Ariana Grande
thank u, next
thank u, next
New Album From
Ariana Grande
Released February 8, 2019
Ariana Grande’s highly anticipated new album, thank u, next is OUT NOW!
thank u, next's title track went instantly viral upon release, with Grande laying out her personal heartache by name, on mic. But beyond shouting out her well-known exes like Davidson, Miller, Big Sean and Ricky Alvarez, Grande also revealed a newfound relationship with herself. This album is her best and most confessional album yet!
Few celebrities have had a more trying past year than Ariana Grande.
In the past six months alone, the pop star has weathered a called-off engagement to "Saturday Night Live" star Pete Davidson and the death of her ex-boyfriend, rapper Mac Miller – all while she was seeking therapy to process trauma from a 2017 terrorist attack that killed 22 people after her concert in Manchester, England.
It's enough to make anyone want to throw in the towel, but Grande has persevered with her usual combination of grace, maturity and wit: eloquently clapping back at Grammy producers and tattoo critics on Twitter, and releasing back-to-back No. 1 singles, "7 rings" and "thank u, next."
The latter is also the title of her latest album, released Friday, which arrives less than a year after her adventurous pop confection "Sweetener." But while that album reveled in relationship bliss, "thank u, next" is markedly darker and sexier – leaning fully into Grande's penchant for R&B, as she sings 12 of her most confessional songs yet.
Yet, there's still a refreshing acknowledgement of less self-assured moments, and Grande refuses to ever paint these instances as weakness. "fake smile" hears her rejecting the flawless, happy image celebrities are expected to project despite inner turmoil, while "in my head" finds her coming to grips with the realities of a toxic relationship.
That self-understanding re-emerges in different ways across this record — be it analyzing her role in relationships ("needy"), establishing boundaries ("NASA") or embracing her sexuality ("bloodline," "break up with your girlfriend, i'm bored").
The album highlight, however, comes at what sounds like Grande's lowest. "ghostin" is a heartbreaking electro-tinged ballad that she's described as about "feeling badly for the person you're with bc you love somebody else" and "feeling badly bc he can tell he can't compare." It's impossible not to read into it as a track addressed to Davidson in the wake of Miller's death, but regardless of the characters involved, it's a gorgeous and incredibly intimate moment amongst otherwise mostly upbeat break-up bops. ("Baby, you know time apart is beneficial ... Give you the whole world, I'ma need space.")
Grande saves some of the very best songs for last, such as the tear-jerking album highlight "ghostin," which is more than just an anthem for all of us who've had bad brushes with dating apps. Appearing to sing over a slowed-down version of Miller's song "2009," Grande gets vulnerable as she admits loving someone other than the one she's with. ("And I'm hating myself 'cause you don't want to admit that it hurts you / I know that it breaks your heart when I cry again over him.")
The track "in my head" is similarly soul-baring, as she thoughtfully comes to terms with the perfect boyfriend that never actually existed and realizes that it's not up to her to fix him. The album ends with the impossibly catchy "break up with your girlfriend, i'm bored," which sounds like another surefire hit for Grande, who playfully lusts over an unobtainable guy (or girl, as the song's music video cheekily suggests).
It's been hard not to root for Grande over the past couple years, so it's especially rewarding to hear her coming out the other side of grief and trauma with her strongest body of work to date.
Five albums and six years into her music career, Grande delivers her most cohesive and empowering album yet with "thank u, next," which gives us a window into an artist at the peak of her powers and serves as much-needed therapy for all of us recovering from heartache.
Grande has only continued to blossom into one of pop’s most compelling artists, and why “Thank U, Next” stands as what promises to be one of the best pop releases this year.
Along with the new album, Grande also released the video for her single "break up with your girlfriend, i'm bored" -- which features a surprise twist at the end.
Ariana Grande - break up with your girlfriend, i'm bored
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