The pop stars latest banger was released Saturday night Nov. 3, and the opening verse mentions four of her former flames, Big Sean, Ricky Alvarez, Mac Miller and Pete Davidson.
You may have noticed that Grande has used the phrase "thank u, next" before, in her seething hot Tweets at Davidson post-SNL jokes about their relationship and subsequent break-up. In a series of now-deleted Tweets, the No Tears Left To Cry singer wrote, “For somebody who claims to hate relevancy u sure love clinging to it huh.”
She then capped off her takedown of Davidson by writing, “thank u, next”.
Whether the singer wrote her latest track in super speed, or the cleverly timed tweet was a crafty PR move, we may never know, but what we do know is that any hopes of a rekindled romance between Ari and ex-fiancé Pete, are dead and buried.
The song might name-check her four main exes, but it is mainly about moving forward, learning from your past relationships and ultimately learning to love yourself before loving a man (yes girl!).
The first two lines of “Thank U, Next” are an obvious reference to Big Sean; “Thought I'd end up with Sean/but he wasn't a match”, followed by her sassy dedication Alvarez “wrote some songs about Ricky/ now I listen and laugh.”
Ooft, sorry Ricky.
The last two lines of the opening verse mention former fiancé Pete and the late Mac Miller, “Even almost got married, and for Pete I’m so thankful, wish I could say thank you to Malcolm, ’cause he was an angel.”
The track is not a diss at her exes, if anything, the very genuine “thank you’s” Ariana makes to all her past boyfriends show that Grande is genuinely grateful for their time together, but is letting go of any bitterness or feelings she may still have and moving on.
What Thank U, Next does make clear is that Grande's next relationship is with herself, and that is the kind of positive message we can get behind.
