Before playing Ariana Grande’s new album “Yours Truly,” for the first time I was a little hesitant given her “tween” acting background.

Grande starred on a Nickelodeon show titled “Victorious” where she played Cat Valentine, a girl attending a performing arts high school in Hollywood and was the oddest and most annoying character you could ever watch. Her character is portrayed as quite stupid with a weird lack of common sense.

Aside from acting, Grande has also been singing for quite some time. She has starred in several Broadway Musicals — “13” and “Cuba Libre” — which both show her wide range of variety. After listening to the album, I could definitely tell she has a ton of vocal experience.

The album begins with the track “Honeymoon Avenue.” The lyrics metaphorically describe Grande’s wish for her relationship to go back to the way it was during the honeymoon stage. She lyrically describes this scene as if she and her boyfriend are in a car driving to their relationships doom. The song goes from a slow soothing song into pop then she throws a little hip-hop in the mix at the end which seems odd but it all meshes together very well.

If you’re more of a hip-hop/rap kind of person, there are two songs on the album just for you. When I first heard the album’s debut single on the radio, I had no idea it was Grande because the sound was so unexpected. Most of us have already heard the albums first single, “The Way” featuring Mac Miller; depending on what generation you’re from, in this song you’ll probably hear a sample from Brenda Russell’s 70s hit, “A Little Bit of Love,” or Big Puns’ ’98 hit “Still Not a Player.”

Although I heard Big Pun, either way the song is great. It’s pretty catchy and you can’t help but to sing along – even if your voice cracks trying to hit those crazy high notes towards the end of the song. After hearing that song, I was curious about what other songs she’d have on the album that could fit in the hip-hop genre and to my surprise I came across rapper Big Sean on track 3 titled “Right There”. This song will definitely take you back to the 90s again, especially thanks to the sample from Lil’ Kim’s ‘96 single “Crush On You” — right away I was hooked.

Now, I’d feel like a terrible person if I didn’t give you a fair warning about one particular song on the album that will probably make you want to rip your ears off.

Track number 11, “Popular Song” featuring MIKA, will likely make you feel like you’re in middle school again and we all know that’s not a good thing. Apparently this song was actually released by MIKA late last year with Grande as a feature.

Even though that song is pretty annoying, Grande makes up for it with the next track, “Better Left Unsaid.” This track ends the album perfectly and is one of those songs you could turn up loud and automatically feel like you’re in the middle of a house party no matter where you are. That is never a bad thing.

Thanks to the many throwbacks on this album it is nostalgic in many ways. “Yours Truly” will bring you back and forward to different musical eras ranging from 50s doo-wop sounds to today’s techno-pop — all without skipping a beat.

Grande has serious vocal potential and it’s always a good thing when an artist can make music for all types of listeners.

Anisca Miles can be reached at [email protected]