Two of Ariana Grande's ex-boyfriends heard 'thank u, next' before it was even released
Ariana Grande has got it covered - she doesn't need any sympathy sent her way, or any more idle chatter about her former relationships - or at least, that's what her latest single, 'thank u, next', would have you believe.
The track, which has been dubbed the anti-cuffing anthem of the season, sees Ariana break away from tried-and-true tropes surrounding breakups. Rather, she's chosen to embrace love, patience, and her newfound knowledge of how to handle pain ("that sh*t’s amazing") - with the intention to forge ahead with the most important relationship of them all: the one she has with herself.
In the single, Ariana doesn't shy away from the fact that breakups are painful, instead she reframes it as something that can be equally empowering. This is no 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together' or 'Look What You Made Me Do' - as we all expected - it is much, much better.
In 'thank u, next', Ariana mentions her exes by their names, starting with Big Sean and Ricky Alvarez, before referencing Mac Miller and Pete Davidson.
She gives each of them credit for the impact they've had on her life, singing, "One taught me love / One taught me patience / And one taught me pain / Now I’m so amazing / I’ve loved and I’ve lost / But that’s not what I see / So, look what I got / Look what you taught me," before concluding, "And for that, I say / Thank you, next / I’m so f*cking grateful for my ex.”
After the single was released, Pete decided to adopt a more mature stance on the situation, and opened up about the breakup during Saturday's episode of SNL.
"The last thing I will say is I know some of you are curious about the break-up. The truth is it’s nobody’s business, and sometimes things just don’t work out. And that’s okay. She’s a wonderful, strong person, and I genuinely wish her all the happiness in the world," he said at the end of one of his sketches.
While we don't know if Pete heard the song before it was released, it has now been confirmed that Big Sean and Ricky Alvarez heard 'thank u, next' before it debuted.
After someone tweeted about the pair's rumoured response to the song, Ariana took it upon herself to clear the air, saying that the pair listened to it before it was released, so the lyrics didn't come as a surprise.
Ariana dated rapper Big Sean for eight months before breaking things off in April of 2015. At the time, their reps said that they both "deeply care for each other and remain close friends". They had previously worked together, with Sean adding vocals on 'Right There' in 2013, and 'Problem' in 2015.
The Sweetener singer was involved with her back-up dancer, Ricky Alvarez, from the summer of 2015 for about a year. While they kept things low-key, the couple were first linked when they were seen kissing in that now-infamous doughnut-gate video.
Sure, Ariana and Pete's split may have been the biggest of the year, but that's old news, given that she's just released the breakup anthem of 2018.