Cashmere Cat and Ariana Grande “Adore” one another

The unlikely (or maybe too likely) duo of Norwegian producer Cashmere Cat and American pop princess Ariana Grande are on fire. Last year alone, Cashmere Cat helped mint hits for Ari (Grande's nickname), production team BenZel, up-and-coming indie songstress Ryn Weaver, popstar-of-the-moment Charli XCX and saucy R&B chanteuse Tinashe. Meanwhile, Ariana scored her second number one album along with a slew of Hot 100 singles, including one ("One Last Time") that's just starting its ascent. As Grande relinquishes the spotlight with no new album on the horizon in 2015, she helps brighten Cashmere Cat's rising star on the producer's new single, "Adore", off his debut album, out sometime this year. (Not that he needs Grande's help; Cashmere Cat produced at least one song on tastemaker Kanye West's forthcoming album.)

"Adore" is essentially a sequel to Cashy Cat and Ari's "Be My Baby." Where she was hesitant to embrace the object of the her affections on that song, he has has become her lover on "Adore", with lyrics like "We don't need to go nowhere tonight/ it's you and I, we'll be alright", and, more provocatively, the chorus where Ariana belts, "You got me screaming my, my, my, my, my, my, my." (The vocal riff is a knockoff of or maybe a tribute to Johnny Gill, who sang the same notes and words on his 1990 hit "My, My, My".) The track, with assists from Jeremih, Benny Blanco, Ammar Malik and Lido on the songwriting and production sides, marks another step in the sexualization of Grande, who is proceeding down a road we've seen countless pop princesses take before. Luckily for us, the song is a hell of a lot better than "I'm a Slave 4 U."

Ariana Grande is currently touring across the U.S. with Cashmere Cat as an opening act.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdoB_kYLTGw[/youtube]