“thank u, next”
It’s been an up-and-down year for Ariana Grande, to put it mildly. She cemented her status as a member of pop’s elite with the release of Sweetener, an album that bucked prevailing pop trends and addressed anxiety and trauma with transparency and grace; within two months, she’d lose an ex-boyfriend to a tragic overdose and call off a whirlwind engagement, all in the harsh light of the public eye. No one would have blamed her for weathering the storm in solitude or decamping to the nearest private island. Instead, she channeled her life’s spectacle into “thank u, next,” a radical display of empathy that has become her biggest hit to date.
With its soft, dreamy keys and buttery vocals, the song further refines Grande’s brand of ’90s-leaning pop-R&B. It’s a surprisingly comforting smash, one that lands in your system like a melatonin tablet and a mug of tea. And yet the song’s cultural omnipresence has more to do with the woman at its center than any particular sound. Instead of blaming the men in her life for the pain she’s endured, she thanks them for helping her become the woman she is today. In doing so, she takes the self-love that made Sweetener so special and extends it beyond herself, demonstrating optimism and compassion on the largest possible stage. –Jamieson Cox