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10 songs that feel like True Story

Matched to True Story by Ariana Grande on how the music actually moves — intensity, dynamic swing, texture, tempo — not by genre tag. Here's what makes each one a match.

True Story
The song you love
True Story
Ariana Grande
moderate 47/100 intensity 126 BPM
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Savage Good Boy — Japanese Breakfast moderate 126 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same confident pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (47/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (126 BPM).

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Fuck Me Pumps — Amy Winehouse moderate 120 BPM

95% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (46/100). Same layered texture.

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Vicious — Lou Reed moderate 120 BPM

Keeps the same confident pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (46/100). Measured 95% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (120 BPM).

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Hello, I Love You — The Doors moderate 128 BPM

Measures 99% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (47/100). Same layered texture.

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Dance with Me, Henry — Etta James moderate 128 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same confident pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (47/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (128 BPM).

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Back On The Map — Kacey Musgraves moderate 120 BPM

99% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (46/100). Same layered texture.

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Think About Me — Fleetwood Mac moderate 118 BPM

Keeps the same confident pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (46/100). Measured 98% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (118 BPM).

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Head Over Heels — ABBA safe 118 BPM

Measures 98% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (45/100). Same layered texture.

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Superman — R.E.M. moderate 135 BPM

A 98% feel-match — carries the same confident pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (47/100).

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Jolene — Beyoncé moderate 106 BPM

96% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (45/100). Same layered texture.

…and if you want it calmer

Same feeling, measured gentler — for when True Story is more than you want right now.

Head Over Heels by ABBA
Head Over Heels — ABBA safe 118 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but it stays in our safe band start to finish. Intensity 45/100, down from 47. Nearly the same tempo, too.

The Lady Is a Tramp by Ella Fitzgerald
The Lady Is a Tramp — Ella Fitzgerald safe 140 BPM

Nothing in it lurches or startles, so it lands at 33/100 — the pull without the edge.

The Lady Is a Tramp by Frank Sinatra
The Lady Is a Tramp — Frank Sinatra safe 140 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while its dynamic range stays a gentler 4 where the original climbs to 6. Reads 29/100.

Happy Pills by Norah Jones
Happy Pills — Norah Jones safe 120 BPM

Holds the same feel while it stays in our safe band start to finish. 29/100, versus the original's 47. Nearly the same tempo, too.

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Vicar in a Tutu — The Smiths safe 120 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but its dynamic range stays a gentler 4 where the original climbs to 6. Intensity 27/100, down from 47. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Biscuits by Kacey Musgraves
Biscuits — Kacey Musgraves safe 120 BPM

It stays in our safe band start to finish, so it lands at 33/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da by The Police
De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da — The Police safe 120 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while it stays in our safe band start to finish. Reads 41/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

The Kids Don't Stand a Chance by Vampire Weekend
The Kids Don't Stand a Chance — Vampire Weekend safe 120 BPM

Holds the same feel while it stays in our safe band start to finish. 45/100, versus the original's 47. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “True Story” by Ariana Grande?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “Savage Good Boy” by Japanese Breakfast, “Fuck Me Pumps” by Amy Winehouse, “Vicious” by Lou Reed — the top match scores 99% alike. Matching is by how the songs actually move (intensity, dynamic range, texture, tempo, predictability, vocal force), not by genre tag or popularity.

What songs are like “True Story” but calmer?

“Head Over Heels” by ABBA, “The Lady Is a Tramp” by Ella Fitzgerald, “The Lady Is a Tramp” by Frank Sinatra keep a similar feel while measuring gentler — lower dynamic swing, fewer sudden shifts, or a calmer overall level.

How intense is “True Story”?

It measures 47/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 6/10, layered texture, mild sudden shifts, and dynamic vocals. Tempo is 126 BPM.

How do you decide which songs are similar?

Every song in our catalog is measured on 8 dimensions — intensity, dynamic range, tempo, sudden changes, texture, predictability, vocal force and fine sound detail. Similarity is the distance between two songs across those measurements, so matches cross genres and eras. Shared mood tags break ties.

By the numbers: how this song compares

Computed from this song’s place among the 19,209 songs we’ve measured.

Where it sits in 19,000 songs

On our 19k-song scale this lands in the middle band — more energetic than 49% of songs, calmer than the other 51%. Its intensity reading of 47/100 comes from a dynamic range of 6/10, layered texture, mild shifts, and dynamic vocals. It shares this stretch of the spectrum with thousands of other tracks, so the finer fingerprint below is what really separates it.

What makes it unusual

What stands out most about this song is a fast, driving tempo: more extreme on that axis than 83% of everything we've measured. At the far opposite end of the library sit the songs built on near-total stillness — steady volume, no surprises, a slow and unhurried pulse — the kind of track this one is the counterpoint to.

Feels almost identical to

Closest matches by feel across all 19,209 measured songs — not by genre or artist, by how they actually move.

What it’s good for

Sleep4/10
Focus8/10
Workout6/10
Dinner7/10
Party / hype5/10

Scored from this song’s tempo, intensity, dynamics and texture — not crowd votes.

2024 in context

The 135 songs we’ve measured from 2024 average a dynamic range of 6.2/10. At 6/10, this track is right in line with its year.

Mixes smoothly with

Within a few BPM and close in feel — they flow without a jarring transition.

The fingerprint

Intensity47
Dynamics56
Tempo48
Surprise25
Density33
Predictability0
Vocal force75
Trigger load0

The 8-dimension measurement behind every rating on this page.

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