From a broken engagement, to the passing of a previous partner, Ariana Grande has had a busy past three months which have all led to her latest song “thank u, next” which was released on Nov. 3.
The content of the song alone focuses on her previous relationships. She first sings about Big Sean and Ricky Alvarez, who are two exes that did not bring as much controversy. The next line shows Grande’s most recent partner and fiancé, Pete Davidson. Grade and Davidson ended their engagement on Oct. 14, 20 days before the release of this song. The final person Grande sang about is Mac Miller who passed away on Sep. 7.
In the song, Grande says “Wish I could say, “Thank you” to Malcolm/ ‘Cause he was an angel,” referring to Miller who’s whole name is Malcolm McCormick. By Grande saying “angel” she continues to refer to his death which happened less than two months ago.
Grande’s song featuring Miller, “The Way”, was released on Jan. 1, 2013. This song was about Grande and Miller’s relationship. Miller also performed “The Way” with Grande at her benefit concert after the Manchester Arena bombing on May 22, 2017.
After the first verse of the song, Grande talks about what each of her previous relationships taught her. Then she goes into how she has transformed and how she has become a better person because of each of her relationships. In the bridge of the song, Grande sings about when she does get married, she will have moved on and grown from each of her previous partners.
The anthem which Grande has shared with the world has also made its way to Twitter, becoming one of the most popular memes in the past week. The lines, “One taught me love/ One taught me patience/ And one taught me pain,” have become the basis for comparing many TV shows and groups of people.
According to TIME, “Twitter soon discovered that these three lines could apply to pretty much any fandom.”
Grande performed the single live on the Ellen show on Nov. 7. Throughout the song, she laughed and choked up showing the emotion she put into the song. “Thank u, next” includes many people and ideas from previous parts of Grande’s life and her plans for the future.
