as much as I love Yours Truly. They’re different, but I love this one so much more.” Quick, someone run and grab my smelling salts, I’m going down.

Darkchild Is Producing

Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins is the coolest, and according to Billboard, he worked on a song with Grande. Darkchild has been churning out big pop hits for even bigger pop stars for almost 20 years now. Brandy and Monica’s classic duet, “The Boy Is Mine?” Darkchild. Whitney Houston’s “It’s Not Right, But It’s Okay”? Darkchild. Lady Gaga and Beyoncé’s epic collaboration, “Telephone”? Darkchild! Okay, you get the picture.

Ariana’s Dabbling In EDM

On the surface, this might seem like a really bad move for Grande, but as Billboard reports, she worked with Zedd, so we can all relax. She's in good hands. Zedd is the DJ responsible for creating recent radio smashes like “Clarity” and “Stay the Night,” as well as most of the good songs on Lady Gaga’s ARTPOP. Grande called her Zedd-produced track "fantastic and super-experimental," and said that working with the 24-year-old musician was an "eye-opening experience" for her. Oh my gosh, I'm so excited.

She’s Ariana Freakin’ Grande

There’s a cruel saying on the Internet that goes, “Mariah Carey’s career died so that Ariana Grande’s could live.” Hey, I said it was cruel, I didn't say it was necessarily true! But when Grande premiered “Problem” at the Radio Disney Music Awards last Saturday, dressed up as an adorable little Mickey Mouse cat burglar, there's no denying that she proved, yet again, that she’s got everything veteran divas like Carey just don’t have anymore: strong vocals, stage presence, and choreography.

I mean, every time I hear that Katy Perry is performing live somewhere, my whole body tenses up because I never know if we’re going to be treated to Perry the totally capable pop star with a beautiful voice or punished by Perry the totally incompetent pop star who’s completely forgotten how to sing and just decides to scream off-key for three and a half minutes. Grande is a pop star who can sing well AND she does it consistently. How refreshing! Of course her new album is going to be amazing.

That funky saxophone sample from "Problem" has been running through my head on a constant loop since last Saturday afternoon. I got a problem...and the only prescription is more "Problem." Save your coins, friends. Grande's new album will be here before you know it.

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