Yours Truly

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Lore & Background

Work on Yours Truly began in August 2010 while Grande was in the process of filming Victorious and formally began to work on it with a record label after she was signed to Republic Records on August 10, 2011. By September 10 of that year, Grande already had 20 songs prepared and was going through the process of narrowing it down to 13. On December 12, 2011, Grande released "Put Your Hearts Up" as the intended first single for the album. Upon release, the song had sold 120,000 download units. In an interview in June 2012, Grande described everything on Yours Truly as being "[19]50s, [19]60s doo-wop-inspired", and revealed that two new singles were going to be released before the album—one of which was called "Do You Love Me?" featuring Sky Blu. In 2013, Grande met up with her label and expressed dissatisfaction with the direction the album was taking. In several interviews during that year, she admitted to having completely disliked "Put Your Hearts Up", and not having an interest in pursuing music of that genre. She expressed a desire to make the type of music she grew up listening to, which was "urban pop, [19]90s music". Yours Truly is inspired by a variety of different artists, ranging from Amy Winehouse and Christina Aguilera to Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. Grande said the album's first half is a "throwback" to the R&B music of the 1990s, and the second half is "something that is very unique and very special that I've sort of written" which is completely original.

In Their Own Story

The album opens with an orchestral intro that introduces the first track "Honeymoon Avenue", a downtempo song composed in the key of F-sharp major and set in a 4/4 time signature at a moderate tempo of 63 beats per minute. The song explores the 1950s musical style mixing doo-wop with an urban-inspired sound. Lyrically, "Honeymoon Avenue" uses several metaphors to speak about someone in a car being driven by her (romantic) partner. In interview with MTV, Grande explained its lyrics saying that "Honeymoon Avenue" "is about knowing you are at the end of a relationship and wishing it could not be the end and go back to the beginning and start over." The second track "Baby I" is drenched in a "retro sound" from 1990s R&B and pop sonority. Lyrically, "Baby I" is a confession on Grande's behalf admitting a special love for someone and how she can't formulate her strong feelings into words. The third track "Right There" features guest appearance by rapper Big Sean. Musically, "Right There" also incorporates the influences from 1990s R&B and urban music, mixing "stabbing synths", trap-inflected beat and a hip hop groove. The fourth track "Tattooed Heart" is a doo-wop song written in the key of G major with a tempo of 72 beats per minute in compound quadruple (12/8) time while Grande's vocals spans from D4 to F5. "Piano" is built on a hand-clapped rhythm, pulsating beats and a piano loop.

Reader's Guide

The album was preceded by the release of the lead single, "The Way", on March 26, 2013. It became a top ten hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number nine. The second single, "Baby I", was released on July 22, 2013, and peaked at number 21 on the Hot 100. The third and final single, "Right There", was released on August 6, 2013, and reached number 84 in the US. Yours Truly was further promoted with live renditions of the album's songs during the Listening Sessions tour in 2013. Grande performed "The Way" and "Baby I" at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards' Preshow on August 25, 2013. Five days later, Yours Truly was released in Great Britain, and on September 3 in the United States. Grande performed "The Way" with Mac Miller on the Today along with "Tattooed Heart" on the day of the album's US release; she also performed the latter at the 2013 Style Awards on September 4, 2013. Grande also made several other appearances throughout the week appearing on Live! with Kelly and Michael, Today and Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, where she performed an acoustic version of "The Way". Grande embarked on her first solo concert tour titled the Listening Sessions in support of Yours Truly. Pre-sale tickets went on sale on July 18, 2013, while regular tickets went on sale on July 19. Pre-sale tickets had to be taken down early, as they were selling at such a fast rate that the tour was almost sold before regular tickets were available. Grande also was the opening act for the last three US dates of Justin Bieber's Believe Tour, which took place in Jacksonville, Tampa, and Atlanta on August 7, August 8, and August 10, in support of the album.

Did You Know?

• Grande had 20 songs prepared by September 10, 2011, and narrowed them down to 13 for the album.
• The track 'The Way' was written by Harmony Samuels, J. Que, and others; Jordin Sparks was not involved in the songwriting.