Ariana Grande’s Zedd Collab “Break Free” Proves EDM-Pop Is Out of Ideas

For a while there, Zedd had the Midas Touch, co-producing Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj's "Beauty and a Beat," launching Foxes' career with "Clarity," and snagging Hayley Williams on "Stay the Night."  Then, Lady Gaga's ARTPOP happened, and he had production credits on three tracks from the lackluster album. Suddenly, it became clear that either the masses were sick of EDM pulling pop's strings, or the EDM masterminds were running out of ideas. Now Ariana Grande has recruited Zedd for her own attempt at molly-pop, and the result on "Break Free" is about as generic as this stuff gets. Which is a shame, because in Grande's short pop career she's been on a hot streak.

Her voice is commanding, of course, and never gets lost in the synth lasers and crescendos — not that the played-out, tepid elements here threatened to overtake her anyway. But the end result could've been a song by literally any other female singer and pop producer at any point between 2012 and today. But hey, at least there's no Iggy Azalea on this!

Fans of mini-Mariah shouldn't stress just yet, though: Her forthcoming sophomore album, My Everything, has features from Big Sean, Childish Gambino, The Weeknd, and A$AP freaking Ferg, which is both mind-boggling and exciting.

Stream "Break Free" here.