Grande coos and craves on fresh ‘thank u, next’
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 also is the title of her latest album, released Friday, which arrives less than a year after her adventurous pop confection “Sweetener.” Yet 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.
Rather than break into her signature belt, the 25-year-old is remarkably restrained throughout, cooing about craving attention on the stringsladen “needy” and wrestling with fame on the deceptively buoyant “fake smile.” “NASA,” which many fans have speculated is directly inspired by Davidson, features some of Grande’s cleverest lyrics yet, as the singer muses about being fully committed but needing some alone time. (“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 sloweddown version of Miller’s song “2009,” Grande gets vulnerable as she acknowledges 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 who 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).
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.