For those of you who don’t know, popstar Ariana Grande has been through a great deal of trauma in the last 18 months. From fans dying in an unfortunate bombing incident at a concert in Manchester, to her ex-boyfriend, rapper Mac Miller, dying from an overdose, to breaking off an engagement with comedian Pete Davidson. Only days after her break up with Davidson was declared, Grande announced a new single called “thank u, next,” which shocked fans worldwide because she recently released a top selling album: Sweetener. The single is now officially one of the top grossed singles on Spotify, and it is on the top of the charts of both iTunes and Billboard. For me and many others, the song has basically been on repeat.
“Thank u, next” can be described as a raw and emotional single. Grande makes clear connections to all her exes, including Big Sean, Ricky Alvarez, Mac Miller and Pete Davidson, as well as speaks about her own personal growth through these struggles and experiences. In fact, the first few lines of the song refer to how all of her exes were blessings in different forms. Most fans, me included, got chills during the second verse where she says “But this one gon’ last ‘cause her name is Ari, and I’m so good with that,” which implies how she is going to focus on herself and only herself for the time being. Finally, the bridge talks about her desires for the future, such as getting walked down the aisle with her mom and knowing that she wants her first marriage to be her only marriage. Yet, the most famous lines of this single are part of the chorus. In every chorus there is the motif of learning how to love, be patient and handle pain, and at first, she gave credit to her exes for that, but as the song continues, she recognizes she taught herself her how to love, be patient and deal with pain.
My roommate described “thank u, next” as a song that can relate to almost anybody, no matter the intensity of their previous relationships or reason for their break ups. As many people know, heartbreak is both a physical and emotional pain that stems from the heart and mind. Grande touches upon how the pain made her stronger and even more amazing. Heartbreak does make us stronger, and without it, we would never know what we actually deserve from a significant other. You get the chance to learn more about yourself, which naturally leads to personal growth. You realize that you have a strong support system around you, you are never actually alone and most importantly, you will survive and persist through the emotional pain. As Grande likes to put it, be thankful for that pain and for the people who caused it because without it, you may never be who you are today. Additionally, the song is comforting because it helps dumpees and dumpers find solace in the fact that they are not the only ones growing through such pain.
As humans, we are extremely in touch with our emotional side. Emotions tend to be a driving force in our actions, the words we speak and the decisions we make. At times, our emotions can go haywire and influence aspects of our lives that are meant to be untouched, and often those type of emotions are due to traumatic and heartbreaking experiences. Ariana Grande puts all those emotions in a 3 minute and 28 second song and helps us believe that after the storm of our personal struggles, we will come out victorious.