Final Draft

It’s no secret that Ariana Grande has had a rough two years. In 2017, a suicide bomber denotated an explosive device, injuring more than 800, hospitalizing 112 and killing 23 people (Wikipedia).She demonstrated great bravery by returning to Manchester less than a month later, to hold a benefit concert. Earlier this year, she ended her two-year relationship with rapper Mac Miller after his substance abuse became, in her words, “toxic.” In the following two months, she confirmed her relationship with the comedian Pete Davidson. The pair got engaged the following month. After the Manchester attack and her separation from Miller, it seemed like the worst that could happen already had. “Sweetener” felt like it was meant to tie up the loose ends and serve as the beginning of her happily ever after. In her words, “it’s about bringing light to the situation or sweetening the situation.” But, unfortunately that wasn’t the case. Little did she know more tragedy was about to come her way. Shortly after the release of “Sweetener,” Mac Miller died of an overdose in his Los Angeles home.  The following month, after a highly public whirlwind romance, she called off her short-lived engagement to Pete Davidson.

After these unfortunate series of events, fans wondered how she was coping and whether she would address everything after an expected hiatus from her singing career. However, on Nov. 3, 2018, not too long after she broke off the engagement, thank u, next, the title track that was released weeks before the actual album, broke records. Ariana gets real personal and name drops her exes, including her now deceased ex-boyfriend and her ex-fiance. But instead of dwelling on the negative, Ariana handles loss on multiple levels with inspiring grace and self-love and shifts her perspective to focus on gratitude. She thanks her exes for the lessons they’ve taught her and explains how she’s learning to love herself instead. The single vocalizes that the only relationship she seeks now is one with someone who will always be there for her no matter the situation: herself. Instead of leaning on the cliché mopey post-relationship songs, it celebrated emotional growth and increased devotion to herself. Fans raved about the new single, posted its lyrics on their social platforms and declared “thank u, next” their anthem for 2019. And, trust me, I can see why.

Much of this song’s success comes from how relatable it is. I love the actual line “Thank U, Next” because it shows that we can be grateful and want to end a chapter at the same time. The words in themselves represent the beauty of letting go and embracing future experiences. It’s also relatable because we have all had experiences that had caused us pain. We have all been through friendships and relationships that didn’t end as expected. We have all lost people we wish we could say something to, whom we wish we could express our gratitude to. And sometimes, we may ask ourselves why; why we go through that kind of pain. But this song shows us that instead of questioning those experiences or dwelling on them, it’s better to thank them for shaping us into who we are today.

This has been the worst year of her life, as a visibly emotional Ariana said when she accepted the woman of the year award at the Billboard Women in Music awards recently. But, all though her personal life was falling apart, it has been the best year for her career. And I’ll tell you why. A very broken and distraught Ariana headed to the studio and converted her pain into another album that she would release just five months later after “Sweetener.” This turned out to be her best album yet. In the United States, Thank U, Next debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 360,000 album-equivalent units, of which 116,000 were pure album sales. The album became her fourth number-one album in the country and broke the record for the largest streaming week ever for a pop album (Billboard).  Thank u, next fills in the gaps between the moments in her life that made headlines since Sweetener.

So why is this album so great? Well, to begin with, it feels like an evolution for the singer in terms of content, sound, and maturity. It seems as if she finally found her true sound with this album. It’s also as personal as it gets in terms of her life. This album documents a messy fight in the battle for self-acceptance and defines Ariana as the protagonist and antagonist of her own story. Honestly, it feels like a musical diary and although she had several co-writers on thank u, next, the songs feel that they come directly from her. She seems less like a pawn of the pop music machine on this album compared to Sweetener. The lack of features on this album definitely adds to this. Sometimes, people just don’t want a song that’s catchy and repeats the same thing over and over again. You want something that you can relate to, something that’ll make you see that celebrities are humans too because let’s be honest sometimes we forget. It’s great to see an artist really transparent and put all of their emotions into their art.

Let’s do a rundown of some of the songs in the album so you can see where I am coming from. The album opens up with “imagine” a romantic ballad where she dreamily envisions a world with a lover with whom she can find passion and peace within the aftermath. This track is rumored to be about the late Mac Miller. “needy”, the confessional track about her recent emotional rollercoaster, overthinking relationships and the kind of neediness we’ve all experienced when we’re not getting back everything we put into a relationship. “fake smile”, her commentary on her life in the public eye, having to show up and appear fine even when you’re not. Given everything she’s been through in the past two years, this is one of the most honest tracks on the album. But no song packs in as much intimate details as “ghostin.”  It is the highlight from the album, in my opinion.  It seems like a really honest exploration of how Mac Miller’s death affected her relationship with Pete Davidson. She sings, “Though I wish he were here instead, don’t want that living in your head.” There are so many lines in this song that I can honestly say made me tear up. It’s the most personal and emotion I’ve ever seen Ariana put in her craft. What’s crazy is that she almost didn’t put this song in the album because of how personal it is. But we’re all so glad she did.

There’s that cliché that “great art emerges from great suffering.” In Ariana’s case, this proves to have some truth to it. Sadness is something we often experience in our lives whether short-term or long-term. She has shown great courage in the face of trauma, tragedy and tabloid sniping to become the voice of a mass movement towards broad-mindedness and optimism. The point is, take something away from Ariana. Find a way to uplift yourself from stressful or painful situations. Whether it is through music, art, writing, take on that pain and evoke it onto your craft. If you’re a musician, the best songs are those that have some background to it and that comes from a place of hurt. And while you’re at it, listen to the bomb album. I’m sure you won’t regret it.

Works Cited

Caulfield, Keith. “Ariana Grande’s ‘Thank U, Next’ Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart With Biggest Streaming Week Ever for a Pop Album.” Billboard, 19 Feb. 2019, www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8498762/ariana-grande-thank-u-next-debuts-at-no-1-on-billboard-200-chart-album.

“Manchester Arena Bombing.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 2 May 2019, en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_Arena_bombing.

Harrast, Maria. “All the Highs and Lows From Ariana Grande’s Whirlwind Year.” E! Online, E! News, 17 Aug. 2018, www.eonline.com/news/960449/all-the-highs-and-lows-from-ariana-grande-s-whirlwind-year.

Agency. “2018 Has Been A Tough Year For Ariana Grande.” Star2.Com, Star2.Com, 11 Dec. 2018, www.star2.com/entertainment/2018/12/12/ariana-grande-woman-of-the-year/.