Music Review: Ariana Grande's 'Petal' displays a pop star at her most restrained

NEW YORK (AP) — Gone is the big-belter Ariana Grande. On "Petal," her eighth studio album and first full-length release since both the end of her "Wicked" run and 2024's "Eternal Sunshine," the pop powerhouse looks inward across 12 tracks of real restraint.Lead single "Hate That I Made You Love Me," with its muted reception and slinky hook, offered a direct taste of the vibe shift to come. The track, which became Grande's 10th No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, is marked by subdued vocal delivery that comes alive with its bubbling, arpeggiated synths and soft-pop chorus courtesy of Grande and her producers — Ilya Salmanzadeh, whom she has worked with since 2018's "Sweetener," and the Swedish enigma Max Martin. Upon first listen, it felt like a bit of a test: Could the artist known for outsing