To further prove our point that this is, contrary to popular belief, the year of being an ex, Ariana Grande recently revealed that she played her song "Thank U, Next" for all her ex-boyfriends before releasing it. She revealed the news in what is now traditional Grande form: a tweet responding to a fan.
"They heard it before it came out," she wrote in reply to a tweet about Big Sean and Ricky Alvarez. (The original tweet joked that Sean and Alvarez would be shocked to hear their names in it.)
"Thank U, Next," a response to Grande's breakup from SNL's Pete Davidson, is Grande's breakup manifesto — a sort of Definitely, Maybe of the pop variety. (Or, if we want to go deeper, a Lovesick.) In opening verse of the song, Grande lists her ex-boyfriends, checking them off as if she were going down a list. First, she lists Big Sean, born Sean Anderson, whom she dated from 2014 - 2015. Next up is Ricky Alvarez, Grande's backup dancer whom she dated in 2016. Briefly, she mentions Davidson, to whom she was engaged for almost a full summer. Finally, she mentions Mac Miller, whom she calls by his full name Malcolm, on the track. None of this came as a surprise, though — she played it for Alvarez, Anderson, and Davidson before the song's arrival Saturday night.
they heard it before it came out ? :)
— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) November 4, 2018
Davidson, for his part, reportedly canceled a Grande-themed SNL sketch Saturday night after a joke in an episode promo went mildly viral. Either that, or he heard that Grande was writing a gracious, celebratory pop song about their relationship, and he felt he should maybe take that route, too. Now, that's how you be an ex!