Petal exposes Ariana Grande's conflicted pop under public glare
Ariana Grande’s eighth studio album Petal arrives amid intense scrutiny, trading expansive synth-pop for a more intimate, ambivalent soundscape; it grapples with fame and misunderstanding—from the hopeful opener Kiss Me to the feral Petal and the closing Nowhere, Nobody—leaving Grande exposed as an artist navigating life in the public eye.