November 9, 2018

Ariana Grande’s Breakup Track Is a Great Send-Off to This Big, Exhausting Week

“Thank u, next!”

Ariana Grande/Twitter

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This week: “thank u, next” by Ariana Grande (Republic Records, 2018)

Why we’re into it: Beyond being one of the most beloved tracks of the week, Grande’s breakup song is the perfect sendoff to the Republican-controlled House and this news-drenched week.

A surprise drop last weekend, “thank u, next” is Ariana’s letter to herself—about growth, regret, and moving onto bigger and better things.

Here’s the soapy backstory: Grande recently split from her fiancé, Saturday Night Live‘s Pete Davidson, who later joked about the failed engagement, prompting tweets from Grande that, in turn, alerted fans to an upcoming album; its lead single, “thank u, next,” was then released an hour before Davidson’s appearance on SNL on Saturday night. Ouch.

But enough drama—let’s get to the song. Grande opens with a bang, offering intimate details by way of naming her exes. But instead of calling them out for their bad deeds like oh-so-many tired breakup songs before her, she offers gratitude and self-affirmation: “Even almost got married/And for Pete, I’m so thankful.”

The pre-chorus starts with the lyrics, “One taught me love/One taught me patience/And one taught me pain” against a relaxed beat. Rather than indulging in a revenge fantasy, Grande soars above it all. Then she puts herself centerstage: “She taught me love/She taught me patience/How she handles pain.” Grande closes the tune with, “I’m so fuckin’ grateful for my ex/Thank you, next.”

On full display here is Grande’s vocal command, which infuses even her poppiest tracks with emotional clarity and depth. If her upcoming album—the second in under a year—is anything like this track, there’s a lot to look forward to.

And, to top it all off, the song became a viral hit, launching the internet into full-blown meme mode:

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GREAT JOURNALISM, SLOW FUNDRAISING

Our team has been on fire lately—publishing sweeping, one-of-a-kind investigations, ambitious, groundbreaking projects, and even releasing “the holy shit documentary of the year.” And that’s on top of protecting free and fair elections and standing up to bullies and BS when others in the media don’t.

Yet, we just came up pretty short on our first big fundraising campaign since Mother Jones and the Center for Investigative Reporting joined forces.

So, two things:

1) If you value the journalism we do but haven’t pitched in over the last few months, please consider doing so now—we urgently need a lot of help to make up for lost ground.

2) If you’re not ready to donate but you’re interested enough in our work to be reading this, please consider signing up for our free Mother Jones Daily newsletter to get to know us and our reporting better. Maybe once you do, you’ll see it’s something worth supporting.

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