Ariana Grande Drops New Song, ‘Thank U, Next,’ Addressing Mac Miller and Pete Davidson (Listen)

UPDATED: Ariana Grande’s personal life has been in the headlines for most of 2018: her breakup with longtime boyfriend Mac Miller and whirlwind engagement to “Saturday Night Live” star Pete Davidson just weeks later, and Miller’s death from an apparent drug overdose and her subsequent split with Davidson a couple of months after that. 

All of the above, along with previous boyfriends Big Sean and Ricky Alvarez, are addressed in a song she’s been teasing all week, “Thank U, Next,” which she dropped abruptly on Saturday night, half an hour before the first new episode of “SNL” since she and Davidson split. Despite the potentially combative timing, the upshot of the song is basically that she’s good with all of her exes.

“Thought I’d end up with Sean
But he wasn’t a match
Wrote some songs about Ricky
Now I listen and laugh
Even almost got married
And for Pete I’m so thankful
Wish I could say thank you to Malcolm [Miller]
Cause he was an angel,

“One taught me love
One taught me patience
And one taught me pain
Now I’m so amazing
Say I’ve loved and I’ve lost
But that’s not what I see
So look what I got
Look what you taught me
And for that I say
“Thank u, next
Thank u, next
Thank u, next
I’m so f—ing grateful for my ex.”

Ninety minutes later on “Saturday Night Live,” Davidson made his own statement during the show’s “Weekend Update” segment, concluding his raucous guest spot by saying, “I know some of you are curious about the breakup, but the truth is, it’s nobody’s business. Sometimes things just don’t work out and that’s okay. She’s a wonderful, strong person and I genuinely wish her all the happiness in the world. Now please go vote on Tuesday, alright?”

Judging by social media posts earlier this week Grande did not respond well to Davidson’s reference to their breakup during “SNL” promos (in one, he jokingly asked this week’s musical guest, Maggie Rogers, to marry him), yet the song seems intended to clear the air.

It was less clear how serious her comment about a new album might be. “Sweetener,” her fourth and latest album, was released just two months ago and is currently at No. 20 on the Billboard 200. Last week she announced the “Sweetener” world tour, with initial dates running from March to June of 2019.

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