In addition to sharing her tracklist for thank u, next, Ariana Grande also tweeted the album's new artwork, along with this message:
"this is my fav album cover i think. brian painted me. fredo shot me. made with tru, deep friendship and love. just like this music."
— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) January 23, 2019
this is my fav album cover i think. brian painted me. fredo shot me. made with tru, deep friendship and love. just like this music.
— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) January 23, 2019
This post was originally published on January 23 at 12:20 a.m.
Ariana Grande's critically-acclaimed Sweetener only dropped in August of 2018, but now, she's saying "thank u, next." The "Breathin'" singer's upcoming album will explode into the world February 8, 2019, leaving fans to wonder what tea Grande will spill about her personal life. Now, the album's tracklist is here, and it's making some fans think the songstress is ready to tell all.
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Which — well, of course she is. This is the woman who wrote a Sweetener love letter to her now-ex fiance with his name, Pete Davidson, right there in the title. And her new album isn't messing around: Its titular single "thank u, next" name drops nearly all of her famous exes. What more could the new album tease?
Possibly plenty. On Tuesday night, Grande shared the tracklist on Instagram. The songs are:
"imagine"
"needy"
"NASA"
"bloodline"
"fake smile"
"bad idea"
"make up"
"ghostin"
"in my head"
"7 rings"
"thank u next"
"breakup with your girlfriend, i'm bored"
"needy"
"NASA"
"bloodline"
"fake smile"
"bad idea"
"make up"
"ghostin"
"in my head"
"7 rings"
"thank u next"
"breakup with your girlfriend, i'm bored"
Fans immediately analyzed the new list — particularly the concluding song, "break up with your girlfriend, i'm bored." Given that Grande and her most recent ex, Davidson, had a whirlwind romance, some fans assumed that this track is about encouraging him to end things with the last woman he dated. (For the record, both Davidson and Grande were seemingly single when they went public with their romance, so there's no indication that the singer did anything of the kind, or even could have.)
so did ariana really tell pete to break up with his gf for her and he did it.....................mess
— ? shannon ? (@real_shamwow) January 23, 2019
ARIANA REALLY WENT FROM PETE DAVIDSON TO BREAK UP WITH YOUR GIRLFRIEND IM BORED!!!! CAN YALL BELIEVE !!! UGH HER MIND!!! SHES COMING!!
— bahja (@bahjasmalls) January 23, 2019
Break up with your girlfriend I’m bored is Pete Davidson af... what’s his ex’s name again?? ? https://t.co/gFyxdw5f0F
— Baby Slut (@Irenebelinfante) January 23, 2019
she replaced 'remember' to 'break up with your girlfriend, i'm bored'.. their relationship started right after he broke up with his ex........mmm the song is about pete PETE pic.twitter.com/MJI5pWzIo8
— ؘ (@rodensmargot) January 23, 2019
I have a different theory. Let's think about the tracks we already have heard from this album. "Imagine" is a song about a relationship she wants to live in, even though it seems inevitable that it won't work out. It's the first song on the album. Then there is "7 rings," a song about celebrating one's self (and wealth), which comes right before "thank u, next," a track about thanking her exes for all that they've taught her. The trajectory of the album reads like a story, about a girl who found herself after a relationship's end and found appreciation for her exes.
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Since "breakup with your girlfriend, i'm bored" is the final track on the album, maybe it's not about any of her ex-boyfriends: Maybe, instead, this song is about her next hookup, and wanting to find someone to quell her "boredom."
Which is not to say that the rest of the album is devoid of any Davidson references. E! Online pointed out that the song "NASA" could refer to a sweatshirt that the Saturday Night Live star wore during one of the pair's first big public outings, to the MTV Video Music Awards.
As for what story Grande wants to tell with thank u, next? Well, guess we'll have to wait until February 8 to find out.