“Hotel Rock Bottom” is Frankie Grande’s solo debut, and it is a 15-track, deeply personal, dance-pop gem. The album runs 40 minutes and spans an impressive personal journey through sobriety and self-love.
Grande’s infectious, upbeat energy and genuine joy truly shine through across the album, and it’s clear that this project is a projection of a person who is truly in tune with himself at this point in his life. Across the album, vibrant synths, pulsing basslines, and early-2000s-inspired club beats deliver both nostalgia and freshness.
The first two singles set a bright tone for the album—“Rhythm of Love” and “Boys,” each holds upbeat instrumentals and shamelessly queer, sex-positive lyrics.
Both songs fit into the dance club environment depicted in the full-scale music videos. Each video is packed with vivid visuals and stylistic choices reminiscent of your favorite throwback MTV videos. The “Boys” music video was also sponsored by MISTR, a virtual provider for HIV prevention medication and sex education materials.
The album was released on June 27, 2025, capping off a busy Pride month for Grande. In addition to his partnerships with MISTR, he performed at numerous pride-related events, including the OUT LOUD festival, an appearance on Jimmy Fallon, and collaborations with Pandora, Barry’s Gym, and Touch Tunes, among others.
The album’s release was followed by the passing of Grande’s grandmother, known to both fans and family as Nonna. Despite the heartbreaking news, Grande shared a post online, saying,
“I’ll hold her in my heart… while I perform… I’ll carry her spirit into every note and every step. It’s so hard to throw myself back into work, but I know that’s what both Nonna & Grandpa would want me to do.”
Although her passing certainly brings sadness, I hope it offers some comfort to know that she had the opportunity to hear her grandson’s newest album, and she shared just how proud she was of him at every occasion.
The fictional Hotel Rock Bottom that the album is named for represents a space Grande stayed following One Love Manchester, described as a place that was cold, dark, and somewhere he didn’t want to be.
He describes this as a turning point in his relationship with substances, pushing him in the direction of sobriety. The title track also represents a turning point in the album, and sitting just before the halfway mark on the album, it changes the lyrical tone of the tracks to follow.
The second half of the album includes “My Guy,” “Oasis,” and “Music Or The Noise,” each showcasing an important element of Grande’s journey to sobriety. Frankie shared that he was eight years sober in the week following the album’s release, a landmark that feels especially important with the messages of his album.
Several of the tracks on the album are dedicated to Grande’s husband of three years, Hale. Grande describes Hale as his oasis, hence the name of the track; “You and I, we got a ticket to a paradise, No, we don’t gotta fly a million miles, ‘Cause my oasis is you.”
Importantly, the second half of the album doesn’t dip away from the sonic energy of the first half—the lyrics certainly shift, but the dance-pop sounds stay strong across the album. Despite the varying themes and highs and lows across the album, there is a strong cohesion from start to finish.
The album’s deluxe edition followed on July 11, 2025, and adds five tracks to the original list. There’s a Big Freedia feature on “Messy,” a feature by Frankie’s sister Ariana Grande on “Hotel Rock Bottom,” a Salina EsTitties feature on “My Guy,” and a remix of each of the two singles from the album.
The collaboration between siblings was accompanied by a lyric video, featuring home photos and videos of the young siblings with their family. Ariana has been nothing short of exceptionally supportive of her brother as he’s embarked on this journey into solo music, sharing a comment on an Instagram post that reads, “I could not possibly be more proud.”
With love, resilience, and disco-infused optimism, “Hotel Rock Bottom” proves that even our lowest moments can be transformed into something worth dancing through.
