The 17 best and 17 worst Ariana Grande songs of all time

The 17 best and 17 worst Ariana Grande songs of all time · Business Insider
  • Ariana Grande has iconic hits like "Thank U, Next," as well as first-rate deep cuts like "Only 1."

  • "We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)" recently joined the ranks of her best-ever songs.

  • However, Grande has also released some duds, including "Blazed," "Focus," and "Bang Bang."

When "Victorious" premiered on Nickelodeon in March 2010, Ariana Grande became known as the bubbly, spacey, red-haired Cat Valentine, a high schooler with a prodigious voice.

The following year, she released her debut single — and less than three years later, Grande had seamlessly pivoted to a full-time music career. Though it took some time to carve her own unique space in a crowded industry, she now boasts seven studio albums, 15 Grammy nominations, and a reputation as an illustrious, intrepid pop icon.

Business Insider's senior music reporter weighed factors like listenability, lyrical quality, production value, and critic reception to come up with the 17 best and 17 worst songs of the singer's career thus far.

"We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)" pairs earnest lyrics with engrossing electro-pop.

ariana grande we can't be friends wait for your love music video
"We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)" is the 10th track on "Eternal Sunshine."Ariana Grande/YouTube

"We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)," the second single from Grande's seventh album "Eternal Sunshine," is immediately easy to like. The steady, thumping beat recalls Robyn's "Call Your Girlfriend," while Grande's subtle vocal performance evokes Imogen Heap's "Hide and Seek." It's a head-bobber and a heartbreaker all at once.

Indeed, "We Can't Be Friends" is presented as a straightforward breakup song, particularly in the context of Grande's divorce. In the music video, she mimics the plot of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" attempting to wipe all memories of her failed relationship for a fresh start.

But the lyrics are enigmatic enough to invite other interpretations — namely, that Grande is serenading us, her audience, rather than her ex. Her aching pleas for compassion ("Know that you made me / I don't like how you paint me") become even more affecting through this lens. Perhaps it's our collective memory — the compulsive catalog of her scandals and mistakes, alive forever on the internet — that Grande really wants to erase.

Like most great pop songs, "We Can't Be Friends" works on many levels. Grande draws a parallel between the post-split haze — where two lovers become strangers again — and the fickle, alienating veil of fame. Every listener is cast in the role of her tormentor.