★★★★☆

After a stunning VMA performance and taking home her first Moonman for Best Pop Video, Ariana Grande (aka “Mini Mariah”) is just getting started on what promises to be an incredible career. She goes beyond the mold of your average millennial pop star because of one thing: her amazing voice.

In her highly anticipated sophomore album, “My Everything,” Grande delivers a more mature sound, securing her place as the pop princess to watch in the coming years. Jam-packed with beautiful ballads, hip-hop vibes and EDM beats, this album showcases some of the best popular music production to date.

“My Everything” opens with a gentle intro track, setting the emotional tone for the album. This ponytailed pop star has quite a bit to say about the boy(s) in her life, making her smash hit with Australian rap queen Iggy Azalea, “Problem,” the perfect choice for the album’s first full track.

The next two songs on the lineup showcase Grande’s vocal talent, particularly “Why Try,” a power ballad about the bittersweet pains of love. Grande captures a multitude of emotions on this album that can be very relatable both to those still watching her Nickelodeon episodes and to even more adult audiences.

While Grande is a standout performer herself, the real gems of this album are the collaborations. With more than half the tracks featuring a guest artist or producer, each track presents a different sound and feel than the one before it. Grande teams up with some of the best up-and-coming names in hip-hop and EDM, pairing stunning pop vocals with other modern sounds that will likely secure her a few more hit songs from this album. For example, her duet with The Weeknd, “Love Me Harder,” which definitely has the potential to reach the top 40, creates emotional intensity as the song goes back and forth between the artists. “Break Your Heart Right Back,” featuring Childish Gambino, contains a sample of the Diana Ross classic “I’m Coming Out” and a fun clicking rhythm in the background. On her track with Big Sean, “Best Mistake,” Grande steps out of her pop ballad comfort zone and tries more of a hip-hop vibe, focusing on lower-range vocals. By featuring different artists across the spectrum of popular music, Grande is able to dabble in musical styles that showcase the versatility of her voice and talents.

The only track on the album that seems a bit out of place is “Just a Little Bit of Your Heart,” a mellow piano ballad co-written by Harry Styles. Most of the songs on “My Everything” celebrate love or autonomy, but this song strays slightly from the album’s theme. While the sound is about right, the lyrics paint an image of powerlessness in love that does not fit with Grande’s style. Her fans probably won’t believe, nor should they, that Grande is cool with having an unfaithful man in her life, as the song suggests.

The final, titular track is reminiscent of the tone from the intro track, tying the album together nicely. With soft pop vocals and a sweet message about recognizing the love we have for another person, Grande concludes her sophomore album by baring all. But even with as much emotion and talent as she shares on these tracks, it is sure to leave her fans eagerly anticipating her next album.