Ariana Grande, famous pop star and singer, dropped her fifth album titled “Thank U, Next” on Friday, Feb. 8. Between the nearly six month gap between her fourth album “Sweetener” and “Thank U, Next”, Ariana Grande has been through more pain and heartbreak than one can bare, and it shows throughout her music.
On May 22, 2017, Ariana lost 22 of her beloved fans due to a terrorist attack at her concert in Manchester, England. After struggling with anxiety her entire life, this attack took a massive toll on her. On Sept. 7, 2018, Mac Miller, her ex-boyfriend, passed away due to an accidental overdose. Over the course of the next couple weeks following this loss, Grande decided to call off her engagement with Pete Davidson.
With the help of therapy and her friends, Grande was able to overcome each hurdle that was thrown her way by expressing her feelings through her music. Each song on the new album has a very strong and meaningful story behind it.
The first song on the album is named “Imagine”, which is about Grande being in denial about the death of her ex-boyfriend Mac Miller. This song is extremely personal as it tells a story of what Ariana imagined what her life would be like if Mac was still with her.
Grande touches the hearts of many as she sings slow ballads on the album, such as the songs “Ghostin” and “Needy”. “Ghostin” is about Ariana being in love with someone, while being in a relationship with someone else. This song hits extremely close to home with her, because she slowly started to realize how she felt about love after Mac Miller passed away.
Although the message of the album is about dealing with hurt and being able to heal from such traumatic times, Grande knows how to add a special twist to some songs to create a happy and upbeat vibe. “Bloodline”, “7 Rings”, and “NASA” are some of the more popular songs due to the fast beat and sassy lyrics. These songs shine the light on Ariana’s attitude towards the hurt she’s been through, which is iconically “Thank U, Next”.
The last track on the album is labeled “Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored”, which shows Grande’s powerful stance on self-love. At first glance, this song might seem straight up with the image Grande is trying to portray, but if you look deeper into the meaning of the song, you will find out that Grande is telling herself to stay out of relationships so she can date herself and work on self love.
Overall, this album was the most meaningful and powerful message Grande has ever shared throughout her music career. With each song having a different importance to her as she got through the tough times, it also shows the story of how she became stronger than ever before.
